Contemplating move to Sacramento from Chicago area (San Francisco, Napa: middle-class, rentals)

[BlackMagic1]

Hi,

I may soon move soon to Sacramento from Chicago for a job. I am a 51 y/o single, professional African-American woman with no children. I am not familiar with Sacramento.

I like cultural events (theater, concerts, summer music festivals), night life and dating. Chicago is very diverse, has a large African-American population and a LOT to offer in terms of cultural outlets.

I'd like to know:

1. Has anyone else moved to Sacramento from Chicago and what do they think? How does Sacramento compare to Chicago for cultural events? Do you regret your move?

2. In terms of housing (I will rent), what are the names of the middle-class African American neighborhoods? I have read other (older) posted threads. Are those areas still Elk Grove and Greenhaven?

3. Where are nice affordable rentals near the downtown area? I do not want long commute to work.
What areas should I avoid, and why?

4. Are the Davis and Midtown areas far from the downtown area? Per Google Maps, UC Davis is a 20 minute drive from downtown.

Thanks for your suggestions and input!

[xenxes]

I don't think you'll find any overwhelmingly black neighborhoods here, we're a pretty diverse city.

Sac Demographic Map

Most are probably going to recommend you live in Midtown, decent rentals, walk everywhere, as "cultured" as it will get here in Sac, when you pit a metropolitan area of ~9.9mil+ vs. Sac's ~2.6mil.

It'd also be more helpful if you could give your estimated budget.

[Pacheader]

Once you narrow it down to a neighborhood, you can use the tool below to find more lifestyle, income and other detailed information about that particular area:

Demographic & Lifestyle Lookup

[shelato]

You might get more useful answers if you specified your budget as well as you where you might be working in Sacramento.

Second the Sacramento region is much smaller than the Chicago region, Sacramento is roughly the same size as say Kansas City. So while I think Sacramento does pretty well versus other regions the same general size as Sacramento, you probably aren't going to find say the same number and quality of museums in Sacramento as in Chicago.

That said I suspect that you will like Sacramento a lot. Most of the people who move hear from the mid-west including Chicago generally end up not regretting the move. The cost of living is similar to a little cheaper depending on where you live in the region, but the climate is a little better. While Sacramento isn't the same as Chicago it offers some things that you didn't have access to in Chicago like say going wine tasting in the foothills or in Napa or skiing in Tahoe.

Sacramento is a government town and the various diversity initiatives of government tend to make government employment a pretty desirable job for the the African American middle class.

But Sacramento is much less segregated than Chicago. While you can find some middle class African Americans in Elk Grove and Greenhaven, their is much less racial segregation here than in Chicago meaning that even in these neighborhoods you will probably see fewer African Americans than you might see in a similar neighborhood in Sacramento. Because the middle class African Americans are spread out through out the region as well. So that may be a change as well.

The Racial Dot Map: One Dot Per Person for the Entire U.S.

[xeney]

I would say you will find a fair number of professional/middle class black families in Elk Grove and Greenhaven/the Pocket, but also scattered throughout the city proper. (My limited knowledge as a white person: most of the African-American attorneys I know live in the Pocket or Elk Grove, but I can think of lots of exceptions.) We are nowhere near as segregated as I understand Chicago is, so you should probably look at other factors ... if you prefer a more urban/downtown/walkable area, East Sac or Curtis Park or midtown will be your best choices. Elk Grove and Greenhaven and the Pocket are all pretty suburban and family-focused (nice places to live, but I'm not sure I'd want to be single there).

Davis is about 20 minutes away without traffic, but there is always traffic when you need to be at work! Davis is also very expensive and, I think, whiter. (It's been 20 years since I lived there but it was awfully white then.)

Midtown pretty much IS downtown; you can bus or bike or walk to downtown from here. It's very diverse, ethnically and economically, so in terms of black families, there are both middle class and poorer black families here (along with the same of just about every other ethnic group represented in Sacramento). It is a good place to be single, even if you aren't into a bar scene, just because there are lots of other single people of all ages, there is a lot to do, everything isn't centered around families (although there is plenty of that, too). And although midtown has a reputation of catering to young people, frankly young people increasingly can't afford to live here. I'm 45 and I feel like most of my neighbors are around my age.

I mean, we are a cowtown compared to Chicago! But midtown seems like your best bet, and it's a very friendly part of town, as well.

