Should I move from Phoenix, AZ to Sacramento area? (San Francisco: apartment, rent)

[Viktorlen1326]

Hello,

I currently live in a suburb of Phoenix and I have lived here my whole life. I am 26 years old and I have been working in the veterinary field for the last four years. I am engagaed and we just want to get the hell out of Arizona. I have this bug up my butt to just pack up our three dogs and drive somewhere but I am so scared that I won't be able to make it.

Is there affordable housing in northern california. I would love a change of scenery. I have had my fair share of cacti and desert. :-)

I don't mind picking up any job or two jobs to make this happen. Rent would ideally stay below $800/month. I just want a change.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Majin]

For $800/month maybe you should consider moving to Kentucky.

[veganwriter]

You sure like hot places.
There's some pretty places in Sacramento ... but I've never lived there. Traveled through and to fairly often. There's a lot of farming and ranching around Sacramento... so you'd probably find work no problem. (That means your salary would adjust.)

Have you thought about Redding or Oreville, CA?
Like any big move, I'd suggest you move there and rent for a while before buying. Give yourself a year (six months at the least) to drive around the area and check things out.

Davis (just outside of Sac) is another choice. They have an outstanding veterinary school so it would be a great place to make contacts.

[ryuns]

Sacramento is nice, and there are places where you could swing it on that rent, but not any of the nice places. I'd definitely recommend Sac if you have job prospects here. It's a very livable city--low COL relative to some of the jobs available (and to California generally), many pleasant neighborhoods, lots of greenery in the city and near the rivers (otherwise, it's currently pretty brown, given the drought), lots to do nearby. Weather is somewhat similar to AZ, but summers are far less oppressive and driving an hour either direction will give you a big change in weather (due to the Pacific on the west and mountains on the east)

But if all you want is a change of scenery, you don't need city life, and your budget is limited, there are other options. Without any additional preferences expressed, that could be a lot of places.

[My Other Self]

The COL is cheaper in AZ. I currently live in a very small 1 bedroom apartment in a relatively "rough" suburb. If I made the same amount of in Mesa, Tempe, or Chandler, I already know I'd be able to afford a better place in a much better neighborhood (having spent a lot of time in metro Phoenix myself).

If you're looking for a change in scenery, I wouldn't recommend Sacramento.

[wburg]

$800 a month rent is feasible but kind of on the low end of the spectrum. Cost of living is higher but average income is probably higher too. It gets hot here and it's pretty dry, but not as hot and dry as Phoenix.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by Viktorlen1326

Is there affordable housing in northern california. I would love a change of scenery. I have had my fair share of cacti and desert. :-)

I don't mind picking up any job or two jobs to make this happen. Rent would ideally stay below $800/month.

If you want NorCal and lower COL, I'd suggest looking north of Sacramento. Starting with Yuba City and looking northward.

OR, since you are ok with heat you could always look in the central San Joaquin valley - Modesto, Turlock, Fresno, Visalia, Hanford, etc... much more rural than Sacramento, but nice in many different ways.

[NinaN]

With 3 dogs, you will need a house instead of an apartment. Tough budget for that, but get far enough away from the city and it might work.

[Archan]

What are your interests? The great thing about the Sacramento area is the proximity to activities. You are 100 miles from Napa, 100 miles from Lake Tahoe and 100 miles from San Francisco. They each have very different feels and many things to do. I don't think that you have that much variety within 100 miles from Phoenix.

[wburg]

You're also 0 miles from Sacramento, which has a lot of things to do in its own right. But yeah, you can spend your whole life exploring California and not run out of new stuff to do.