Sacramento vs. Salem (Portland: house, heat pump, neighborhood)

[Thom52]

My wife and I lived in Sacramento and Davis for 4 years as poor starving college students back in the late 70's, early 80's. You couldn't pay us to live there again.

We still joke about the radio proudly declaring "It's a cool day in River City today, with a high of 85 degrees". We moved into married student housing in Davis under 114deg temp. AC ran all summer and evenings did not cool down. Followed by Fall, which is indicated by Ag burning and tomatoes all over the highway. And a Winter of gray and cold thule fog. Only place I have experienced truely zero visibility freezing fog. I think there were 2 days of Spring in there somewhere.

West Sacramento was a pit back then. It would have been better to live in Davis. I am not sure what you mean by "west". If you must live in Sacatomatoes I would live up in the foothills or at least Auburn or something.

Maybe the weather and area has changed since then?

And then you do have to put up with California politics. A state ruined by people trying to control each other, passing so many laws to "protect" each other....i.e. make them live just like whoever wanted the law, that just about everything is illegal now. Taxes.....they went all in with every possible tax, more than compensating for prop 13.

Earthquakes? Choose your natural disaster. Just about everywhere has them. Maine might be an exception, although winter seems to pretty much shut down Maine as if its a yearly natural disaster.

We lived in western WA for about 30 years, until the gray got to us there. I am not sure if Salem is similar. We are now in High Desert, where we sometimes miss the rain, and dust is the issue.

Everywhere has its tradeoffs....

[Phrogg]

Originally Posted by Radio Flyer

Oh yeah...What are your thoughts on the infamous impending earthquake?

Having lived the majority of my life in one earthquake area or another-- think of earthquakes vs. other natural disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.) as being a pitcher vs. being a boxer. Elbow/shoulder issues aside, pitching a baseball is not something that usually results in major injury, though you could unexpectedly on any pitch be hit in the face by a 110 mph line drive. When you're a boxer, you know you're going to get punched repeatedly, and it's just a matter of how bad it's going to be this time.

My level of worry over the Cascadia earthquake is that it I would give it some thought if I were planning to live on the coast, and I think it is prudent to have some supplies on hand. But it's entirely possible that it won't happen during our lifetimes, or that it will be different than/not as bad as predictions. Or it could happen today. Nobody knows.

[Radio Flyer]

Cherry, I'll probably post more in the Salem forum as time goes on. I wanted to get as many responses as possible. I do like how you've described Salem, and it's how I picture it... We prefer a place that might be considered "boring and blah" to the young and hip. In addition, we don't like touristy areas. We also don't want the boonies, but we don't want a big city either. Been there, done that on all counts.

Thom, thanks for your detailed post. I probably should have just said a place that gets "the breeze", not west Sac, since I guess there are some other neighborhoods and suburbs that benefit from it.

Maine has blizzards and ice storms. The latter definitely do more damage. Growing up here, Snow seemed to be a bigger problem, now it's the ice...Also, your "Cool day in the River City" made me smile because when I see a wintertime low of 35degrees in Oregon, I think "That's the low? That would be downright balmy for a winter day here." You're right though. No where is perfect.

[Radio Flyer]

Originally Posted by Phrogg

... Or it could happen today. Nobody knows.

Well, that would work out well for us. You guys could rebuild and have it all ready in three years.

I kid, I kid.

[Phrogg]

Originally Posted by Radio Flyer

Well, that would work out well for us. You guys could rebuild and have it all ready in three years.

I kid, I kid.

Good planning, I like it!

[zardac]

A few years ago my wife and I made a quick trip from Portland to Sacramento for a concert.

A few hours in Sacramento led me to conclude... this city is suffused with surly, sepulchral, solipsists suffering severe serotonin insufficiencies.

I revised my opinion later that night.


We had queued up for the event (John Prine) and an amiable Sacramentan/Sacramite actually initiated some small talk with us:

"Do you live in Sacramento?" I queried

"Yeah, but I've only been here a few years."

Where you from? I asked

"I spent most my life in Seattle"

How do you like living in Sacramento?

"I don't- I want to move back-the people here are so unfriendly."

[Radio Flyer]

Thanks for your response, zardac. Good thing that person didn't move to San Francisco! (though when I lived there, it wasn't as snobby as it is now.)

