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What's funny is that Sacramentans don't like to be considered part of the Central Valley either, probably because of the negative stigma it has attracted in the media and by people in the Bay Area and Southern California.
Sacramento is not Fresno, Stockton or Bakersfield. It's economy is more diversified. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Sacramento was called a 'cowtown' or the 'armpit of California.' That's not the case today. I think now Sacramento has gain some respect from people moving to the area from the Bay Area and LA looking for an affordable place to live while being close to the regions they grew up in. Also, we are seeing homegrown young professionals moving back to Sacramento after leaving to go to college elsewhere. Young professionals want to be in relevant cities that have a decent job market, cultural and entertainment amenities and nightlife. Sacramento, as of late, is gaining ground with an emerging food scene, infill development in terms of residential projects throughout the urban core, and the influx of bars and restaurants in downtown/midtown. With the promise of a downtown arena and the ancillary development surrounding it, Sacramento has a bright future.
Sacramento isn't that podunk town in the valley anymore. It's gotten cooler.
What's funny is that Sacramentans don't like to be considered part of the Central Valley either, probably because of the negative stigma it has attracted in the media and by people in the Bay Area and Southern California.
Sacramento is not Fresno, Stockton or Bakersfield. It's economy is more diversified. Back in the 1950s and early 1960s, Sacramento was called a 'cowtown' or the 'armpit of California.' That's not the case today. I think now Sacramento has gain some respect from people moving to the area from the Bay Area and LA looking for an affordable place to live while being close to the regions they grew up in. Also, we are seeing homegrown young professionals moving back to Sacramento after leaving to go to college elsewhere. Young professionals want to be in relevant cities that have a decent job market, cultural and entertainment amenities and nightlife. Sacramento, as of late, is gaining ground with an emerging food scene, infill development in terms of residential projects throughout the urban core, and the influx of bars and restaurants in downtown/midtown. With the promise of a pedestrian mall on K Street and the job centers on the expanded Capitol Mall alongside it, Sacramento has a bright future.
Sacramento isn't that podunk town in the valley anymore. It's gotten cooler.
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What's funny is that Sacramentans don't like to be considered part of the Central Valley either, probably because of the negative stigma it has attracted in the media and by people in the Bay Area and Southern California.
Sacramento is not Fresno, Stockton or Bakersfield. It's economy is more diversified. Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, Sacramento was called a 'cowtown' or the 'armpit of California.' That's not the case today. I think now Sacramento has gain some respect from people moving to the area from the Bay Area and LA looking for an affordable place to live while being close to the regions they grew up in. Also, we are seeing homegrown young professionals moving back to Sacramento after leaving to go to college elsewhere. Young professionals want to be in relevant cities that have a decent job market, cultural and entertainment amenities and nightlife. Sacramento, as of late, is gaining ground with an emerging food scene, infill development in terms of residential projects throughout the urban core, and the influx of bars and restaurants in downtown/midtown. With the promise of a rebuilt Downtown Plaza and new high-rise office buildings like the Renaissance Tower and US Bank Plaza Building, Sacramento has a bright future.
Sacramento isn't that podunk town in the valley anymore. It's gotten cooler.
It's economy is more diversified. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Sacramento was called a 'cowtown' or the 'armpit of California.' That's not the case today. I think now Sacramento has gain some respect from people moving to the area from the Bay Area and LA looking for an affordable place to live while being close to the regions they grew up in. Also, we are seeing homegrown young professionals moving back to Sacramento after leaving to go to college elsewhere. Young professionals want to be in relevant cities that have a decent job market, cultural and entertainment amenities and nightlife. Sacramento, as of late, is gaining ground with an emerging food scene, infill development in terms of residential projects throughout the urban core, and the influx of bars and restaurants in downtown/midtown. With the promise of a downtown arena and the ancillary development surrounding it, Sacramento has a bright future.
Sacramento isn't that podunk town in the valley anymore. It's gotten cooler.
I think you are being a bit harsh. Sacramento was never called the armpit of anything. At it's worst from the 1960s to 1980's it was called a sleepy government town, and a 'cowtown" because it's populace was as interested in enjoying the diverse natural environment surrounding it than traditional "urban" activities.
I think you are being a bit harsh. Sacramento was never called the armpit of anything. At it's worst from the 1960s to 1980's it was called a sleepy government town, and a 'cowtown" because it's populace was as interested in enjoying the diverse natural environment surrounding it than traditional "urban" activities.
I honestly haven't heard the "cowtown" much label in about 10 years. I haven't heard it at all, literally not once, in the past 6 years or so. There is literally nothing to point to for label "cowtown" anymore (if there ever was?), so I don't think anyone bothers making that argument anymore.
Also, besides the CD forum, I also haven't heard anything extremely negative about Sac in about 6-8 years. I think midtown sac has really done a great deal to squelch a lot of the complainers. It seems most people who are into urban culture know about and move straight into the grid and enjoy what it has to offer. Again save some CD forum elites/complainers.
And speaking of which, I guarantee 99% of the small number of CD complainers who claim to be NYC/SF snobs who can't stand "backwards sacramento" are dirt poor, non-important wannabe's who couldn't even afford to enjoy the finer things those cites have to offer anyway. Put up or shut up, lets see some W2's with your high 6 figure salaries. I bet I make more money than all of the wannabe snobs on here, most likely combined.
No. Sacramento is part of California's Central Valley. That is separate from the Bay Area. Drive between the two and you will notice a big geographic (not to mention cultural) difference -- or look on a topographic map. There is absolutely no question about this.
Stockton is also part of the Central Valley -- geographically different and worlds away from the Bay Area.
