Texas to Calfornia yikes! (Sacramento, Roseville: short sale, foreclosures, homes)

[kidsgalore]

Looks like my family and I will be taking on the adventure of moving to CA. The schools are the most important factor to me. Each school I look at I am putting in the zip code to the great schools website. Here are some of my questions.

Are there truly 21-25 kids in a classroom? I have twins that will be starting kindergarten. I have a boy…a boy who needs structure! As a Special Ed teacher I can’t imagine managing a class with that many kids.

Why are some of the schools ranked 10 and then there is a 5 thrown in there in the same area?

What town has the best family activities and stuff for kids to do?

We can spend in the low 300,000’s so what is the best place to live? Is Gold River nice? Folsom seems so expensive but if the schools are the best it doesn’t matter. El Dorado Hills? I’m having trouble focusing on an area.

We have a son with pretty bad asthma is he going to live a life of misery?

Just out of curiosity how does buying a foreclosure work? I’m sure we will learn about this shortly but I’m so curious. Is it something we should pursue in your opinion?

Last question and really this is silly…what about charming areas? Can I bike to the grocery store?

I just care about the schools and the kids being in a great area. I just had to add a couple of other questions.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by kidsgalore

Looks like my family and I will be taking on the adventure of moving to CA. The schools are the most important factor to me. Each school I look at I am putting in the zip code to the great schools website. Here are some of my questions.

Are there truly 21-25 kids in a classroom? I have twins that will be starting kindergarten. I have a boy…a boy who needs structure! As a Special Ed teacher I can’t imagine managing a class with that many kids.

Why are some of the schools ranked 10 and then there is a 5 thrown in there in the same area?

What town has the best family activities and stuff for kids to do?

We can spend in the low 300,000’s so what is the best place to live? Is Gold River nice? Folsom seems so expensive but if the schools are the best it doesn’t matter. El Dorado Hills? I’m having trouble focusing on an area.

We have a son with pretty bad asthma is he going to live a life of misery?

Just out of curiosity how does buying a foreclosure work? I’m sure we will learn about this shortly but I’m so curious. Is it something we should pursue in your opinion?

Last question and really this is silly…what about charming areas? Can I bike to the grocery store?

I just care about the schools and the kids being in a great area. I just had to add a couple of other questions.

We have lived in both Texas and Sacramento area, but we lived in Sac many moons ago, so all I can judge things on now would be hear say and the occassion visit. Still we love the area and I think you will as well.

As for property, even though Ca has taken a nosedive, yes prices are still darn high, but the Folsum area and El Dorado Hills would certainly be my first choices. Where in Texas do you live? If you live in the Dallas area, you will like the area near Folsum I would think.

YOu son will not have any more problems with Asthma in Sac than he has in Texas most likely..

Can you bike to the grocery store, can you now? That depends on whether you are just a few blocks or so from shopping or choose to live further out of town. If your views are on the conservative side, again you should be happy in Folsum or El Dorado Hills and they are very family oriented.

Another area you might want to consider would be Roseville, but I will let someone else with more experience clue you in on that area.

NIta

[NewToCA]

Considering your priorities, I'd say that Folsom, Roseville and Rocklin are some very good choices in your price range.

If you factor in some "charm" and being able to bike to a grocery store, perhaps Fair Oaks.

[nmnita]

I see you also mentioned foreclosures. They can take time but some go smoothly. One granddaughter tried a short sale (slightly different) finally they had to just forget it as it was taking forever. The other granddaughter did a foreclosure, it did take a little longer than a regular sale but only about 3 or 4 weeks.

YOu mention 21-25 kids in a class room, if you are talking special Ed I think the classes are smaller, if you are talking regular classes this isn't a lot of kids. I remember when we were in school and our kids as well a standard size class was about 30 kids, We all did fine. Now days with teachers aides, both volunteer and paid 25 is workable.

Nita

[butterfly_223]

I would say Roseville, Folsom, and El Dorado Hills are these area I recommend. Roseville is nice and maintained well and many of the homes are newly built. Folsom is more expensive. I would live their if I could afford it as its beautiful with the Folsom Lake area, many biking trails, nature trails, the fish hatchery, and kayaking. El Dorado Hills is pretty at night overlooks the valley of Sacramento.There are wild animals like deer that wander around. And snakes too during the warm months. But don't let that scare you they keep to themselves really. Granite Bay is nice too. ( close to Folsom Lake)

[butterfly_223]

Fair Oaks is a charming town and is located next to the American River. It has small town area with a theater for children, some cute shops, coffee hang out, and a park. There are a group of native roosters that hang out and cross the street from time to time. They are really cool to watch. I really do not know how the schools rate. I guess the best way to know if these areas will fit your lifestyle is to take a vacation and visit. And also doing what your doing asking others opinions about the area.

[butterfly_223]

For my asthma I just use a air purifier running all night to clean up the air.

[kidsgalore]

Thank you so much! I'm kind of getting excited. Is Folsom a better investment? I'm wondering that because it's the most expensive. Not that expensive is better I'm just thinking about the possibility of us being transferred again and having to sell whatever we buy.

I laughed when I read the comment about the number of students in the classrooms. I guess that is true we did have that many kids in a class when we were growing up but none of them have meet my son. It's so scary to put your kids in a new school district when you don't know a soul. I see a lot of volunteering in my future.

[NewToCA]

If moving again is a concern, I'd probably focus on the Folsom and Roseville/Rocklin areas.

[volleyballer]

I also would focus on Folsom, Roseville or Rocklin with your school concern and price range. They all have great schools. I know some of the districts in the Sac area (not sure about these three) are raising their teacher:student ratio to 29:1 or around there. I'm a teacher and want to cry when I think of this. My district is doing 24:1 for kinder, 29:1 for primary grades 1-3 and 32:1 for intermediate 4-6th. It's a CA budget thing, and I don't see any relief in the future. But if you stick with Folsom, Roseville or Rocklin, they have more money in their districts so the pain might not be as bad. One thing, Folsom is in Sacramento County, and Roseville/Rocklin are in Placer county. Placer county is fairing better in this crisis. As far as holding prices or value, Folsom is most expensive, then Rocklin, and then Roseville. With that, they are all considered to be quality places to live. I wouldn't go as far as saying Folsom holds its value more, but it could be the case. Where are you going to work? Is a job part of the location decision?

When you do meet your son's teacher, make sure you tell him/her that he needs structure. Or tell the office and ask for him to be placed in a classroom with a lot of structure. We are used to parents being very involved, and we accommodate to what the child needs. So make sure your voice is heard and your son should do fine.