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Old 02-02-2012, 07:24 AM
 
46 posts, read 154,838 times
Reputation: 25

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Hi All,
My mom and I have had SAD for over 10 years in Seattle and this mother and daughter are ready to move! Even though we’re only a 20-30 minute drive from downtown Seattle for arts and entertainment, it’s all kind of “been there, done that” for us.

We’ve heard some great “general” things about Sacramento that might meet some of our needs, but would need the help of others to nail that down. I know the weather is good, but how hot does it get in the summertime? We are looking for new experiences and new people in a diverse environment ethnically and LGBT wise.

This will probably be my mom’s final move as she is 70. As her daughter I want to make sure I talk to as many people as possible to get insight on this area to see if it is a good fit for both of us. So! I would love to hear from people who know things about Sacramento about the following:

1. How hot does it get in the summertime there?
2. The arts and entertainment options (or how far you may have to go to get to them), my mom loves the theatre, opera & museums.
3. My mom is up there in age although very active: loves being outside walking by water, going to parks and such. She’s also a snowshoer, horseback rider and hiker. She likes to be outside particularly around water.
4. Diversity of lifestyles LGBT and ethnically
5. I love an artsy environment. Being around artists is something I would like to tap into for my own personal work.
6. If the air quality is good or bad there.
7. We pay $900/mo for a 2 bedroom apartment now and want to know if that is possible in Sacramento. Note: Job isn’t a problem b/c we are on a fixed income, but am a little concerned about electricity bills there.
8. Is there a big senior community my mom could tap into?
9. Is Sacramento considered a pretty safe city
10. Some specific safe, residential neighborhoods to look into for rentals.

11. Finally, are there wonderful hospitals and health care in that area?

I have spent countless hours on the internet reading posts and feel overwhelmed, to say the least.

Any insight is greatly appreciated! Pros and Cons of living there is also welcomed.
It might be painfully obvious that this is my first experience posting on forms, so I apologize if I've done something wrong.
Thank you so much for ANYTHING, no matter how little, you choose to contribute to helping us figure this out through this forum!


Denise


p.s. Someone should start a company that helps people with this stuff. I'd bet juuuust about ANYTHING they'd get a niche and make some serious bank! If you guys know of anyone that does this, pass it along, please!!!
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

Last edited by deniseld; 02-02-2012 at 07:48 AM..
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Old 02-02-2012, 08:39 AM
 
Location: Sacramento
14,044 posts, read 27,122,537 times
Reputation: 7373
You've mentioned in other threads that you've started the past few days that you dislike 90 degree temperatures. In Sacramento, you likely will have at least 3 months where the temperature will exceed that daily, often hitting 100 degrees.

If you don't like heat, I'm not sure this is going to be a choice you'd want to consider.


//www.city-data.com/forum/22796440-post18.html
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Old 02-02-2012, 10:44 AM
 
Location: Northern California
979 posts, read 2,083,777 times
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I'd look at Bay Area suburbs. Sacramento is nice but it can get very hot during summer.
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Old 02-02-2012, 01:41 PM
 
1,321 posts, read 2,640,140 times
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It's hot but it doesn't go on forever. A couple months of hot days, bookended by cool mornings and evenings. The trees in the much of the city really help. Average temps: Sacramento, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arts scene is good. Whatever you're interested in, I'd suggest googling "Sacramento + [activity]". There's plenty of performing arts and a number of good museums.

Very LGBT friendly. Not as large and not as outspoken as Seattle, but not many places are.

One of the more ethnically diverse places you'll find. Depends on the metric, but I find it a lot more integrated than other "diverse" places.

Air quality isn't great--much worse than Seattle but generally improving over time and not as bad as a lot of spots in California and Texas.

Electricity bills shouldn't be too bad unless you live in a poorly insulated spot and need it the temp at 68 all summer. SMUD has some of the lowest rates on the West Coast. Plus, the cool evenings and mornings in the summer mean you can spend a lot of the day with the windows open and the AC off.

Health care should be fine if you can afford it. UC Med Center, etc.

