Texan Visited Sacramento (Impressed) (Los Angeles, San Jose: neighborhoods, live, price)

[dajohnson99]

Originally Posted by 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.

Austin isn't as bad as Houston but it still is miserable all summer long. When I go to Sac I can actually go for a run in the morning or evening and not feel miserable when I got back because the nights actually cool down to the mid-50s thanks to the delta breeze. In Austin, the nights "cool" down to the mid-70s or low-80s, plus the humidity is so high.

[houstonview]

Originally Posted by 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.

wow thats nice !!

in Houston, you can go for a jog in the morning and its feels just as hot as the day, around 90, sun up or down doesn't really matter

[houstonview]

another question after going through threads is (east sac) the best area to live ?? -followed by

-land park
-curtis park

**Burbs**
davis
folsom
rocklin
rosevillie
elk grove (how is it there ? )

I see some homes in east sac can be zoned to good elementary and middle schools. but some homes in the area only good elementary schools. Is east sac area better than living in midtown ?

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by 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.

More so near the center of the city & the rivers, less so in the suburbs.
You can walk at the am & evening, but during the heat waves, I've experienced 90+ at 10am in Folsom & Roseville/Lincoln. During those times, in the am I get up & go while it's still dark or at dusk or later in the evening.

[fluffypoopoo]

Grew up in Davis, but jumped around different cities across the States for work and g.school. Living in Charleston, SC right now. Reading this thread really brings back the memories. Missing NorCal right now!

[bentobox34]

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.

But they specifically mentioned living in Woodland and Davis, which are clearly separated from the rest of the Sacramento region by the Yolo Causeway (the separation is visible at a glance on Google Earth). As a result those areas have much more of a small city, uncrowded feel to them (especially Woodland). The Sac metro area generally sprawls to the northeast and south. If you lived right in the middle of the northeastern sprawl blob (say, Citrus Heights) and spent your days commuting back and forth to downtown Sac, I'd see how you'd get the impression Sacramento is very crowded, but if your day-to-day life is contained within the cities of Woodland and/or Davis it could feel very relaxed.

[bentobox34]

Originally Posted by houstonview

another question after going through threads is (east sac) the best area to live ?? -followed by

-land park
-curtis park

**Burbs**
davis
folsom
rocklin
rosevillie
elk grove (how is it there ? )

I see some homes in east sac can be zoned to good elementary and middle schools. but some homes in the area only good elementary schools. Is east sac area better than living in midtown ?

It really depends on what you want, where you work, how much you make, and how much money you can spend to rent/buy a house.

Is east sac better than midtown? There's no definitive answer. Midtown is better if you want to walk and bike everywhere, be right in the middle of the action, and most likely if you are a renter. East Sac is probably better if you have a pretty high paying job and want to own an old house with character with a yard in a good school district. If you want more house for you money (or simply can't pay east sac/land park/curtis park prices), and like the feel of suburbia, with good schools all the way through high school, Rocklin or Folsom might be the best choices. If you want a liberal university town that exists in it's own bubble but is still easily proximate to Sac and the Bay Area, go for Davis.

Also these choices are heavily dependent on where/how you'll be commuting. If your job was in Folsom, for example, Davis wouldn't make too much sense.

[prettybaby80]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

houstonview, Great post!

Next time you visit you from the Bay Area you might want to try taking the Capitol Corridor Train (10-12 trains per day).

It connects San Jose(downtown/Arena), Santa Clara(University), Santa Clara(49ers stadium), Hayward, Oakland(Coliseum), Oakland(downtown-Jack London Sq), Emeryville(transfer point to SF via Amtrak bus which is included in your ticket via the Bay Bridge), Berkeley(4th Street), Richmond(transfer point with BART), Martinez(downtown), Suisun City/Fairfield, Davis(downtown) Sacramento(Downtown), Roseville(1-2 trains per day) and Auburn(1-2 trains per day).

Sac's train station is 1 1/2 blocks from Golden One Center, and Old Sac.

I just love this train, the time always goes by so fast as the train is very smooth, clean and comfortable with free wifi. You can bring your bike on the train.

One very cool reason to visit Sacramento in the summer is to raft down the American River! Good reason to bring your truck,

Amtrak rocks. Just took the zephyr from NYC to Sacramento, got off , took the light rail to the hotel and boom ! Instant transplants. Next stop, San Francisco one of these weekends .

[houstonview]

$500K probably max for home but maybe would spend a little more to live in east sac area, but would love to buy something for $350k in elk grove or folsom.

the willow glen area in san jose is $1,000,000 which is a comparison to east sac, but the downtown is horrible compared to what I saw visiting sac.

hopefully $200K salary between wife and I, little more or little less.

we have a infant so, I was looking at east sac and seeing the elementary and middle are good schools when that time comes.

we came from the suburbs in Houston, I like the idea of other kids around, however would love to do something different and live in a walkable area like east sac and river park, they seem to still have a family vibe also ?

it would be nice to still live in a area close to restaurants and close to downtown, would be nice when we have people come visit $500k+ is what you pay for that even in Houston

are east sac & river park the safest areas close to downtown/midtown with good schools or any other areas we should look at ?

[b.hughes]

Land Park and South Land Park areas also have good elementary schools and are close to downtown.

I have little kids and live in East Sac - its a great area and yes many families live here... I think about half the people on my street have kids. I personally would say go for one of the neighborhoods around downtown (East Sac, Land Park, Riverpark) but Im biased because I really like being close to downtown and love the big trees the older areas have.

Regarding your budget you should be able to get at least a smaller house in any of those neighborhoods. Many of the smaller homes in the areas I mentioned are on relatively large lots (5-7k sq ft) which can afford for expanding your house a bit as your kids get older if you want. I have a couple of neighbors who started out in 1100 sq ft homes when their kids were small and now that their kids are getting into their teenage years they are adding a bit of extra square footage onto their house. Anyhow just food for thought.

One last thing to know is that when the housing crisis hit Sacramento (very hard) in 2008 the house prices in the neighborhoods around downtown held up decently well while the house prices in many of the suburbs took a beating. From watching that I'd guess that buying a home in one of the aforementioned neighborhoods is a safer investment than the outer suburbs but who nows what the future holds.