Bay Area to Sacramento Via Minneapolis (Roseville, Alameda: apartment, lease, crime)

[Jane12345]

Our family has been moving around for work and school for the last 10 years. Two years ago we left the craziness of the Bay Area for the relative normalcy of the Midwest; we moved to Minneapolis, bought a house in the suburbs, and said we were putting down roots. Except that we don't really like it. DH is from India and lived more than 15 years in California; he misses so many things -- his family and friends, the food, the weather, the diversity, the energy, the mountains and oceans and redwoods. So, we are thinking about moving back to CA, this time to Sacramento. And this time we will for sure be putting down roots, so we want to make sure we get the town right the first time.


We are a family of three, with an 8 year old daughter. We're looking for the usual in a place to live -- safe, family friendly, good public schools, sense of community, amenities like nice libraries and a park system. The problem is, we live in a town that has all this now and it's kind of like Pleasantville, so we're open to areas that are less suburb-y, for lack of a better word. When we were in the Bay Area we lived in Alameda and loved it; the Mayberry feel was really nice. So, looking for something similar in the Sacramento area.


DH will have to find a job and I will work from home, so we also have to factor his commute in. We'd like to be less than 30 minutes, wherever his job might be. I know, not helpful, so I guess I'm looking for centrally located or an idea how long a typical commute might be from some of the further-out places.


Our budget is $450,000 for a 3/2 with parking for a camper and decent sized lot (1/4 acre or more). Ideally we’d also be in a development that has a community pool. (Specific suggestions are welcome). The towns I've got on my list so far include: Roseville/Rocklin, Folsom, Elk Grove. El Dorado Hills seems like it's not what we're looking for, and probably too expensive anyway. What others would you suggest we look at?

[NinaN]

Your budget will make it difficult to find a home that meets your criteria. I think there are 5 total between Folsom, Roseville, Rocklin, and Elk Grove. You might have to consider going further out in the burbs, or changing your budget. Or maybe 1 of those 5 homes would be perfect for you.

A 30-minute commute is hard to guess if you don't know where the job is located. If that's a definite criteria, I would suggest finding the job, then looking at homes within the commute range.

[49erfan916]

I think your budget is reasonable except for the 1/4 acre...that's going to be tough to get in California, especially in those cities that you have mentioned. If you would settle for a smaller lot, then your 450k budget is more than doable.


edit: while it's doable, it's going to be tough. I forgot how much prices have skyrocketed.

[Jane12345]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I guess we should forget about the 1/4 acre. We realize there are tradeoffs to living in CA. That being said, if I look at Roseville, for example, I see 100 homes under $450,000 with 3 bed/2 bath. So without the acreage, is the budget OK?

Any other towns we should add to our list? We will be doing a recon trip or two before we move.

[JohnS_15]

If you are looking for something less suburb-y then Roseville, Rocklin, Folsom, and Elk Grove might disappoint you. They are like the definition of suburbia. Out of those places Folsom is my favorite. I think it best fits your "safe, family friendly, good public schools, sense of community, amenities" but it's getting quite expensive out there. You'd be lucky to get anything close to $450k. If you are not working in Folsom or Rancho Cordova then living in Folsom is gonna suck for commuting. Same goes for the other areas.


You mention your husband is Indian. I believe Folsom has a pretty solid Indian population. You might want to look into North Natomas also with your budget. Although again, it's very suburban.


Other places worth a look -- the Pocket/Greenhaven area. It has a little bit of that Alameda feel although much more suburban. I think it has a community pool also. The College-Glen area (between Howe and Watt along US 50) is where I live and it would fit your budget pretty well although you won't get the land. It's a little less suburban in that you are really close to midtown/downtown and it's pretty much 30 minutes to anything in Sac from there. Great community pool and good youth sports options. It does have it's drawbacks but it's a solid little community. Somewhere like Arden Park just north of the American river from College-Glen might be of interest to you also.


Definitely consider renting something while you look for homes and get to know the area. We rented an apartment on a month-to-month lease while house hunting and just stuck all our stuff in storage. Good luck!

[sacite]

If you want a sense of community, then put an X through EDH and Folsom. It's basically nonexistent there, unless of course you are in "Old Folsom" - which has some character, more established neighborhoods and a down to earth feel. But then again, you are in Pleasantville range again. It sounds like you want something in-between.

How about some of the areas of Sac that are on the fringe of midtown? As you push further out on the edge of East Sac, you may find that price range in an older home. You may also find it in the "Pocket" area closer to South Sac. Sac is a huge, spread out city and I think there are some options if you look hard enough.

That said, if you want a more suburban environment with some character still in tact, I think Elk Grove might be it. It has a nice historic downtown and some very nice neighborhoods. My friend lives off of Elk Grove BLVD a couple miles outside of Old EG and he loves it. Also, a coworker of mine bought a huge home around the grant line/Bradshaw area which is on the outskirts of Old EG for about $500K. She also likes it. That said, it does have a reputation for being a bit more "ghetto" and crime overall appears to be rising. I think it's like any city though; there are good areas and areas you want to avoid.

[Jane12345]

Thanks John and sacite, good stuff and we will look into the places you suggested. Appreciate it.