On neighborhoods and crime, check the forums here--lots of answers to those questions.
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Old 02-03-2012, 08:49 PM
 
46 posts, read 154,838 times
Reputation: 25
I spoke with a guy in person today who suggested the Berkeley area. Any thoughts?
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Old 02-06-2012, 12:41 PM
 
1,321 posts, read 2,640,140 times
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Well, it's expensive, but the East Bay is definitely the sunny side. Sounds like you're kind of all over the place--I'd suggest a roadtrip.
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Old 02-06-2012, 05:09 PM
 
96 posts, read 298,959 times
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You won't find a good one bedroom in Berkeley for $900 per month, let alone a two bedroom.
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Old 02-06-2012, 08:42 PM
 
8,680 posts, read 17,203,538 times
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Berkeley is fun if you're a college student or want to live like one, but I'm not sure how good it would be for a woman in her 70s. It's a neat place, used to spend a lot of time there and I have a great fondness for it, but I doubt your mom is the sort to spend a lot of time going to punk shows at Gilman Street or hanging out at coffee shops on Telegraph. And yeah, $900 won't go very far in Berkeley. Even with the collapse of the real estate bubble, the Bay Area isn't cheap and Berkeley in particular has a ton of college students all looking for apartments. The less expensive end of the city is also the part where Berkeley turns into Oakland, and I'm sure you're probably not interested in Oakland.

Sacramento heat is actually pretty tolerable because it's dry, it cools off at night, and it doesn't last as long as some people seem to think it does.

Quote:
1. How hot does it get in the summertime there?
2. The arts and entertainment options (or how far you may have to go to get to them), my mom loves the theatre, opera & museums.
3. My mom is up there in age although very active: loves being outside walking by water, going to parks and such. She’s also a snowshoer, horseback rider and hiker. She likes to be outside particularly around water.
4. Diversity of lifestyles LGBT and ethnically
5. I love an artsy environment. Being around artists is something I would like to tap into for my own personal work.
6. If the air quality is good or bad there.
7. We pay $900/mo for a 2 bedroom apartment now and want to know if that is possible in Sacramento. Note: Job isn’t a problem b/c we are on a fixed income, but am a little concerned about electricity bills there.
8. Is there a big senior community my mom could tap into?
9. Is Sacramento considered a pretty safe city
10. Some specific safe, residential neighborhoods to look into for rentals.

11. Finally, are there wonderful hospitals and health care in that area?
1. As hot as 100-105 degrees, typically adding up to a couple of weeks out of the year. Most of the summer heat peaks in the 90s, but because humidity is low, shade makes things much more comfortable (and Sacramento's older neighborhoods have lots of tree shade) and the river cools things off at night.

2. Quite a bit. The main city gallery is the Crocker, which just quadrupled its size, and there are regional museums in Davis and Folsom. There are also a lot of small art galleries in the central city, most of whom open their doors for a monthly event called "Second Saturday" (although it has turned more into an open-air street festival drawing 10,000+ people, so a lot of galleries actually hold an opening for art collectors the preceding Thursday.) There are also a number of history museums and house museums in Sacramento--the Railroad Museum, the California Museum, Military Museum, Stanford and Governor's Mansions, Sutter's Fort, Aerospace Museum (at an old air force base just outside town), Indian Museum and even a medical history museum. Apparently there's opera too:
Sacramento Opera Home Page
Welcome to Capitol Opera

3. We have two rivers, Old Sacramento runs along the Sacramento and the Jedediah Smith Bike Trail (most popular bike trail in the US) runs along the American. I'm pretty sure there are places for horseback riding too (I sometimes see horse poo on the trail.) Snowshoeing requires a trip into the Sierras, but we're pretty close to those (a couple hours' drive.)
4. Sacramento is considered one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States, with the second-largest LGBT community in the country.
5. See arts above. We've got an active arts community.
6. If you have allergies, you'll be allergic to something here. Air quality gets pretty bad in summer, because we're basically in the bottom of a giant bowl.
7. $900 is do-able in an okay neighborhood. Our electricity is cheap because we have a municipally owned electric utility.
8. Yes, lots of active seniors in the older neighborhoods.
9. Not so much. We're not super dangerous, but we generally have more crime than the average city our size. How much and how intense depends largely on neighborhood--the rough parts tend to be the north and south ends of the city.
10. I'm partial to Sacramento's central city, Downtown and Midtown, which is the region's arts, music and culture hub (as well as the heart of the local LGBT community) but you might prefer Land Park, Curtis Park or East Sacramento, which are close to the central city and generally quieter and safer.
11. Yes, there are some very highly rated hospitals, and lots of them--Sutter General, Mercy General, UC Davis Medical Center, multiple Kaiser locations, etc.
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Old 02-09-2012, 02:35 PM
 
