Texan Visited Sacramento (Impressed) (San Jose, San Francisco: transplants, to rent, how much)

[borninsac]

Them darn and frustrated SF people mad as hell about the high rent their paying to live in their small little residential cubicles get some anger relief by complaining how cow-townish Sactown and other valley areas are and how feeble-minded those who live there are ever so comfortable in their large and spacious homes that cost less cash outlay per month than the rent their paying.

Have some empathy for them and know their anger isn't genuine but SF-induced.

[NinaN]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

If you think Austin is crowded, you might want to reconsider Sacramento. It actually has a higher population density than Austin and the metro area is quite large and sprawly.

Maybe on paper, but I've lived in both places and certainly Austin feels much more crowded and for sure the traffic is much, much worse than here.

[sacite]

It's definitely a different pace here in Sac V the bay area. I lived in the bay most of my life and it honestly took me a good 3 years after moving to Sac before I learned that I could relax, did not have to be on guard in day to day life, etc. It's very easy to have a conversation with people here and like you said, much easier to get into and around the city. One thing people in the bay consistently overlook about Sac is the number of small businesses and community events that are here. There are businesses tucked in alleys, old victorians and places you'd never even think to look for them. And, there are in city marathons, beer events, music events, food events you name it constantly. You'd never know any of this if you live outside the area.

All in all there are things I love about both areas. But I agree with you - Sac has a lot going for it. Glad you had a good experience on your visit.

[sacite]

Originally Posted by houstonview

Oh and I heard about the farmers markets in Davis on sat. and the vineyards not too far from sac from a co-worker today.

The farmers market seems really cool my wife would love going on the weekend.

There are several Farmer's Markets in Sac that are very good. I prefer the one on 20th and K. Although it's smaller than the others, the produce is great and there are food vendors of all sorts - meats, specialty foods etc. It's flanked by several coffee shops (Peet's, Temple, Trade Coffee) and right in the middle of all the great trees and victorians. I like going there to get my coffee, grab something to eat and walk around. That's a great one for a Saturday morning if you come to visit again.

[Chimérique]

Originally Posted by sacite

It's definitely a different pace here in Sac V the bay area. I lived in the bay most of my life and it honestly took me a good 3 years after moving to Sac before I learned that I could relax, did not have to be on guard in day to day life, etc. It's very easy to have a conversation with people here and like you said, much easier to get into and around the city. One thing people in the bay consistently overlook about Sac is the number of small businesses and community events that are here. There are businesses tucked in alleys, old victorians and places you'd never even think to look for them. And, there are in city marathons, beer events, music events, food events you name it constantly. You'd never know any of this if you live outside the area.

If you put the City of Sacramento in the East Bay it would fit right in as any other Bay Area city. If Sacramento was just 25 miles closer to the west that "separation" would feel a lot less. For example, when driving 280 or 101 from the "City" (SF) to San Jose or down to Levi Stadium in Santa Clara; it feels far, or going north from SF to Santa Rosa, that feels pretty darn far too, but you still know you are in the Bay Area despite the cultural differences between Santa Rosa and SF, or SJ and SF.

For me, it is that last leg from either Vacaville or Davis on 80 that puts you over into that feeling that you've gone just too far, somewhere around 75 miles that you feel you are clearly no longer in the Bay Area.

Also, if you exclude the 1 1/2 to 2 months during the summer where Sacramento actually has a "real summer" with daytime temps beyond 70-75 degrees those differences Bay folks feel about Sac would be far less apparent. Our daytime summer high temps is like a "cultural" difference that Bay Area folks point to as another reason Sac is not part of the NorCal they relate too. For some reason, they forget that 11 months out of the year our weather is pretty near identical and more alike than any other region.

Contrast Sac and Bay Area summer differences with Texas cities, when comparing cultural differences between Austin and San Antonio or Dallas summer weather is not something they can point to as "another difference" between their cities, rather their hot humid uncomfortable summers is something that they all have in common.

[houstonview]

So in the summer heat, does it cool down in the evenings or at night ?

In Houston you can go for a walk at 8pm and come in needing to take a shower from how hot it still feels from the humidity, idk about Austin.

Or even worse it can still be too hot to go on a walk or jog at those times in the evening.

[sanmiguel]

The Delta Breeze makes a world of difference. In Austin, we experienced summer evenings that were as hot as the day.

[la_cavalière]

The Delta Breeze cools temps down 30 degrees or more on summer mornings and evenings - lows in the 60s or even 50s are common. Plus the humidity is low, so the heat is nothing like Houston.

[johnnyz]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

If you think Austin is crowded, you might want to reconsider Sacramento. It actually has a higher population density than Austin and the metro area is quite large and sprawly.

I hear ya... WHen we visited a couple years ago traffic really seemed to flow a lot easier than Austin... Anyhow, if we do decide to move back to Norcal, it'll probably be either Woodland or Davis..

[johnnyz]

Originally Posted by NinaN

Maybe on paper, but I've lived in both places and certainly Austin feels much more crowded and for sure the traffic is much, much worse than here.

Precisely... Again, when I was in Sac 2 years ago it REALLY did not feel crowded at all compared to what we deal with here in Austin on a day to day basis..