Phoenix vs Sacramento? (best, cost, state, better)

[greenthinker]

Currently, we live in the suburb of Phoenix metro area. Good school, very safe, a nice house too. But $22000 a year pay increase from Sacramento job offer is very attracting to me. It certainly can improve my living standard as I am the sole bread winner. I heard Sacramento has high crime issue, and it's boring city. I makes me think twice now. Your advice is highly appreciated!

[stevek64]

If I was happy for the most part in my current lot in life, I'd concentrate more on finding promotional opportunities where I live now.

Lots of calculators you can use online to determine cost of living between 2 cities like this one:

Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities - CNNMoney

User Blocked - Moving.com

Just my take....money is nice, but it's not everything, especially when it comes to being happy/not happy in a given place with so many other factors involved. Each one of us has to determine what that balance is.

[PhoenixSomeday]

Well it's obviously going to depend on where specifically in the metro you'll be. My grandmother lived in Rancho Cordova along with my cousins. I lived there when I was 8-9 (back in 89-90), and my cousins still do. That part of the area is as benign as safe as it gets. It gets pretty hot in the summer too. Not quite desert hot, but close.

[grassfeeder]

$22k extra is nice but the city and State of California are in serious trouble. The amount of tax you'll be paying over now drops that extra income dramatically. The city itself sucks! Roseville/Rocklin area is nice but a commute if woking downtown.

Personally, you couldn't pay me to live IN Sacramento.

[Bruce Jackpot]

In my opinion, Sacramento is among the most underrated cities in the West. The City of Sacramento may not be overly exciting but the area it's in an proximity to natural wonders (hello Lake Tahoe) and other stuff is "exciting"

I like Sac better than the Bay Area. I've mostly passed through there (stopped, ate drove around, gone to sporting event etc) many times over the years. Can't say I'm an expert but I've seen enough of the area to absolutely say it's a good place to live.

Head just east of Sac into the foothills and it gets pretty in a kinda old west gold rush way. Little towns like Auburn have character and history. Meander further into gold country to Nevada City/Grass Valley and it really feels like you're in the backwoods-stepped back in time.

Weather wise it gets hot in the summer but not Phoenix hot.

First of all, you're just a couple hours from the Bay Area and Tahoe/Reno (Tahoe is amazing... special place) You can hit the lake in the summer or the slopes in the winter.

Reno is a pretty interesting city in it's own right. They have various festivals and performers at the casinos. It's a very scenic city with mountains surrounding the town. Cheap eats at the buffets (I recommend the Atlantis seafood buffet on Fridays . The city also has a major university (University of Nevada). Reno only has a pop of about 300K but punches well above it's weight as far as attractions and entertainment. It's a cool city and makes for an fun, quick, and affordable getaway if you're in Sac.

So basically, you have interesting weekend getaways in striking distance. Just a couple hours (maybe a little longer but not much) to be in a magical place like Lake Tahoe? That is a blessing.

I wouldn't worry about crime much. There are a lot of very nice suburbs of Sacramento such as Roseville, Rocklin, and Folsom which have very little crime that I'd recommend. Roseville in particular is large booming city in it's own right just outside of Sac in Placer County. Tons of shopping and retail like you'd see in Phoenix.

Sacramento has two rivers the American and Sacramento that go through the city. They have an NBA basketball team and AAA baseball in West Sacramento if you're into sports.

I still think a place like Scottsdale is superior to anywhere in the Sac area. But you need to decide what's best for you. Maybe grab a cheap flight there and look around, see how you like it. It's considered cheap for CA but it's more expensive then most areas of the Valley.

[Jmdakan]

Funny we are thinking about doing the exact opposite. Moving from Rosevillle (just outside Sacramento) to Surprise. Both Roseville and Rocklin are great cities and very safe. However Sacramento does have a lot of crime and less desirable areas. From our house in Roseville its about a 20-30 minute drive to Sacramento on a light traffic day, but well worth the commute. If you have any other questions regarding the area please let me know. Happy to help. If you have any advice on our possible move to Surprise/ Phoenix area please let me know. Thank you, John

[LBTRS]

$22k isn't going to increase your living standard in Sacramento. The cost of living in very high in California and I'm sure that $22k isn't going to go near as far as you're thinking it will.

[Bruce Jackpot]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

$22k isn't going to increase your living standard in Sacramento. The cost of living in very high in California and I'm sure that $22k isn't going to go near as far as you're thinking it will.

Stuff like registering your vehicles, higher taxes, higher gas prices, etc. will eat up some of that sure. But the COL in Sacramento is reasonable unlike the coastal areas.

[Movn-on]

It really depends on what percentage 22k is of your income. If it's not much, and you are happy as you say, I'd stay put. I've lived in the Sacramento area all of my life but am currently moving to Scottsdale because the cost of living and the politics in Cali have gotten ridiculous! Our state income tax went up to almost 13% and when it got approved "retroactively" that was the final nail in the coffin for me. The property taxes are way higher there, though sales tax is about the same. The state is about to implement one of the highest gas taxes In the country I hear. The roads around Sacramento don't compare to phoenix area. They are covered with trash and full of potholes in Sac. Crime is getting worse all over, especially in Sacramento county. My kids visited the premier mall there at Christmas time and feared for their lives, (it actually got shut down because of gang violence that day). Placer county is much safer....for the time being. There is no funding anywhere it seems for the public service sector. If you decide to move there, you can pay for the bullet train to nowhere and for all of the inflated teachers' and state workers' pensions which the state has no money for. Someone is going to have to do it but I' m glad to wash my hands of it! I will still love to visit all of the beautiful places there, but I will love even more leaving to go home to Az.

[Bruce Jackpot]

Originally Posted by Movn-on

It really depends on what percentage 22k is of your income. If it's not much, and you are happy as you say, I'd stay put. I've lived in the Sacramento area all of my life but am currently moving to Scottsdale because the cost of living and the politics in Cali have gotten ridiculous! Our state income tax went up to almost 13% and when it got approved "retroactively" that was the final nail in the coffin for me. The property taxes are way higher there, though sales tax is about the same. The state is about to implement one of the highest gas taxes In the country I hear. The roads around Sacramento don't compare to phoenix area. They are covered with trash and full of potholes in Sac. Crime is getting worse all over, especially in Sacramento county. My kids visited the premier mall there at Christmas time and feared for their lives, (it actually got shut down because of gang violence that day). Placer county is much safer....for the time being. There is no funding anywhere it seems for the public service sector. If you decide to move there, you can pay for the bullet train to nowhere and for all of the inflated teachers' and state workers' pensions which the state has no money for. Someone is going to have to do it but I' m glad to wash my hands of it! I will still love to visit all of the beautiful places there, but I will love even more leaving to go home to Az.

Nice post. And I agree with Placer County being the place to live from what I've seen. Placer doesn't seem to have the gangs and there's no bad or dangerous towns in the entire county from what I've seen and heard. Lincoln and Auburn are a longer commute but Roseville and Rocklin are both within reasonable distance. An old co-worker of mines brother lives in Rocklin. He goes boating and stuff there locally and seems to like it. But Roseville I think is great... as it has EVERYTHING you could need and is safe and right on the Sacramento County border thus a quicker commute than the other Placer County cities.