Is Sacramento a good compromise for us? (Winters, Oak Park: to rent, mortgage)

[Roonil]

My husband and I are trying to find our perfect city! We know we'll never have everything that both of us wants, but hoping to find the city that has the most elements we're each looking for, and has the sacrifices balanced between us. Warning: Sacramento is more skewed towards my tastes.

We are from Wisconsin. He loves it, and I hate it. I've always told my parents, as soon as I am able, I'm out of here! But now I have him to consider too. Hoping for the experts' advice based on our below preferences...

He likes: seasons, snow, fishing, pickup trucks, hanging out with his friends, low cost of living, residing in a house, doing his own house repairs, cloudy days, Dallas Cowboys

He hates: humidity, hot temperatures, moving a lot (his mom did it to him as a kid, and it's severely colored his opinion of it negatively), renting

I like: 50-80-degree range of temperatures ideally, good mass transit (or at least good walkability and bike-ability), city amenities (like festivals, restaurants, parks, classes), walking my dog all year-round, gardening, wearing sandals

I hate: long winters, more than a few inches of snow, getting into a cold vehicle or cold bed, when it gets dark at 4pm, mosquitoes, wearing four sweaters under my coat

So, based on this criteria, do you think my husband would hate it in Sacramento?? Is it worth a visit for us to come check it out? Could Sacramento be a compromise for us? I know he'd miss the snow, and not be overly happy with the heat in summer, but there are much worse places we've been looking at, as far as heat and humidity. Humidity is a deal-breaker for him, and cold winters are a dealbreaker for me, so this has been tough so far.

I've been posting copies of this on boards for other cities. Our current frontrunner is Denver, and we plan to visit this winter to see how cold it really is, but I'm wondering if we could do better.

Other info: We're still young (mid-20s) and not totally set on careers yet. We also plan to be child-free, which is part of why I want to live more urban with fun things to fill the weekends (WI is super boring for non-parents). We're currently lower-middle class, but hoping to rise up in the next few years.

Thanks!

[Majin]

Housing is expensive, if you are mid-20s and don't have a good career/job lined up you want to rent a house you will be living in a ghetto.

[Roonil]

Originally Posted by Majin

Housing is expensive, if you are mid-20s and don't have a good career/job lined up you want to rent a house you will be living in a ghetto.

Well that's not promising... Lol.

[ryuns]

You'd probably like Sacramento proper. He might like the suburbs. But you might find a compromise. General rule is closer to the city center is a little more liberal, more bike-friendly and urban, more to do and all that. Weather is pleasant but certainly gets hot in summer. No humidity, pleasant nights. Winters are cool but shouldn't keep you from being outside (we garden year-round without a covering or greenhouse if that's a point of reference). Good snow is pretty close by in winter, but no shoveling or snow tires, so weather might be a reasonable compromise for the two of you.

Cost of living is low relative to California and low relative to many other urban areas (particularly for living near the city center), but isn't super low compared with a lot of the country.

Overall, a lot of your lifestyle will be dictated by the jobs you find, so I'd focus on that first. You don't need to aim too high, as you'll do well on a middle class income, but I'd still suggest finding at least one job before you get here. Even though we're not a huge city, job location and commute distance are still a major factor in disposable income, free time, and general sanity.

[Majin]

There is no where in the grid or adjacent neighborhoods that is cheap except Oak Park and even that's not that cheap unless you rent a place that's 600 sqft and infested with rats.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by Majin

There is no where in the grid or adjacent neighborhoods that is cheap except Oak Park and even that's not that cheap unless you rent a place that's 600 sqft and infested with rats.

Relative to other cities, living in/near the city center here is pretty affordable. I didn't say it was "cheap", although you never really define what cheap is, so it's pretty meaningless. The hip parts of Midtown (in addition to Land Park, East Sac, etc) are relatively more pricey, but Alkali Flats and Southside Park aren't bad. Heck, the entire cost of my $250k mortgage on my house in Curtis Park is all of $1500/mo all in, part of which comes back to me in equity and tax deductions, on the type of street that I literally never imagined I'd live on. And yeah, if you don't have kids and aren't sketched out by the occasional break-in, Oak Park is still a pretty good deal. As a random example--http://sacramento.craigslist.org/apa/4149389992.html

[Majin]

Originally Posted by ryuns

but Alkali Flats

Ghetto.

Originally Posted by ryuns

and Southside Park

Ghetto.

Originally Posted by ryuns

Heck, the entire cost of my $250k mortgage on my house in Curtis Park is all of $1500/mo all in, part of which comes back to me in equity and tax deductions, on the type of street that I literally never imagined I'd live on.

Yeah I could believe that if the home is about 1000sqft 2bd 1bath.

Originally Posted by ryuns

And yeah, if you don't have kids and aren't sketched out by the occasional break-in, Oak Park is still a pretty good deal. As a random example--http://sacramento.craigslist.org/apa/4149389992.html

I agree, and I even say that in my OP. You're looking at Oak Park if you want to live near the grid and still rent/buy something affordable.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by Majin

Ghetto.



Ghetto.



Yeah I could believe that if the home is about 1000sqft 2bd 1bath.



I agree, and I even say that in my OP. You're looking at Oak Park if you want to live near the grid and still rent/buy something affordable.

Sigh. Do you just enjoy trying to contradict people? I mean, we can have disagreements and all, but I fail to see how your terse, opinionated, unverifiable responses are helpful to anyone.


Briefly, to your points:

1. Not ghetto. That's ridiculous.

2. Well my place is at least a little bigger than that, but regardless--you don't think two people can be comfortable in a 1000 sf home? How much space, pray tell, do you think they need?

3. You said any place in Oak Park would 600 sf and rat-infested. The place I linked is neither of those.

Anyway, that will be my final response to you, but would be happy to answer anything from the original poster.

[NewToCA]

Based on your overall criteria, I'm not sure that Sacramento would be a great fit.

Though inexpensive by California standards, it isn't cheap. Also, though it has the closest thing to a Midwest city feel of any California city, by far, the heat is more than you'd probably like for about four months of the year, and the mass transit is pretty limited.

It has a lot going for it, but based on your criteria it seems like you might find a better fit elsewhere.

Just as a closing observation though, I find that taking a "checklist" approach to finding a place to live doesn't often work out very well. Often, there are likely some other things that you'd like or dislike that you probably haven't really considered because it isn't something that you are conscious about. Certain places will feel more like home and others won't, and often it will be due to what you don't have on your radar.

[Majin]

Originally Posted by ryuns

Sigh. Do you just enjoy trying to contradict people? I mean, we can have disagreements and all, but I fail to see how your terse, opinionated, unverifiable responses are helpful to anyone.


Briefly, to your points:

1. Not ghetto. That's ridiculous.

2. Well my place is at least a little bigger than that, but regardless--you don't think two people can be comfortable in a 1000 sf home? How much space, pray tell, do you think they need?

3. You said any place in Oak Park would 600 sf and rat-infested. The place I linked is neither of those.

Anyway, that will be my final response to you, but would be happy to answer anything from the original poster.

How do you know that property isn't rat infested?