I think it's funny how coastal Californians and Southern Californians do not understand the cultural, economic, and educational distinctions between the Sacramento Metro Area and the other parts of the Central Valley both south and north of the Sacramento Area.
It's funny how some people like to assume. Of course it wouldn't be apparent to you that I have roots in the Central Valley, though I currently reside in Los Angeles. I used to live there, I have loved ones there, and I've traveled extensively throughout the (Central) Valley. I understand there are differences between the various parts of the state's Central Valley; these differences do not negate the fact that Sacramento is very much part of the Central Valley and not part of the Bay Area, which is what the OP asked about.
Sacramento is culturally more like the Bay Area, and parts of LA metro than the rest of the Central Valley.
This goes beyond stretching the truth. Sacramento is culturally very different compared to the Bay Area and the Los Angeles metropolitan area. That's not a bad thing. Each area has its own cultural strengths and weaknesses. Sacramento is its own town and can more than hold its own. It does not need to compare itself to LA and the SF Bay Area to look good.
Even Sacramento's weather is distinctly different than the rest of the Central Valley: cooler summers, even cooler summer nights and mornings, less winter fog, and more rain.
I sure hope no one is trying to deny the geographic fact that Sacramento is part of the Central Valley. Look at a topographic map and you will see that Sacramento all the way down to Bakersfield resides in one gigantic green spot known as California's Central Valley. No amount of slight weather differences from town to town changes this physical fact.
Sacramento city politics has always been liberal to moderate and the Sacramento Metro Area's average income and education levels are significantly higher than the San Joaquin Valley.
That may be, but these differences do not make Sacramento "culturally more like the Bay Area and parts of LA metro than the rest of the Central Valley." Of course you're going to get political, income, and educational differences as you travel throughout the Valley. Each town is different.
The City of Sacramento and the Sacramento Metro Area has it's own identity miles apart from the "Central Valley".
I love Sacramento. Like any other place in the Central Valley, it has its own unique identity. This is true. But there's no need to act so defensive about being part of the Central Valley. And there's no need to try and distance Sacramento from its fellow Valley neighbors by claiming it's nothing like the rest of the Valley at all.
There's a lot to love in Sacramento and throughout the Central Valley. Be proud of your roots, who you are, and where you come from.
Sacto is not part of the Bay area but quite a few people from the Bay area have moved there where they can afford to buy a house. Great city close to so much with fantastic bike trails, very good climate, better than it's given credit for.
It's funny how some people like to assume. Of course it wouldn't be apparent to you that I have roots in the Central Valley, though I currently reside in Los Angeles. I used to live there, I have loved ones there, and I've traveled extensively throughout the (Central) Valley. I understand there are differences between the various parts of the state's Central Valley; these differences do not negate the fact that Sacramento is very much part of the Central Valley and not part of the Bay Area, which is what the OP asked about.
This goes beyond stretching the truth. Sacramento is culturally very different compared to the Bay Area and the Los Angeles metropolitan area. That's not a bad thing. Each area has its own cultural strengths and weaknesses. Sacramento is its own town and can more than hold its own. It does not need to compare itself to LA and the SF Bay Area to look good.
I too have lived in both San Francisco(city); have had and still have relatives thoughout the Bay Area from the east bay to the south bay.
Also, I’ve lived in several places in Los Angeles: Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Central Hollywood, Los Feliz, Hancock Park; and on the other side of the hill in North Hollywood. I know LA well, and I have friends in Silverlake, West Hollywood, and Chatsworth.
I grew up in San Diego.
Sacramento have as much in common with parts of LA/Bay Area/San Diego, if not more, than places such as Merced, Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield.
No amount of slight weather differences from town to town changes this physical fact.
Yes, there are significant weather differences due to geographic features.
In the summer, Sacramento is consistently 10-12 degrees cooler, on average, than the San Joaquin Valley and cools earlier in the day, along with cooler breezes, and stays cooler in the A.M. Sacramento summer morning temps are as cool as San Jose and Oakland, one or 2 degrees off on average in the summer.
Study your topographic map a little closer. The gap in the Coast Range Mountains called the Golden Gate, San Francisco and San Pablo Bays and the Sacramento Delta allows for significant differences between Sacramento and the southern San Joaquin Valley. That gap sucks in, on a regular consistent basis, the cold moist ocean air and wind from the Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo coasts in the summer. And note that the NorCal coast is colder than the Southern Cal coast. All that cold air, wind and fog is funneled directly up the Sacramento Delta. Sacramento City and the western and southern portions of Sacramento County take a direct hit and receives the most relief from this phenomenon called “The Delta Breeze”.
Data from weather websites doesn’t capture this information accurately. The data doesn’t report heat index temps which would show that Sacramento is 3-5 degrees cooler than the reported high temp. More importantly, they don’t capture how quickly Sacramento cools at night and how cool Sacramento's A.M. temperatures remain.
As long people make inaccurate statements about Sacramento and it's weather and don't make distinctions about it's place in the Central Valley and California, I'll sound like a broken record to those who read my posts.
I honestly haven't heard the "cowtown" much label in about 10 years. I haven't heard it at all, literally not once, in the past 6 years or so. There is literally nothing to point to for label "cowtown" anymore (if there ever was?), so I don't think anyone bothers making that argument anymore.
You are absolutely right! A few weeks back I took an out of town friend to a Kings game and fans had cowbells, and they played that hilarious cowbell video montage.
My friend didn't get it. What's with the cowbells! Why do you ring cowbells at a basketball game?
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Sacramento is culturally very different compared to the Bay Area and the Los Angeles metropolitan area. That's not a bad thing. Each area has its own cultural strengths and weaknesses. Sacramento is its own town and can more than hold its own. It does not need to compare itself to LA and the SF Bay Area to look good.
