Move from LA to Sacramento ? - Please Respond (San Diego, Fresno: environment, relocating)

[marie333]

oh by the way we have been stuck here for 8 long years & it is getting harder & harder to stand sacramento

[MelloYellowFello]

I lived in Carmichael (Sacramento county) from age 19 until 50 (formerly in Los Angeles area). In the 70's, Sacramento was a 'cow town' . I watched it (& the people) expand to another Los Angeles. The smog is sometimes worse. The fields and open spaces disappeared. It's now solid concrete from one end to the other. I spent 30 years going from home to home repairing electronics...including San Fran and Reno areas. Sacramento has by far the rudest and most self-centered people who believe the world owes them something. It gets 115 degrees in the summer and the power goes off . In the winter, the levys threaten to overflow or break. Downtown has water gates that they close to prevent midtown and north sac from flooding. New homes have been built on a giant flood plain. LA and San Fran gangs own the South areas where killing is common. Areas along the American river (La Riveria) are extreemly nice, as long as you don't have an invasion robbery or flood out when the river runs over. I choked on my last humid summer 5 years ago and moved near Kansas City. Anyone who can get out of Sacramento SHOULD. The arrogant ones who know it all are the ones who stay. There are much better places to live than Sacramento county.

[cityx]

As with most larger cities, Sacramento has plenty of serious issues it needs to resolve and one of the biggest is that of urban sprawl. The city is perpetuating this urban planning tragedy by annexing more land and proposing to build continously in the North Natomas area, a known flood plain. City planners have shown little regard in strenghtening the transportation infrastructure to accomodate this growth. In ten years the antiquated freeways are going to be choked in traffic far worse than they are today. Temperatures in the city will continue to rise and 115 degree summer days will become more common as well as the increase in hazardous air quality levels. It is really sad to see what poor mismanagement and skewed priorities, (it's all about the tax revenue), is doing to an area that had so much natural beauty at one time.

[interossiter]

1) Is Sacramento like Los Angeles (in terms of traffic, density in housing, pace of life)?
=>Lots smaller, typical mid-sized American city. It isn't a small town though, it is a suburban sprawl type of city.

2) Housing Market - Should we buy something small now (300-350K), and rent it out for 1-2 years before we move? Or do you anticipate that prices will continue to drop in the greater Sacramento area and we should wait another year before buying?

=>No-one knows...you can get a decent smaller house for that price but it won't likely be in Granite Bay / Rocklin / Folsom / Davis / Fair Oaks - more like Carmichael, Orangevale or elsewhere. If you can pay $500K or up you'd get more of a luxury house. There are some really dumpy neighborhoods in Sac so give yourself some time to learn the city before you buy in the 300K range. One key thing that can help about buying a house here is to decide: do you want a newer house or an older one? If you go one way or the other that will have a tremendous impact on where you will search:
Newer: Granite Bay / Rocklin / Folsom / Roseville
Older: Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Sacramento itself

Also, get hold of the flood map if you are concerned about that. A lot of Sac looks the same when you drive around but one area will be prone to apocalyptic floods and an area a few miles away will have plenty of elevation.

3) There are many posts about Granite Bay, Rocklin, Folsom, Davis, Carmichael, and Fair Oaks. How far of a commute are each of these to the city of Sacramento? Do most people who live in the burbs commute into to Sacramento or find work elsewhere?

=>A lot of people commute. Driving from any of the places you mention into the city will take at least 25 minutes, some quite a bit more i.e. none of these are short 10 minute drives and some will be pushing an hour on a bad morning.

5) What do families do for recreational activities? Are there any amusement parks in the area?

=>Probably one of the best things about Sac - lots of recreation and it's close to many of the great parts of Nor Cal. It's a great place for day or weekend trips. I live in Carmichael:
Tahoe: 2 hours
Mountains: 1 hour
Napa: 1 hour 15
San Francisco: 1 hour 15
Monterey: 3 hours

[charsacutter]

Winters is a small town community approx 6,000 people. On greatschools.net Winters High School rated 7th with only 22 children per class. The crime rate is very very low. It is centrally located between Sac and the Bay Area. It is 30 minutes to Sac, 15 minutes to Vacaville, and about 45 minutes to the Bay Area. Honestly, you could not drag me out of Winters. As far as things to do Lake Berryesa is only 15 minutes away, lots of places to bike, Putah Creek runs right by Winters and is known for its fishing. With the larger cities so close you have it all. Small town with the larger cities just minutes away. Most of the population of Winters commute to Davis, Vacaville, Sac, or the Bay Area. It is a wonderful farming community. Check it out if you truly want a slower pace with a low crime rate.

[vm_sanders]

Slower Pace of life yes. There is a risk of culture shock, I will visit LA twice a year just to remind me there is another world out there. I feel like everyone lives in a bubble, different than any other place I have ever lived. The Sierras are what keep me here. The trees are good for my soul.

[antskat421]

Does anyone know what part of Roseville floods?

[wburg]

Roseville does not flood. They're not quite in the foothills but they're far above the floodplain and nowhere near a river.

Sacramento doesn't flood for the most part either. Some of the outlying farm communities have had flooding problems, and the levees in some of the new development areas that used to be outlying farm areas need some serious work, but the last time Sacramento had a really, really bad flood was during the 1860s.

Sacramento is a sprawl city, like most cities in the United States. Los Angeles is the sprawliest city ever, so if you're used to Los Angeles sprawl, Sacramento sprawl will seem pretty minor-league by comparison.

I guess I'm one of those self-centered rude people, I like it fine here.

[annaboyd]

Good Schools - Folsom, Granite Bay, El Dorado Hills area (includes Cameron Park - same schools - better housing prices)

Mostly Foothills - so it's above the fog (below the snow) for varied landscape.

Not many folks that move to these areas regret their choice.

Anna at Re/Max

[antskat421]

How about bad neighborhoods ? I wont have alot of time to check it out up there, so any places I should n't waste my time looking at?