Can you tell me about apartments complexes in these areas....

[TygrrEyzz]

Those are good points you made. But yeah, seriously... what to look for ? lol. What does crime look like? Graffiti? Barred windows? I really don't know I guess. Just follow our common sense I suppose.

[notapackrat]

Funny about them 'barred' windows...I have been looking at home rentals on internet sites such as rental.com, sacrentals, and craigslist---so many of the ones in my price range have the 'barred windows'!! Haha

Oh well ....guess I might either have to spend more than I anticipated or think about living further out and deal with commuting.

[Think About It!]

Here is what I would look at when moving next:

Obvsiously the house you are looking to rent and determine if it works for size, price, etc.

The immediate neighbors for a few houses on the right and left side, the back side for a few houses and the houses across the street. See what kind of people live there. If the neighbors are good it makes it a lot better.

Then I would drive around the neighborhood and see if you see a group of five 25+ year olds just standing in the garage or driveway (playing cards, smoking, drinking, or just listening to music). Just think, would you invite those people over to your house for a bbq? Would you trust them in your house while you're working the grill in the back yard? If you wouldn't, well that's house you feel about them. I would not live near a house like this. This can be seen in the day and at night so I guess drive around at both times.

The reason people tell you to drive around is because you can see the amount of people movement. Do you see a lot of "cranksters" or "rockheads" riding around on bikes? If so they have really sticky fingers so take that into account. Sometimes you have a lot of non-working folk who don't do anything. Thus you see them at home during the day. Then you may not know who lives there because they work so you drive around at night. Just looking at cars in the parking lot or driveways make it pretty easy to stereotype who lives there.

Graffitti, broken down cars, trash should all be taken into account.

notapackrat-You have a child in the impressionable stage. I think the enviornment matters for them.

[notapackrat]

Thanks for your thoughtful post Thinkaboutit! I will take everything you wrote into account.
I also seem to remember a post by wburg (sp?) about the most dangerous neighborhoods being the ones that are dark, quiet and with little activity.

So I guess I have a lot to consider in my move to Sacramento.

Where I presently live (small city of Ukiah), I hear people talk about an area to stay away from...which in the case of Ukiah is usually just a street or two of run-down apartments. And...of course, we have our wine and marijuana (emerald triangle) trade too. But I find that those does not effect me or my family much in the way of personal crime.
When it comes to crime, I think I am in for a bit of surprise for my move to Sacramento.

[denimypace]

Well, notapackrat. Now the best thing to do is go to an area at night between 8p & midnight. Suspicious characters could mean anything and crime is everywhere.

[notapackrat]

*Now about a year later-----Just thought I would update this post for anyone who also may be wondering where the affordable, safe places are that are more centrally located. I ended up in the Greenhaven/Pocket region and have been very glad for it. I spend very little time driving in my car...as everything is pretty close. The prices are very fair here. And it is a great area to walk and ride a bike as there are green belt areas and canals all over this area. I have very much enjoyed my little jaunt here in Sacramento and feel like I made a good decision to locate in the Greenhaven/Pocket area.