Possible move to Sacramento (Citrus Heights, Davis: apartment, rental homes, crime rate)

[davidt614]

Hello. I am a husband and father of four. I will be entering seminary in a year. One of the seminaries I am able to attend is "City Sacramento Seminary".

I live in Lincoln, NE. But have lived in Denver, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

Can you recommend any affordable areas for rental homes for a family of six? Safe and cheap.

On craigslist I noticed Auburn is a ways out but had some available. I also saw Cameron Park did as well.

Is it even possible to find a rental home that is 900/month in a safe area? I'm not too concerned about the distance.

Last question. How is the job market? I am former law enforcement. I will most likely be entering a new field. Are there jobs available?

Thank you.

David

[wburg]

The job market here is very very bad. If you don't have a job lined up you're in for an uphill battle.

Your best bet for proximity to the school (in Land Park, a very pricey neighborhood) might be West Sacramento, just across the Sacramento River. $900/month for a house with 4 kids is stretching it and then some--that's more like 1br apartment rent in these parts.

[dbrick]

Auburn is very cute for families. It's a small-ish town with an old-timey feel to it. There's ample affordable rental housing all over the Sacramento area - I think if you're looking for a newer home with lots of square footage and a two-car garage, $900 is pushing it, but I think if you look in suburban areas, there are a lot of places to rent these days.

Cameron Park is probably more affordable than Auburn, but I don't know very much about it, sorry.

As it is everywhere, there are jobs if you're looking and meeting people. My workplace has some openings, but right now they're for experienced people. Occasionally, entry level jobs come open, and if you're good with attendance and you work hard, you can move up to something quite well-paying.

Sacramento has some tech jobs, some agricultural work and there are a lot of municipalities positions here. However, the governmental jobs are becoming increasingly difficult to enter as times here have made budgets tight.

[kalyson]

$900 will get an apartment, maybe. House? I don't think so. At least not in a nice area. Look at listings on Craigslist.org.
Safest areas are in Folsom, El Dorado Hills but are expensive to rent.
Auburn is a bad commute - hwy 80 at rush hour is horrendous. 40-45 minutes at odd hours, maybe.
If I were looking in town for a safe location, I would check out gated Westlake in Natomas, McKinley Park, William Land Park, East Sacramento, Tahoe Park.
Sacramento has pockets of safe areas next to unsafe areas. It is a patch-quilt of good and less desirable neighborhoods.
Overall, Sacramento's crime rate is very high. Per capita, it is out of proportion to other cities of its size and even larger.
I would pay more to get a safer place, even accepting a much smaller house/apt if necessary. It is worth it to me, anyway, to avoid the crime.

[bigtomatohome]

You're looking at more like $1,200 a month for what you are talking about. West Sacramento is good advice I think, as are the better parts of Citrus Heights. Scour craigslist.org, that's your best resource.

[jguillot]

Originally Posted by davidt614

Hello. I am a husband and father of four. I will be entering seminary in a year. One of the seminaries I am able to attend is "City Sacramento Seminary".

I live in Lincoln, NE. But have lived in Denver, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

Can you recommend any affordable areas for rental homes for a family of six? Safe and cheap.

On craigslist I noticed Auburn is a ways out but had some available. I also saw Cameron Park did as well.

Is it even possible to find a rental home that is 900/month in a safe area? I'm not too concerned about the distance.

Last question. How is the job market? I am former law enforcement. I will most likely be entering a new field. Are there jobs available?

Thank you.

David

There are a lot of unemployed people in California, so competition for jobs is fierce. However, jobs are available. You might check out job listings with the UC Davis Health System in Sacramento. Many of their jobs don't require a health care background and the benefits are the best you will ever find.