Housing advice (Sacramento, Vacaville, Davis: how much, houses, neighborhoods)

[Fedguy86]

Hello all,

My wife and I moved to Sac about a month ago and so far we like the area (other than the traffic), but in about 5-6 months we want to buy a house. I am trying to find the right towns/neighborhoods for us. I will permanently be working in Davis and my wife works in Vacaville. My wife plans on finding work in downtown Sac in the near future, so we want an area that is safe, has a reasonable commute to Davis, and good schools. So far I've been looking at west Sac, up north by the arena, woodland, and dixon. The problem is that the schools in those areas have very poor ratings. We don't have kids but we plan on having some soon, so education is important.

I'm just looking for some advice on general areas to look at, and to avoid, and then we can go drive around to look at them.

Thanks!

[2sleepy]

There are some decent schools in Vacaville
Vacaville Schools - Vacaville California School Ratings - Public and Private
Sacramento is a big place and has both bad and good schools. As a general rule good schools are in the more desirable places to live, so maybe you could start narrowing down your choices of places to live by taking a look at the school ratings:
California School Ratings, school profiles, test scores - Sacramento County

[Fedguy86]

Thanks for the links.

[semispherical]

Originally Posted by Fedguy86

Hello all,

My wife and I moved to Sac about a month ago and so far we like the area (other than the traffic), but in about 5-6 months we want to buy a house. I am trying to find the right towns/neighborhoods for us. I will permanently be working in Davis and my wife works in Vacaville. My wife plans on finding work in downtown Sac in the near future, so we want an area that is safe, has a reasonable commute to Davis, and good schools. So far I've been looking at west Sac, up north by the arena, woodland, and dixon. The problem is that the schools in those areas have very poor ratings. We don't have kids but we plan on having some soon, so education is important.

I'm just looking for some advice on general areas to look at, and to avoid, and then we can go drive around to look at them.

Thanks!

If schools are of primary importance, live in Davis if you can afford the nosebleed housing prices. Davis is also a very family-oriented community. Woodland is more affordable (and an easier commute to most areas of Sac) but as you note, the public schools are not so hot. However, with the amount you will save on housing you could afford to send your eventual children to one of the private elementary schools (Woodland Christian, Woodland Montessori, etc).

I've lived in both towns, and if you can possibly afford it, I'd suggest Davis as your first choice. BUT the daily rush hour commute across the causeway to downtown Sac would make me crazy -- you might want to see how your wife feels about it, unless she works non-traditional hours.

[hydro]

davis

[derekjones]

1st thing you should do is figure out your price range if you haven't done so already. How much are you looking to spend? That will determine what area's you can and cannot live in.

[Fedguy86]

Originally Posted by semispherical

If schools are of primary importance, live in Davis if you can afford the nosebleed housing prices. Davis is also a very family-oriented community. Woodland is more affordable (and an easier commute to most areas of Sac) but as you note, the public schools are not so hot. However, with the amount you will save on housing you could afford to send your eventual children to one of the private elementary schools (Woodland Christian, Woodland Montessori, etc).

I've lived in both towns, and if you can possibly afford it, I'd suggest Davis as your first choice. BUT the daily rush hour commute across the causeway to downtown Sac would make me crazy -- you might want to see how your wife feels about it, unless she works non-traditional hours.

Davis is out due to the housing costs. We don't know what we qualify for yet but I'd guess it'd be no more than 330K. That is high end so ideally I'd like something under 300K. We are pretty limited because of me working in Davis so if it's not Woodland it'll have to be west sac or anything close to the freeway. How is the Rio Linda area? Maybe the drive would be easier from Elkhorn Blvd to woodland and then down to Davis as far as traffic?

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Check out Winters. I lived in Davis and in Woodland. Had a good friend who lived in Winters and it's a nice little town with easy access to Vacaville and Davis. Pretty drive through orchards to Davis. My friends worked at UC Davis. Getting to Sacramento would be less fun, but do-able. Your wife could commute with you to Davis and take the direct bus to Sacramento or the Amtrak train. If she continued to work in Vacaville, though, that drive isn't bad at all from Winters. You could find a small house in your price range, too.

Winters to Vacaville:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Wint...4!2d38.3565773

Winters to Davis:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Wint...7!2d38.5449065

Winters to Sacramento:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Wint...6!2d38.5815719

Houses max $325,000 in Winters (click on "schools" tab to see school ratings):

https://www.redfin.com/city/20935/CA...ket=sacramento

Private schools in Davis could be an option, too.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by Fedguy86

Davis is out due to the housing costs. We don't know what we qualify for yet but I'd guess it'd be no more than 330K. That is high end so ideally I'd like something under 300K. We are pretty limited because of me working in Davis so if it's not Woodland it'll have to be west sac or anything close to the freeway. How is the Rio Linda area? Maybe the drive would be easier from Elkhorn Blvd to woodland and then down to Davis as far as traffic?

What you want doesn't exist really. Vacaville has okay schools and you could find something in that price range.

[Fedguy86]

Originally Posted by Malloric

What you want doesn't exist really. Vacaville has okay schools and you could find something in that price range.

They don't have to be off the charts schools, but quite a few areas I've looked at have like 3-4 out of 10 ratings. Vacaville might be an option if I can find a house in that range.