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So basically you are referring to traffic in midtown? In the grid? And you were here for how long?
What you described about Spokane is exactly what happens out on the freeways. Traffic speed varies significantly for no other reason than people who don't know how to flow with the traffic or merge. Lots of people are sitting over in the fast lane going 1-3 mph faster (or not) than the next lane over. When I'm driving 99 or I5, people sit in the fast lane, and will not move over, so those of us who actually want to go the speed limit (or more) have to weave in & out of the empty slow lane & back into the fast lane. I chalk it up to the Valley (Central Valley) mentality. Another thing I've noticed is that people don't want to slow down to merge, and instead they will swerve into the next lane, usually without any concern for the car that is there as if they forgot how to use their breaks, or maybe they will lose 2 seconds off their time. Out on the highways, I've experienced road rage from other drivers who've tried to cut me off &/or have followed me as a result. Just gotta love the people who block everyone else from being able to get around them cuz their twiddling their thumbs. As much as possible, and thank god I don't have a commute any more, I will alter my travel times to avoid heavy traffic times. I've spent a lot of time out on the highways around Sacto & throughout California. I think the drivers in Sacramento are worse than LA, at least there it is so congested that everyone drives in the herd.
I really have to agree with pdizo916, but glad you had a good experience in the grid.
I was talking mostly about highways - 80, 50 and inner city multilanes. Yes people moved erratically, swerving, changing lanes, going slower or faster, some cut in front of me but kept accelerating, so that never scared or pissed me off. I was able to go the speed I wanted to 95% of the time. In Spokane it's 20%. Most people drive strictly at speed limit. I'm usually the fastest driver on the highway, in the left lane going 7mph over passing everybody. In Sacramento I was probably the slowest, haha, so I just camped in the right lanes whenever possible and enjoyed the sight of people zooming past me.
I didn't drive in rush hour, but it's bad everywhere. In Spokane it takes me 40 minutes to get to work 4 miles away when at night I can do it in 10. People will brake upon any sight of yellow light even if they can cross the intersection two times there and back before it goes red. They don't accelerate at all, maybe a minute from 0-30. They slam on the brakes for any reason, a bird flying by. They stop in the middle of the major street just to let somebody in from the side street, seriously, they think their idiotic politeness is the best thing to do. Or vast majority can't merge into the traffic from the side street, I have one next to where I live where I have a problem every day. They will stand in front of the street and wait until there's no traffic within a mile. If there's an approaching car within 1000 ft going 30mph towards them (means that car will arrive in about 30 seconds) they don't move, they think they will die because that car will instantly teleport itself to the intersection and crash into them so they wait it out. If I wait (I don't anymore), it can go on for 5-10 minutes, seriously. Out of 10 drivers maybe 1 or 2 will merge quickly. The rest will stand there forever. They never rush, they slowly roll across, that's why they think they need 10 seconds to cross a 2-lane road. These days I give the idiots 30 seconds to merge if they don't - I just go around them (a line of 5-10 cars, I don't care how long) and get onto the street in front of them just cutting everybody off. After visiting Sacramento my tolerance got even smaller and now I feel a need to aggressively cut every goddamn moron on the street. I don't turn my blinkers on Sacramento-style, just because I hate these morons. Maybe deep inside I'm a bad driver too, because I found myself at home traffic-wise in Sacramento. I assume that after living there I would change my mind, but just come to Spokane for a few days and you will appreciate Sacramento a lot more.
People know how to drive. Spokane drivers seem even more retarded upon return.
I think we saw different Sacramentos compared to where I grew up. There appears to be
very poor driving skill on the roads as I seem to always barely escape getting run over, trying to
cross even residential streets.
.
I'll agree with you for the most part. Drivers are pretty much the same where ever you go, but there are a few standouts like Portland and Seattle, people seem to drive slower overall, reaction times are slower and less skilled drivers in Portland and Seattle.
LA drivers are the fastest, most skilled, most in sync, they work like a team in dealing with major traffic issues and keeping traffic moving.
Sacramento is more like LA, but we are NOT used to major traffic issues and are not as in sync in ensuring traffic keeps moving on the same level as LA.
I'll agree with you for the most part. Drivers are pretty much the same where ever you go, but there are a few standouts like Portland and Seattle, people seem to drive slower overall, reaction times are slower and less skilled drivers in Portland and Seattle. LA drivers are the fastest, most skilled, most in sync, they work like a team in dealing with major traffic issues and keeping traffic moving. Sacramento is more like LA, but we are NOT used to major traffic issues and are not as in sync in ensuring traffic keeps moving on the same level as LA.
I agree there too. And it can be difficult to convince Sacto people of this because of the popular stereotype of every paved road in LA being a gnarled traffic nightmare. I know factually that this is not absolute. Busier areas near Downtown and popular places like Hollywood and the West Side can get wild. But there are plenty of mellow areas in such a large city that is not as easy to generalize as some lazy-minded folks would like. And police are lot more persistent about writing tickets, especially during rush hours, which in turn indirectly educates drivers about traffic laws and courtesy. Really. Not quite as much in Sacramento, as it is perceived that traffic and the city in general are more laid back. But not for much longer, I suspect.