[shelato]

Midtown is socially pretty liberal, but it mostly young single white liberals. That may or may not be what you are looking for. But you might not find a whole lot of people in the neighborhood who look like you.

[wburg]

Originally Posted by BlackMagic1

Hi,

I may soon move soon to Sacramento from Chicago for a job. I am a 51 y/o single, professional African-American woman with no children. I am not familiar with Sacramento.

I like cultural events (theater, concerts, summer music festivals), night life and dating. Chicago is very diverse, has a large African-American population and a LOT to offer in terms of cultural outlets.

I'd like to know:

1. Has anyone else moved to Sacramento from Chicago and what do they think? How does Sacramento compare to Chicago for cultural events? Do you regret your move?

I was born in Cook County but grew up in California. Sacramento is a lot smaller than Chicago and certainly can't match it for cultural events. But Sacramento and its environs offers amenities that Chicago simply cannot, like the two-hour drive/train ride to the Pacific Ocean or the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Or never, ever having to shovel snow off your driveway. Or Chicago's ultra-humid summer heat that remains hot and uncomfortable all night long. And there is enough in the way of entertainment and cultural amenities to keep most people busy. No, it's not Chicago, but it's not bad. Certain cultural events may require an occasional trip to San Francisco--if you know folks who live in Milwaukee who occasionally go to Chicago for cultural amenities that skip their city, it's kind of like that.

2. In terms of housing (I will rent), what are the names of the middle-class African American neighborhoods? I have read other (older) posted threads. Are those areas still Elk Grove and Greenhaven?

As others have already mentioned, the stark racial lines of Chicagoland are a lot fuzzier here (although, generally, communities get whiter and whiter as you head northeast along Highways 50 and 80.) I won't claim that racism doesn't exist here, it certainly does, but the lines between communities and ethnic groups are blurred and indistinct, not like Chicago where you can go over a set of train tracks and suddenly the billboards and business names are in a different language. Elk Grove has a large and growing African American population, but 20 years ago (and more than 100,000 residents ago) it was a primarily Caucasian farm town. It's a nice enough place but if you want to live close to downtown and cultural amenities it's a poor choice.

3. Where are nice affordable rentals near the downtown area? I do not want long commute to work.
What areas should I avoid, and why?

Midtown has been mentioned--the neighborhood of Southside, south of the Capitol and the central business district, is worth a look too, affordable and comparatively safe. South of Southside and Midotwn is Land Park and Curtis Park, both comfortable neighborhoods that may remind you of the Chicagoland suburbs, with very diverse populations Close enough to bike to work, light rail runs through Midtown and in between Land and Curtis Park neighborhoods. West Sacramento, just across the Sacramento River from downtown, has an emerging neighborhood along its waterfront with new housing under construction.

4. Are the Davis and Midtown areas far from the downtown area? Per Google Maps, UC Davis is a 20 minute drive from downtown.

Davis is a separate, smaller city in the adjacent county, about 20 miles southwest. As xeney mentioned above, Midtown is the neighborhood right next to downtown--within walking distance.

You mention UC Davis a couple of times--are you working with or planning on attending UC Davis? Or UC Davis Medical Center, which is in Sacramento, but not downtown (it is east of Midtown, between the neighborhoods of Elmhurst and Oak Park)? Is there another reason you mention it, as you mentioned that you're working downtown?

[shelato]

Roughly 14% of Sacramento as whole is African American, but in midtown, its about 4.2% If anything midtown is basically a white neighborhood. While 33.7% of the city as whole is white, in this neighborhood its 79.2%

Free 95816 ZIP Code Map, Statistics, and More for Sacramento, CA

//www.city-data.com/city/Sacram...alifornia.html

[xeney]

Closer to 8% in midtown -- 95816 includes a lot of East Sacramento, and there are two other zipcodes in midtown. But yes, still whiter than the rest of the city, although even in midtown it depends on the neighborhood.

[wburg]

Indeed. Shelato is assuming that Midtown and the 95816 ZIP code are identical--they are not. Much of Midtown is in the 95814, 95811 and 95818 ZIP codes, 95816 covers about one-third of Midtown's area, roughly 21st Street. Adjacent neighborhoods like Southside Park are in 95814 and 95818.

More to the point, will the OP get funny looks if she chooses to move to Midtown, or feel like she does not belong walking around the neighborhood? My guess is, probably not.