Working in the Pocket.....Where to Live? (Sacramento, Richmond: rent, low crime)

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by wburg

bluevelo: He isn't in Midtown, his job is in the Pocket and he's looking for a place to live. And yeah, the Pocket is pretty nice as far as neighborhoods go. As the above poster mentions, dogs are an effective deterrent to burglars, and alarm systems give great peace of mind in that regard.

The Pocket is very nice. Why even commute? Just *live* there LOL

[wburg]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

The Pocket is very nice. Why even commute? Just *live* there LOL

Apparently he thinks it's unsafe. I think most folks in the Pocket live there and commute elsewhere because they think the neighborhood where they work is unsafe, and the Pocket is safe.

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by wburg

Apparently he thinks it's unsafe. I think most folks in the Pocket live there and commute elsewhere because they think the neighborhood where they work is unsafe, and the Pocket is safe.

That's insane. I jam with a musician that lives with his wife and kids in the pocket, his real day job is a doc, if it were that horrible, doctors wouldn't be living in there with their families.

I think people spend way too much time watching shows like Cops and too much melodramatic news on local TV. Sac has a little seediness to it, but so does *every* city of more than a million metro area size in the US.

[dabeastro]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

But dude, given your comments, I find it hard to believe that you've regularly traveled to SMF on business. The whole town is *not* Oak Park or South Sac.

I have about 9 months of Sac time in the past 3 years. I stay up past Placerville with family while in the area but carpool down to the pocket at least 4 days a week. Perhaps my perception of the area is warped due to spending the vast majority of my time on the southeast side of the Pocket, and traveling around South Sac and towards Elk Grove for work. That is why I originally posted.

I am by no means hysterical about crime and am no stranger to it. Didn't mean to give that impression. Just trying to avoid moving to an area that looks great in the day and has issues at night. (Also why I posted.) Guess that's everywhere though. BTW, I agree dogs are great deterrents. Part of the reason I own them.

I see the Midtown drives and yards upon closer inspection. I typically don't get further east than the federal building when I am north of 50, so I haven't had a good look at the area.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am making a non-business trip later this month that will allow me to get a better feel for the Pocket and the Midtown area. I think the Pocket is the logical choice.

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by dabeastro

I have about 9 months of Sac time in the past 3 years. I stay up past Placerville with family while in the area but carpool down to the pocket at least 4 days a week. Perhaps my perception of the area is warped due to spending the vast majority of my time on the southeast side of the Pocket, and traveling around South Sac and towards Elk Grove for work. That is why I originally posted.

I am by no means hysterical about crime and am no stranger to it. Didn't mean to give that impression. Just trying to avoid moving to an area that looks great in the day and has issues at night. (Also why I posted.) Guess that's everywhere though. BTW, I agree dogs are great deterrents. Part of the reason I own them.

I see the Midtown drives and yards upon closer inspection. I typically don't get further east than the federal building when I am north of 50, so I haven't had a good look at the area.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am making a non-business trip later this month that will allow me to get a better feel for the Pocket and the Midtown area. I think the Pocket is the logical choice.

The South side of Sac is prettyyy skanky, including a great deal of Elk Grove. You've missed a lot of the nice parts of town!

[kiwilover70]

I have lived in Sac for about 14 yrs.I have lived 11 of them in the Pocket Greeenhaven area.First I rented then I bought. We have the most prominent people in Sacramento living in our area as well as lots of police and firefighters with their wives and families.My children attend a school that has a waiting list and other schools in the area have waiting lists too. We had one incident with a stolen stereo from my husbands car ,which he must park ouside,but that has been it in the whole time we have lived in this area.We have bike trails,the river,great parks. Folks are always out walking and riding bikes,walking their dogs. I feel completely safe in my part of town.I would LOVE to not have to commute from my part of town.It is so walking,bike friendly that you could easily do that on a daily basis.Good Luck

[dabeastro]

Just an update to help finish out the thread. After driving about and looking at the Pocket, Davis, Folsom, and Midtown/East Sac, we have concluded that East Sac and the area near Sac State is the best fit. While the Pocket would be an okay alternative, it felt like the community was older and the area was more suburban than we were looking for. East Sac seems like a nice balance and there is decent single family housing available. BTW, Davis was really underwhelming (not what I would consider a 'great' college town) and Folsom almost too sterile with the new subdivisions and big box stores. Thanks for all the help. I may take the Sac job offer if nothing better comes up in Denver or the Northwest.

[dabeastro]

So I will be moving to Sacramento and taking the job in the Pocket mid Jan. I am flying in to look for places to live and have about a week to find something. I have done this before in other areas and it always sucks being in a time crunch and looking for housing. So, with my previous posts in mind, does anyone have suggestions for house hunting? I already use the available online resources (craigslist, the bee, sacrentals, hotpads, housingmaps, various property mgt. firms) Is rolling through neighborhoods looking for 'for rent' signs effective? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Btw, I have expanded my search to include areas up 50 all the way to Placerville. I would avoid traffic by leaving at 5am and leaving at 2pm.

[redhead]

i'd avoid property management companies if at all possible. they always rip you off on your deposits and they rarely respond timely or at all to maintenance issues. in this real estate market i'd rent a house from a private owner; so driving around where you want to live is time consuming but you might find a just what you are looking for. and doing a short term lease with a nice apartment comlex may be a good option while you take your time to look for a house. by-the-way; i haven't lived in sacto for decades and am returning this spring; what area is the "pocket"????

[dabeastro]

The Pocket is most generally, the area west of the Sacramento Executive Airport, west of I-5. Typically referred to as Greenhaven/Pocket.

I am hip to not wanting to deal with crappy property management companies.