1. What a beautiful city. I absolutely loved the wide endless lush green streets... Incredible.
2. People know how to drive. Spokane drivers seem even more retarded upon return.
3. Could use more skyscrapers here and there, but other than that visually diverse enough.
4. Didn't see ghetto areas. Haven't been to south part. But downtown, midtown and everything to the east looks top notch.
5. Feels very alive, lots of lights, restaurants are buzzing...
6. Great shopping opportunities in any part of town.
7. Nice looking people. Not many fat trashy looking ones (like 90% of Spokane). Didn't really see any bums in downtown/midtown during the day and while cruising the city at 2am.
8. For its size, feels very laidback.
9. I already miss it. I want back badly.
As to your your 4 mile commute taking 40 minutes (from another post), that is incomprehensible! Feel sorry for you there. Don't think that would happen in Sacramento and even most places in the Bay Area.
As to your #4 above, glad you missed any ghetto areas. I remember portions along Florin Road in south Sacramento were sketchy and possibly dangerous at one time. Found myself driving along there once in the evening on my way to a friend's home several years ago and was glad my gas tank was not near empty. Maybe that has changed, but it should not be necessary for you to be in that part of town anyways should you move.
# 7. Too bad Pullman was chosen for eastern Washington's largest college (Washington State) over Spokane. Just by virtue of students generally being young, cities with large student populations will usually have fewer overweight people. I know that Gonzaga is in Spokane, but WSU has about three times the enrollment.
Near Sacramento are some nice little getaways. Go east on Hwy 50 and there is Folsom (considered within the metro area now) with its own historic district and also a lot of new shopping centers as well. Placerville a little further east is a historic town in the foothills. The popular Apple Hill area is also nice: Apple Hill | Celebrating 50 Years!. The ultimate destination along Hwy 50 is South Lake Tahoe. If you are a skier (I gave it up in the late 90's...LOL), you will love it. It is beautiful any time of year though. I recommend taking a drive around that beautiful lake. Tahoe City is a nice stop. They have a nice waterfront restaurant there.
Along Hwy 80 to the west is the college town of Davis...worth checking out its downtown. They are big on bicycling there. The Bay Area with too many towns and activities to mention here is further west. Then you have Napa/Sonoma wine country just north of the Bay Area as well. Lodi not too far south of Sacramento has several wineries very nearby, too. One advantage there is the tasting rooms are often a little less crowded than those in the Napa area.
So you will have more to do both in town and on trips out of town as well should you decide to move. The trade off on that is some of these destinations will have more traffic on weekends (obviously) than eastern Washington.
Finally, if you are a baseball fan, take in a Rivercats game in West Sacramento (Raley Field). I went to a game there in 2012 and had a good time. Great baseball atmosphere and the mascot is energetic and funny, too. They are the Oakland Athletics' farm club: www.sacramento.rivercats.milb.com.
The NBA's Sacramento Kings will be moving to a new downtown arena in 2-3 years I believe. Locals may have more exact details on the move.
The trail system along the American River is remarkable and extends from Sacramento into the eastern suburbs all the way to Folsom. Then there is the also Sacramento River. Sacramento is clearly the best "river" city in the state hands down IMO.
Good luck with your decision!
Last edited by chessgeek; 05-08-2014 at 04:58 PM..
Reason: Added two sentences.
Oh, the decision is already made - we're moving the moment our house is sold. After coming back to Spokane I felt like coming into a jail or being punished or something. It comes to a point when you can't stand one extra minute of it, and that's how I feel. I can't wait to go back to Sacramento.
I did explore parts of Folsom, Roseville, loved them, think that's the place to live. Went to Yosemite valley, it itself wasn't particularly interesting, but the road to it was extremely beautiful. I'm a convertible fan, so I love top-down driving on a daily basis, and I was pleasantly surprised how beautiful the vicinity of Sacramento is, definitely not a deserty boring valley I sort of imagined it to be. And my god, those little CA towns are gorgeous! Such a stark contrast to dumpy depressive WA/ID methtowns. You don't have to drive too far to enjoy the road. From Spokane I have to drive at least 100-200 miles to get any place that is remotely scenic. I will miss Canada though, I love British Columbia, it's the only thing I will miss about Spokane, being somewhat close to it - numerous hot springs and enormous, awe-inspiring, neverending towering mountains. I will miss these long soul-cleansing drives I did a few times a year. But that's the only thing I will miss.
Since I came back from Sacramento I think about it every day, almost every hour. It's like I suddenly became homesick for a place that never even been my home. Weird.
If you like great drives and small towns this place has a lot to offer.
A couple of short trips I can recommend are the Salmon Falls and Coloma Rd trip from Folsom to Auburn, and the trip north on Rt 49 from Auburn to Nevada City and Grass Valley. Both are easy local trips, and provide a lot to see.
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