Sacramento vs Knoxville (San Diego, San Francisco, Roseville: real estate, home, buy)

[kansasgirl326]

My husband and I have the opportunity to either move to Sacramento or Knoxville. We live in Kansas (aka the land of the flat and cheap), but are looking for a place to live with access to outdoors (hiking, trail running, biking, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, snowboarding). We are in our late 20's, no kids yet, in good shape, and love to be active. We've done the whole pro's and con's thing, but it's not the same as talking to someone who has lived there. A few things could help us decide about Sacramento (specifically my job is in Roseville, my husband would need to get a job)..

1-Hking-We went to Yosemite when we were there, but is there closer "good" hiking? Also are there close places to trail run?

2-Really how bad is the traffic?

3-Cost of living-Housing is obviously way more expensive, as is gas, and taxes. Are there other things which are cheaper to offset this? We're really worried about sacrificing our financial situation.

Need to make the decision this weekend so I appreciate any guidance!!!!

[bluevelo]

Knoxville, TN?

I've lived in Virginia and have been to Eastern TN a lot. I would go to Knoxville hands down - much cheaper to live in, not as much crime, you've got UT there so a great deal more culture and intellectuals than what you are going to find here.

[kansasgirl326]

Yes, Knoxville being cheaper to live in is a big draw. Do you know how close outdoors activities, like hiking, are to Sacramento? And is traffic pretty bad to go to places like Tahoe?

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by kansasgirl326

Yes, Knoxville being cheaper to live in is a big draw. Do you know how close outdoors activities, like hiking, are to Sacramento? And is traffic pretty bad to go to places like Tahoe?

Its California. Traffic is bad everywhere, its just not as high of a degree of bad as is San Francisco, LA, San Diego, etc.

The only drawback to TN is that the ocean isn't near, but the Pacific is too damn cold and rocky to swim in anyway, so I don't consider that a drawback (but I'm also from Iowa and water where I can't see the other shore makes me nervous).

You can get trail maps and there's plenty of stuff within a hour to two hours drive, but I think you'll find the trails in eastern TN much less crowded and the traffic much less of a pain compared to where you are now.

The minus in TN is going to be humidity and its The South, with its silly social conservatisms and overt racism, but if you can deal with those things, I think Eastern TN is a much better choice for a young couple starting out than California. One of the biggest stresses to marriages/relationships is money, and your dollar is going to go a lot farther in TN than here. More house, lower taxes, overall a much better quality of life from those standpoints, and you get a college town in a decent-sized, full service city. Why you're not on the interstate hammer down to TN *now* is a mystery to me

[bluevelo]

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a stone's throw away. Can you say "Appalachian Trail"?

The cities in Eastern TN are highly related as desirable places to retire. Mild (with hot summers) four season climate, low taxes, plenty of outdoor recreation opportunities. I would move there if I could... but my organization has its offices in DC and state capitals, so I'm stuck with Nashville if its TN...

[Aquaboy]

There's a saying around here that Sacramento is two hours from anything interesting. You can hike your tail off in the hills near Roseville and Tahoe is about 90 minutes away.
If you have a solid job offer here I'd say take it!

[NewToCA]

As far as hiking on trails goes, Sacramento is about as outstanding a place as you can find:

Sacramento & Central Valley Area Hiking - Hikes


Regarding traffic, it is as congested as any place with 2 million folks in the metro area. Living in an area that is convenient to work is always advisable. However, the traffic is pretty minimal once you are outside of the rush hour time frames of 7-9 AM and 4-6 PM. Traffic is never a problem on weekends.

Cost of living is higher than Knoxville, and the taxes are higher too. No way California competes with Tennessee in those areas. However, the cost of living isn't really high for real estate right now, you can buy a 2,000 sq ft home in the greater Roseville/Lincoln area for the mid to upper $200 K range. Rents would probably run about $1200-$1500 for a 2 bedroom apt in a nice community.

My experience is that food cost are about the same everywhere. Utilities cost can be a bit less than other places though, due to the rather moderate weather. Overall, I'd say if cost of living is a really substantial issue for you than I'd go to Knoxville, however the cost difference between the two places aren't all that significant.

[Aquaboy]

Agreed with NewtoCA. +1

[kansasgirl326]

Thanks everybody for the advice! It's a really tough decision. Anybody have a preference over hiking the areas close to Sacramento vs the Great Smokies?

[wburg]

Sacramento is in the middle of a valley, so if you prefer hiking up hills you will have to go farther away. There are some nice hiking/biking trails along the American River, especially as you go east into the foothills via Carmichael and Folsom. If you like biking, the valley's flat terrain is a plus and there are lots of places to go. Fishing along both rivers and our lakes is quite popular, as is boating. For things like skiing and snowboarding, the mountains are right over thataway.

The "two hours from anyplace interesting" thing is kind of a community joke, considering that we are two hours from amazingly beautiful mountains and one of the great cultural cities of the world. If your standards of "interesting" are that high, then maybe Sacramento isn't for you, but somehow I personally manage to stay pretty busy and interested here in the city of Sacramento. Maybe I'm just not as intellectual as some folks.

I did a little research about Kansas City a few months back after watching a "documentary" of sorts about it, and it seems like there are a lot of similarities between the two, as long as they aren't taken too far.