Moving to Sacramento: Neighborhood suggestions. (Berkeley, Richmond: lease, homes, neighborhoods)

[lh215]

I'll be moving to California in January and I wanted some advice on where to live. I'll be working at UC Davis but I don't think that I want to live there (I'm currently living in Philly and I like big cities). Ideally I'm looking to be in a neighborhood for young professionals with a good restaurants and nightlife.

[bigdave01]

I would definitely say midtown. Its the only truly urban neighborhood in Sacramento, even though by Philly standards it may not feel that way.

[CityGirl72]

www.midtowngrid.com

[x15]

Before you sign a lease in midtown, I would at least spend some time in Davis first. Davis itself has a very active restaurant scene and it probably has the highest density of professionals in the region. Davis is very walkable/ bikeable and dense. Midtown has some restaurants as well, but its a much more blue collar neighborhood. It might be what you are looking for, or it might not.

A lot of people who work in Davis don't actually have to be in Davis, 5 days a week. If that is the case, you might also want to look at Berkeley. I know there is a shuttle or you can catch one of the Amtrack Capitols between Berkeley and Davis. Its roughly 60 miles between Davis and Berkeley, so the commute might be too long, but in terms of what you are looking for, it also may be your best fit. I probably wouldn't want to make that commute 5 days a week, but if you didn't have to commute during rush hour and only had to be on campus 2 or 3 days a week, you might be willing to do it.

Davis Berkeley Shuttle - Davis Wiki

CCJPA ::

[wburg]

Do a 60 mile commute to a far more expensive city?

Midtown isn't all that blue collar. There are plenty of creative types around here, we're just not generally wealthy creative trust fund types--more along the lines of working-class joes who like angsty music and performance art.

x15, weren't you just talking about what a gentrified neighborhood Midtown was just the other day?
http://www.city-data.com/forum/10802126-post18.html

[lh215]

Thanks for the advice! I'll start looking in Midtown. As far as it being blue collar that's fine with me. Afterall, I'm coming from Philly and it's very much a blue collar based city.

I'm actually thinking of buying. I know it would be hard to give a simple yes or no answer to whether I should buy or not but any opinions would be helpful.

[CSG]

It's been a while since I've lived there but I'd also look into Land Park and Curtis Park for older homes that have appealed the last 20 years to a younger, upscale crowd. I liked Greenhaven, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, and Sierra Oaks.

[x15]

Originally Posted by wburg

Do a 60 mile commute to a far more expensive city?

Midtown isn't all that blue collar. There are plenty of creative types around here, we're just not generally wealthy creative trust fund types--more along the lines of working-class joes who like angsty music and performance art.

x15, weren't you just talking about what a gentrified neighborhood Midtown was just the other day?
http://www.city-data.com/forum/10802126-post18.html

I said midtown is really white. Which of course it is. Davis is more diverse, better educated, with more professionals. Davis also larger than midtown and much less car orientated.

Davis city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder

95816 - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder

Carfree Database Results

In terms of what many people seem to be looking from an urban area, Davis probably does better on those traits than midtown.

This distinction you are trying to draw between working class joes and blue collar escapes me.

On the hand if some thinks Davis still isn't urban enough, Berkeley isn't that far away, especially if you only need to be in Davis a couple days a week. Look at in terms of mileage per week. If you commute from Davis to Berkeley two days a week that is about 240 (60*2*2) miles a week. The average person commuting from Fair Oaks to downtown is putting up 230 miles a week (23*2*5) which no one is this area blinks an eye about. If you are going into Davis three days a week that is 360 (60*2*3) miles, which is about the same amount that people who commute from Shingle Springs to downtown Sacramento do in an average week 350 (35*2*5).

[wburg]

Berkeley is great if you don't mind the homeless or the traffic or the high rents!

Berkeley to Davis is 360 miles of commuting 3 times a week--Midtown to Davis is 90 miles of commuting 3 times a week. Why should the OP choose Berkeley over Midtown, quadruple the driving over a mountain range and a toll bridge (admittedly, you only have to pay the toll going east, but still) in the way, to a city with worse parking?

And you're still wrong about Midtown, and my challenge is still on--start a thread about it, present your argument, and I'll tell you why you are wrong.

[Mr. Ozo]

x15 why do you keep saying Midtown is more white than Davis? It's not, you can look up the stats right on this site. U.C. is has 45 percent Asian students, but if you took a survey of full time residents, I'd bet you Davis is 95 percent white. Plus, the Asians that go to Davis are whiter than the white people, so I wouldn't really pick Davis as the poster child for diversity. When we talk about Midtown, we usually included the neighborhoods of Alkai Flat, Mansion Flat, Newton Booth, Southside Park, Richmond Grove, Marshall School, and Blvd. Park, but those stats are all calculated different from "Midtown proper", which is actually a very small area. I live in Newton Booth and according to this site it's 55 percent white people. Folsom is 79 percent white people.