14 posts, read 26,361 times
Reputation: 15
Consider Roseville. (I am in Lincoln and love it).


1. How hot does it get in the summertime there? hot! Not as hot as when I was a kid however. You can't get sun without heat.
2. The arts and entertainment options (or how far you may have to go to get to them). Definitely in Sacramento and you can drive not too far from Roseville to get to them.
3. My mom is up there in age although very active: loves being outside walking by water, going to parks and such. She’s also a snowshoer, horseback rider and hiker. She likes to be outside particularly around water. Sacramento has the Discovery Park that she would love.
4. Diversity of lifestyles LGBT and ethnically Probably depends on the section of Sac or Roseville.
5. I love an artsy environment. Being around artists is something I would like to tap into for my own personal work. hmmm. Bay area better. (Are you only considering CA?)
6. If the air quality is good or bad there. Bad! Better in the suburbs.
7. We pay $900/mo for a 2 bedroom apartment now and want to know if that is possible in Sacramento. Note: Job isn’t a problem b/c we are on a fixed income, but am a little concerned about electricity bills there. You can do that in Roseville and Lincoln. I don't know Sac rent so listen to others.
8. Is there a big senior community my mom could tap into? ??
9. Is Sacramento considered a pretty safe city NO! In the suburbs we compare our low crime to Sacramentos.
10. Some specific safe, residential neighborhoods to look into for rentals.
As far as Sac, I don't know. If you want to know more about Roseville or Lincoln ask me and I will pull up a map and let you know.
11. Finally, are there wonderful hospitals and health care in that area? Sutter Roseville. Sutter, Sutter, Sutter. I don't recommend UC Davis. I have health problems and so got to know them too well.
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Old 02-10-2012, 01:19 AM
 
Location: Folsom
5,128 posts, read 9,792,093 times
Reputation: 3735
Quote:
Originally Posted by me-ow View Post
Consider Roseville. (I am in Lincoln and love it).


11. Finally, are there wonderful hospitals and health care in that area? Sutter Roseville. Sutter, Sutter, Sutter. I don't recommend UC Davis. I have health problems and so got to know them too well.
If you don't have health insurance you can pretty much forget about Sutter. No charity care. They claim they provide charity care but it is in a much smaller percentage than all the other facilities. Also, Sutter has the most expensive rates of out of all the other healthcare systems. Yea, they have good care, but not any better than any of the other facilities/systems, AND they have limited contracts with most health insurance companies due to their outrageous prices. California Hospitals: Prices Rising Rapidly, But Quality Varies - Kaiser Health News

Quote:
California requires hospitals to publicly reveal more information about their finances than other states do. Hospitals must report to the California Office of Statewide Planning and Development how much they collect from insurers, employers and patients. The data show: -- Sutter Health is California’s priciest large hospital system. An average day’s worth of care cost 37 percent more than the state average, even more than the University of California hospitals, which see more of the sickest patients.
Sacramento has multiple healthcare systems - Kaiser, Mercy (CHW, now called Destiny), UC Davis and Sutter.

Not sure why anyone would recommend against UC Davis since it is the regional research, education & only Level 1 trauma center in the area. At least they have a good reason to be elitists. UC Davis News & Information :: UC Davis Facts: UC Davis distinctions

One thing I have certainly noticed since moving to Sacramento is that although it appears that there are more healthcare providers, the reality is that care is dependent on the type of health insurance coverage you carry, AND there is still an access issue. The Medi-Cal provider networks are awful....as the state requires most recipients to be in a Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan. Many primary care providers are closed to new members, and are limiting the types of payment they will accept.
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