There seems to be a similarity to New England in the PNW in that young people get an itch to leave and than miss "their people" from back home...I'll miss New Englanders when we move back to the west coast, but I'm getting the vibe that Oregonians are cut from the same cloth. We're looking forward to visiting this summer.

BTW, I posted my inquiry in the Sacramento thread also.

[mdr23]

I grew up in Sacramento, and watched it change from a cow town to a large, crowded cow town - largely due to that housing boom and Bay Area and SoCal transplants cashing out. A few years ago, I moved to Bellingham, WA (no thanks). And more recently I'm living in Corvallis (pretty, but expensive) of the Willamette Valley.

therese marie suggested Auburn. And that's what I was thinking when I read your post. Auburn and El Dorado Hills are geographically a little elevated (maybe a few degrees cooler) and politically conservative.

Wherever you go, there will always be "something." It could be weather, a possible looming natural disaster, lacking good jobs/amenities/entertainment/restaurants...

Willamette Valley (OR) gets around 25 days of 90+ between June and September. It feels a lot like the Central Valley (CA) in the summer. Central heating and air is a HUGE PLUS for Sacramento. The Pacific Northwest hasn't figured this out yet. The portable air conditioning units are noisy and not very effective. Baseboard heating has been hard to get used to, but that's getting off point.

High energy costs seem to be the norm these days - whether you get hit in the winter or summer (or both). (Find a place with some mature shade trees.) Culturally, I got the impression that Salem was a mini version of Sacramento.

[gray horse]

Originally Posted by mdr23

I grew up in Sacramento, and watched it change from a cow town to a large, crowded cow town - largely due to that housing boom and Bay Area and SoCal transplants cashing out. A few years ago, I moved to Bellingham, WA (no thanks). And more recently I'm living in Corvallis (pretty, but expensive) of the Willamette Valley.

therese marie suggested Auburn. And that's what I was thinking when I read your post. Auburn and El Dorado Hills are geographically a little elevated (maybe a few degrees cooler) and politically conservative.

Wherever you go, there will always be "something." It could be weather, a possible looming natural disaster, lacking good jobs/amenities/entertainment/restaurants...

Willamette Valley (OR) gets around 25 days of 90+ between June and September. It feels a lot like the Central Valley (CA) in the summer. Central heating and air is a HUGE PLUS for Sacramento. The Pacific Northwest hasn't figured this out yet. The portable air conditioning units are noisy and not very effective. Baseboard heating has been hard to get used to, but that's getting off point.

High energy costs seem to be the norm these days - whether you get hit in the winter or summer (or both). (Find a place with some mature shade trees.) Culturally, I got the impression that Salem was a mini version of Sacramento.

Willamette Valley in no way compares to the Central Valley in the summer.

Much cooler and mild in the Willamette valley. The Central Valley is pure hell in the summer.

[Radio Flyer]

Originally Posted by mdr23

Willamette Valley (OR) gets around 25 days of 90+ between June and September. It feels a lot like the Central Valley (CA) in the summer. Central heating and air is a HUGE PLUS for Sacramento. The Pacific Northwest hasn't figured this out yet. The portable air conditioning units are noisy and not very effective. Baseboard heating has been hard to get used to, but that's getting off point.

Central Heating/Air would be my ultimate luxury, even here in the northeast. Most homes here have baseboard heating, so I'm used to it, though I still get frustrated with them when it comes to furniture placement....Concerning air conditioning, I've heard the portable room-to-room units aren't very good. We have a couple of bulky window units. They're okay, but are a royal pain in the butt to move in and out of the windows. Better than nothing when it gets super humid though.

In No Cal., we had electric, which would be unheard of here. The majority of New England homes use oil and a lot of folks have woodstoves too. They help with costs and if the power goes out for an extended period of time, they can be life-savers.

I look at a lot of online real estate listings and see a fair amount of woodstoves in Oregon and Sacramento. It's hard for me to imagine needing a woodstove in Sac. I don't know if they're for looks or if they actually need them there. I see fire pits in the back yards too. Same thought, REALLY?!... in Sacramento?

What is the most common form of heating in the Willamette Valley? Also, how much on average are your monthly heating/cooling bills? I know the size of individual homes will vary, as will the bills. That's fine. I'll take any info. I can get...Also, when you're buying a home, is it common to ask to see the utility bills? ( It's fairly common here.)