Let's talk about Davis, CA !! (Sacramento, Winters: middle-class, apartments, crime)

[letsplaynice]

Hi there! For a few months now, I've been expecting to move to Sacramento in May. But it turns out I may be moving to Davis.

So what is Davis like? I've learned people there are all about bicycling! Sounds good to me. And of course there is UC Davis. I found the website for the Davis Musical Theater Company and that excites me - I totally want to get involved with some community theater where I live!

What about the culture in Davis? Entertainment, dancing, restaurants, parks, community events, libraries, etc....? What does the town look and feel like? Is it clean and comfortable? Who lives there? Please tell me what you know!

Thank you kindly!!!

[Malloric]

Well, it's a smaller town, which some find boring, and expensive. Other than that, I can't really think of anything to complain about. It's 60,000 or so, of which about half are students so it'll feel like a small college town. The other half is mostly middle-class/upper middle-class. Entertainment is what you make of it. If you're looking for clubs, Davis doesn't have that (or really dancing in general). The arts, however, are well represented. Again, it's small so you'll frequent the same places unless you're willing to drive out to Sacramento. There's enough neighborhood bars, cafes, coffee shops to keep me happy enough. The local music scene wasn't bad when I was there... check out kdvs.org. Dancing... there's Firehouse 5 (in Sac). I stay as far as I can away from places that do actual dancing since I can't.

Davis Wiki - The definitive resource for Davis, California

[legers]

I can't really think of anything to complain about. It's 60,000 or so, of which about half are students so it'll feel like a small college town.http://www.filii.info/g.gif (broken link)

[NewToCA]

Well, your profile shows you're from Michigan. So using your state as a baseline, I'd say the atmosphere is a bit like Ann Arbor.

[prettyvacant]

Davis is a relatively small town, lots of students and student-oriented apartments, lots of bicyclists, good schools, safe, clean, liberal, ~70% white, expensive housing, very few opportunities for shopping, very flat, hot in summer, nothing exceptional in architecture, somewhat boring.

[ryuns]

I grew up in a town about the size of a Davis, so I could never call Davis boring. There are an incredible number of things to do for a city its size. Safe, expensive, and generally pleasant. I loved college (though I didn't go to UCD) and generally like being around students, but I got tired of the crowds at the bars, inflated prices, being surrounded by not-always-totally-mature people, etc.

Overall, the students and the parents (the folks who either have the money or make a small sacrifice to get in to a good school district) bid up the prices. If you're not one of those people, it's not a place I'd necessarily seek out.

[Glenview94602]

Daviswiki.org is your friend.

Davis Farmers market is every Wednesday and Saturday and is hugely popular. In the summer, there is live entertainment and a lot of people picnic until the sun goes down.
If you are a biker, you will be in heaven. We (even though I don't live there now) are home to the USA Cycling Hall of Fame.

There are a lot of good restaurants (espcially Thai or Asian). North Davis is mostly apartments and a lot of students live there. Downtown Davis has a lot of great retail, smaller stores, and UCD is adjacent. South Davis has lots of apartments, but newer and more expensive. The further out you go, the more suburban it gets. East Davis now has a Target and a fruit stand, along with some pretty nice homes. East and South Davis (outside of the area near South Davis Safeway) are where a lot of the townies live. West Davis is quiet and residential generally, but without a suburban feel. West Davis also feels more rural the further out you go towards Winters (which is maybe 15 or 20 mins to the West and is a true farm town).

Picnic Day, usually the 2nd or 3rd Saturday in April is a bigtime open house for the university. They have a ton of events, a parade, science exhibits, a big battle of the bands that goes from like 2pm until long into the night, lots of kids stuff etc. Anyone can come and lots of people do. There is a lot of drinking associated with it, with out of towners causing the most problems, but on campus things are fine.

In May, the 2nd biggest festival in Davis is the Whole Earth Festival. It is much more mellow. Its sort of a new age picnic day for hippies. There are all sorts of "spiritual" things there, lots of tie die shirts, alternative music, and the like. It takes place for three days over Mothers Day weekend on the UC Davis qaud.

If you have anymore questions, don't hesistate to ask.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by Glenview94602

Daviswiki.org is your friend.
Picnic Day, usually the 2nd or 3rd Saturday in April is a bigtime open house for the university. They have a ton of events, a parade, science exhibits, a big battle of the bands that goes from like 2pm until long into the night, lots of kids stuff etc. Anyone can come and lots of people do. There is a lot of drinking associated with it, with out of towners causing the most problems, but on campus things are fine.

In May, the 2nd biggest festival in Davis is the Whole Earth Festival. It is much more mellow. Its sort of a new age picnic day for hippies. There are all sorts of "spiritual" things there, lots of tie die shirts, alternative music, and the like. It takes place for three days over Mothers Day weekend on the UC Davis qaud.

I was just reading in the Sac Bee over the weekend about a new ordinance to stop underage drinking in Davis. The article mentioned these 2 events as huge drunk fests.

Found an article: Proposed Law Aims To Crack Down On Davis Underage Drinkers « CBS Sacramento

It’s called the Minor Alcohol Preclusion Act – would allow Davis police to write tickets to anyone under 21 who they believe to have alcohol in their system. Currently they can only cite those with open containers. Statistics show 75 percent of alcohol-related crime in Davis involves a person between 18 and 20 years old. Under the new proposal police say they would have to observe the person showing signs of impairment — and a voluntary breath test could prove the officers wrong.

Here's another article:News in Brief: Davis City Council proposes underage public drinking restrictions | The Aggie

The Minor Alcohol Preclusion Act Ordinance would make it illegal for anyone under 21 years old to have a blood alcohol content equal to or greater than .01 percent on any street or highway, in any public place or in any place open to the public...

The other thing that happened recently in Davis, is the OWS protest & pepper spray incident. It made national news. This was just posted in the SacBee tonight. UC Davis pepper spray report delayed as police union threatens legal action - Education - The Sacramento Bee

[catharsis]

Originally Posted by letsplaynice

Hi there! For a few months now, I've been expecting to move to Sacramento in May. But it turns out I may be moving to Davis.

So what is Davis like? I've learned people there are all about bicycling! Sounds good to me. And of course there is UC Davis. I found the website for the Davis Musical Theater Company and that excites me - I totally want to get involved with some community theater where I live!

What about the culture in Davis? Entertainment, dancing, restaurants, parks, community events, libraries, etc....? What does the town look and feel like? Is it clean and comfortable? Who lives there? Please tell me what you know!

Thank you kindly!!!

just think beige. That's what I always think when I visit Davis. Beige.

[sacramento916]

Davis is a nice liberal college town. It has a lot of activities for a town its size because of the university there.