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Sacramento (downtown, midtown, old Sacramento) vs Columbus (German Village, Arena Dist., Campus, Downtown, Short N.)
I'm mainly interested in the inner city living aspects of the two areas and not the metros.
Having lived in Columbus for a while I know it well and on the surface Sacramento seems similar (Midwestern meets Portland before it became the place to be), but I was wondering if that's really the case.
Madison is a fairly big question mark to me having only spent two days there, but overall people seem to have a favorable view of the city. So I wondered how it stacked up with the other two.
Here are the areas I'm interested in:
1. People. What are they like? How are they similar & different?
2. Sports. Is Sacramento sort of like Columbus minus the insanity of Buckeye's game day?
3. Nightlife. Columbus has High St. Sacramento K St. (how big is that area anyway?) and Madison St. Street.
4. City beauty mixing with interesting architecture.
5. Culture in general.
6. What you get for the cost of living. Columbus wins this one hands down if you're only talking COL by itself. Sac & Madison seem comparable, but what more do you get for that higher cost?
Madison is just as much of a sports town as the others. The experience at Camp Randall is right up there with the best in all of NCAA.
The Badgers Men's basketball team is also quite legit and the Kohl Center is a hot ticket whenever they are in town.
Houses in Madison are reasonably priced and ALL THREE states are known tax hells. To me, COL is actually kind of a wash on this one.
As far as nature goes, I would put Sac and Madi at the top and Columbus further down. Madison is surrounded by easily-accessible lakes and forests... While Sacramento is nice and close to several national parks.
I would rank them:
1. Madison
2. Sacramento
3. Columbus
Sacramento is geographically the best, but it's kind of dangerous. The police force is stretched very thin and crime is somewhat rampant.
Madison, specifically Middleton is very nice. The winters are frigid though.
Sacramento had 29 murders in 2014. Columbus 91. Madison looks like it has a much lower crime rate than the others though. Sacramento does not have rampant crime lol.
Sports in Sacramento is centered on the Kings and the Sac Republic FC which is shooting to become an MLS expansion team. Bay Area pro teams have large fan bases in Sac as well...tons of Sacramentans head to the Bay for Giants, As, Sharks, 9ers, and Raiders games. But overall, not much of a sports town. Much more outdoor recreation centered.
Nightlife in Sacramento is largely in "The Grid," a couple hundred gridded square blocks of tree lined streets filled with cafes, bars, venues, etc. Not really one high powered street, more like a bunch of nodes throughout the core. California does have a 1:30AM last call, so keep that in mind.
Interesting architecture and pretty neighborhoods are largely confined to the grid and surrounding streetcar suburbs. Outside of that you get into a sea of California stucco suburbia. But the core is quite beautiful.
Culture is typically Californian: laid back and live/let live. More laid back than the coastal metros which are losing some "California-ness" due to their explosion as international destination cities. Streak of conservatism in the eastern suburbs but pretty much uniformly liberal. A city that is just beginning to realize it's size and is grappling with fast metro growth and the changes that come with.
OSU and UW are both great assets that I wish Sacramento had. Sac has UC Davis which ranks higher than the other two but is in a college town physically separated from the core by wetlands, and CSU Sacramento which is only nominally urban.
I wish I could offer more of a comparison, but as I haven't been to Cbus or Madison (would love to someday), it wouldn't be accurate.
Madison: Safe, low cost of living, pretty, decent economy. Seems like the quintessential college town, which can be good and bad. It's much smaller than the other two places and with fewer amenities. The culture is too one-dimensional and Midwest vanilla. That might change down the road, but that's my impression of it now.
Sacramento: Honestly, I don't know much about Sacramento itself, but I *really* don't like the California lifestyle. Way too laid back for me. I like places with just a bit more passion for things and with at least some interesting chaos. Californians are similar to Texans and New Yorkers, believing everything their state does is critically important to the universe.
Columbus: Columbus used to be Madison about 25 years ago, kind of bland and one-dimensional. Not very diverse and seemingly revolving around a university. That's not really true anymore, but it still has that reputation to some degree. It's changed significantly in the last 10-15 years and barely recognizable as the city I grew up in. Great economy and decent cost of living.
People are starting to get turned on to Columbus. Rents have been climbing all around the city and surrounding burbs.
It really is one of those places you don't really appreciate until you move away. Although I didn't care for how much of a role diving plays in the city, the unchecked aggressive frat-boy types, and the number of chain stores.
I hear people call Sacramento the Midwestern city of Cali and I was wondering if it WAS a city in the Midwest where would it rank?
Madison: Safe, low cost of living, pretty, decent economy. Seems like the quintessential college town, which can be good and bad. It's much smaller than the other two places and with fewer amenities. The culture is too one-dimensional and Midwest vanilla. That might change down the road, but that's my impression of it now.
Sacramento: Honestly, I don't know much about Sacramento itself, but I *really* don't like the California lifestyle. Way too laid back for me. I like places with just a bit more passion for things and with at least some interesting chaos. Californians are similar to Texans and New Yorkers, believing everything their state does is critically important to the universe.
Columbus: Columbus used to be Madison about 25 years ago, kind of bland and one-dimensional. Not very diverse and seemingly revolving around a university. That's not really true anymore, but it still has that reputation to some degree. It's changed significantly in the last 10-15 years and barely recognizable as the city I grew up in. Great economy and decent cost of living.
I've never heard anyone describe Madison as "one-dimensional and Midwest vanilla", until now.
I hear people call Sacramento the Midwestern city of Cali and I was wondering if it WAS a city in the Midwest where would it rank?
Sacramento is very underrated. The city is obviously overshadowed by San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego which is not to the same degree as Columbus is to Cleveland or Cincinnati. They are not internationally-recognized cities like SF and LA. Sitting 90 miles north of a world-renowned metropolis is not easy.
For me, it's hard to say where it would rank among Midwestern cities. Being a part of California is what gives Sacramento its exposure. The vibe feels midwestern, our skyline looks midwestern, but the lifestyle is quintessentially Californian.
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