Do we underestimate and downplay how Great Sacramento weather really is? (Vallejo: crime rates, property tax)

[shelato]

Originally Posted by mixxalot

Looking at warmer dry parts of the country that are not super expensive for real estate perhaps rural Arizona or New Mexico do not get much rain, cold or snow?

Check out Bisbee Arizona. Its a former mining town in the mountains of Southern Arizona, about 5500 ft elevation. It's less hot than Sacramento during the summer time and a little cooler than Sacramento during the winter.

https://weatherspark.com/y/2978/Aver...tes-Year-Round

https://weatherspark.com/y/1157/Aver...tes-Year-Round

It is also a lot cheaper.

https://www.redfin.com/city/1658/AZ/Bisbee

[Chimérique]

Good luck, Mix, maybe Bisbee would be right for you. I would not want to live at 5500 ft though.
Remember you still might have to pay California State income tax even if you move out of state.

It was gorgeous in Sacramento today high of 72F. I almost went skiing today it would have been a great day for that.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by SkyLark2019

Most people acclimate to the highs and lows of Northern California.

On the same token many loathe the heat of the lower half of California. A friend of mine used to pass out from the sustained above 100 degree days during summer. Compared to that the cool of NorCal is delightful to many.

California weather isn't nearly as different north/south as it is east/west, which I think is why some people don't like the Central Valley. Places like Redding and Fresno are almost as hot as Vegas, which keeps them undesirable and cheaper. In fact, Redding is the hottest place in the world at its latitude or higher. It's also a big reason why our friends are leaving Sacramento for Sonoma after two years -- too hot for them, even though Sacramento is the least hot place in the Central Valley. Still too many 100+ days, i think there were 42 of them last year. And that's not as bad as Redding or Fresno.

The sweet spots in California are either near the SoCal coast or about 20 miles away from the NorCal coast, if you like mild and sunny weather. We live in inland San Diego, but not too far inland. Less hot than Sacramento, and less cool than Sacramento, although this winter has been weird and wet.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by shelato

Check out Bisbee Arizona. Its a former mining town in the mountains of Southern Arizona, about 5500 ft elevation. It's less hot than Sacramento during the summer time and a little cooler than Sacramento during the winter.

https://weatherspark.com/y/2978/Aver...tes-Year-Round

https://weatherspark.com/y/1157/Aver...tes-Year-Round

It is also a lot cheaper.

https://www.redfin.com/city/1658/AZ/Bisbee

I've been wanting to visit Bisbee for years! It's so intriguing. It was a really dense and bustling town back in the day, with all the old architecture and pretty tall historic buildings downtown. I hear it's very artsy and unique.

[Chimérique]

Hey Skylark2019,

Folks who don't actually live in Sacramento have no idea how much our everyday Summer weather includes half the day of very comfortable, down right cool weather as part of this mix.

Very few places across the country cool daily in the Summer like Sacramento does, into the upper 50's and 60's, most places in the Central Valley do not cool like Sacramento does.

This daily cooling really matters alot and makes a huge difference in our comfort level.

[Chimérique]

Note that Sonoma is dramatically more expensive than Sacramento, not worth it.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

Note that Sonoma is dramatically more expensive than Sacramento, not worth it.

Well, they'll get less for the money for sure, but they are open to all of Sonoma County, not just the city iteslf. They just love areas like Sebastopol. They want to live somewhere scenic and charming, where there's infrastructure nearby but also wineries, the redwoods, and the coast. They just don't like the topography, the heat, and the culture of Sacramento. (Admittedly, the last two summers have been particularly brutal, so the adjustment was difficult coming from Oakland)

They could always go to Santa Rosa for the most affordable housing stock in the area, not terrible but considered sort of meh I guess. It has nice areas for sure, and also bad areas. But that's like any city over 100,000 people.

Different wish lists for different people, that's why we see YouTube videos of homes in UT and TN selling for $5+ mil that aren't any nice than what you'd get for the same money in California. Even if we had that kind of money, I'd much rather live in California where we have such better climate, scenery, and variety of activities.

Chim, I don't think (so far) California is allowed to keep charging state income tax to people who move away. In fact, I don't think that would ever be constitutional, even though it's been discussed. Not sure about parts of those wealth taxes either (taxing unrealized income, like stock appreciation, would potentially require people to sell some of those stocks just to pay it, and if the stock goes down later, they would have to allow people to deduct the losses the same way to be legal). But we're not there yet. This state is testing the boundaries, but pushing and pushing to squeeze more and more out of people is not a good strategy in the long term.

[Chimérique]

TS,
I love Sacramento Summers, and Sacramento summers are definitely no worse than more 90% of the rest of country, but If you are from a place that rarely experiences real/normal summer heat (75% of Bay Area) its probably hard to adjust and if you have the funds to live in the expensive California coastal belt, of course one might prefer that. Only folks from the Bay Area and California coast obsess about summer heat that most of country experiences.

As far as amenities, the Sacramento area has more to offer than Sonoma County; there are plenty of beautiful neighborhoods in the Sacramento area. The only thing I used to like about Sonoma County and Napa Country over Sacramento is the vineyards and wineries, but the larger Sacramento area has wineries and vineyards as well and they are by far less snooty and less expensive, and free in many cases.

The time has come that the larger Sacramento area has gained enough culture and amenities similar to the coast, while simultaneously the Coast has become so outrageously expensive coupled with diminished quality. The coast is totally not worth it in my opinion. If there is some amentiy on the coast that I want or need it is rare, yet still accessible to Sacramento should we really want it.

For well over 25 yrs there are some circumstances where one would have to pay California state income tax while living in another state.

March 18, 2023

Sonoma: 60F
Sacramento: 60F

Yesterdays High Temp:

Sonoma 67F
Sacramento 67F
Oakland 65F

As a regular snow skier I love that Sacramento by far closer with easier access to Tahoe Ski Resorts than Sonoma County.

[dontbelievehim]

Originally Posted by shelato

Check out Bisbee Arizona. Its a former mining town in the mountains of Southern Arizona, about 5500 ft elevation. It's less hot than Sacramento during the summer time and a little cooler than Sacramento during the winter.

https://weatherspark.com/y/2978/Aver...tes-Year-Round

https://weatherspark.com/y/1157/Aver...tes-Year-Round

It is also a lot cheaper.

https://www.redfin.com/city/1658/AZ/Bisbee

Be careful about the weather in AZ. Cant always trust the averages because of climate change/drought. Theres a foothill town in az that has exact summers as fresno. Well, one day i looked at their weather during a bad drought year and the weather was anything but. I saw dozens of 110 days there, it was horrific. Even during a bad drought year in fresno, you might only see 1-3 110f days. Check out newish data if youre looking at anything west of the Mississippi - nothing older than a decade data.

[mixxalot]

I’ll check out Bisbee, AZ and looking at Myrtle Beach, SC as well. No rush since I bought my home two years ago and I do have a nice pool and hot tub so it’s comfortable most of the year except winter and early spring. I handle hot humid better than cold rain and snow. Taxes are higher here in California than most other states.