Forested, safe area for young family, but still close to city? (Sacramento: crime rates, houses)

[MissLiss]

Hello everybody! We are a family with two young boys and there is a chance we will be relocating to the greater Sacramento-ish area, but we are flexible on exactly where. I grew up on some wonderful forested acreage and would really love the boys to have that at our next home, if we do relocate.

I was wondering what areas you all might recommend where we could buy a '70s or newer house on some land with trees, in a very safe family friendly area, but hopefully not super far from the city (preferably less than 40 minutes)? I keep seeing houses in places like Rescue, Loomis, El Dorado Hills, Shingle Springs, and Cameron Park, but I don't know much about these areas. Hoping to spend under 750k but we're flexible. Bonus if there's a Whole Foods-ish store nearby or a good homeschooling community.

Thanks so much for any input!
Lissa

[sacreole]

Hi Lissa:

Based upon your criteria, I would suggest looking in the foothills of El Dorado & Placer Counties. The cities and communities you mentioned would have the acreage and amenities you're looking for. Loomis and Newcastle for example are smaller rural residential communities located in close proximity to the larger suburban hubs of Roseville and Rocklin. Roseville boasts a number of retail outlets including the Westfield Roseville Galleria, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. There's a relatively new retail center in Rocklin at the I-80 and Sierra College Blvd interchange.

As far as El Dorado County is concerned, you may want to check out Rescue, Shingle Springs, Cameron Park and El Dorado Hills. El Dorado Hills and Folsom have the shopping and amenities you're looking for. Folsom also has a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I have several colleagues who live in Cameron Park, Rescue and Shingle Springs and they love it. I cannot speak to homeschooling communities or resources in those areas, but I sure they are available.

[CAHntr]

You should do well with your budget. All of those communities are at the bottom of the foothills, below the snowline, have lots of oak trees and most homes should be 70's or newer. None of them are incorporated cities. Cameron Park and El Dorado Hills have suburban type areas with houses on a 1/3 to half acre but there are houses just outside of those areas on 5 or 10 acre parcels. Rescue and Shingle Springs homes are mainly on 5-10 acre parcels. I'm not as familiar with Loomis but have driven through there several times and a lot of the houses are on acreage also.

None of those areas have bad crime rates. El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, Rescue and Shingle Springs all have good fire and police response times and good schools. For these 4 communities, there is a Forklift in Cameron Park, a Nugget Market in El Dorado Hills and a Whole Foods in Folsom (next freeway exit from El Dorado Hills).

[nightlysparrow]

Trees = heavy wildfire risk

Beetles and drought are taking entire forested areas

Dead trees are fueling California wildfires, but what's killing the trees? | KALW

[KC6ZLV]

Fire hazard map for El Dorado

http://edcapps.edcgov.us/maplibrary/...gi0072757j.pdf

[NinaN]

Originally Posted by MissLiss

I keep seeing houses in places like Rescue, Loomis, El Dorado Hills, Shingle Springs, and Cameron Park, but I don't know much about these areas.
Thanks so much for any input!
Lissa

These are all great areas. El Dorado Hills might be hard to find acreage at that price, but stuff comes up now and again. I have clients looking for acreage in the same areas at your budget and there are quite a few options depending on your needs in terms of size/style of home and what type of property you want. People moving to more land seems to be a trend as I've had 3 clients in the last 6 months moving from the suburban environment to 5+ acres in this area.

There are lots of home school groups out here. One option is that the Rescue Union Elementary School District (which covers El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, Shingle Springs and Rescue) has a COOL school which is essentially home school but the schools provide curriculum and 1-2 days a week option for kids to meet with teachers on campus for help with their studies. Rescue Union School District - Rescue C.O.O.L. School

[NineOneSix]

I would go up a little higher than El Dorado Hills if you want a little privacy with some trees etc. Head to Rescue/Shingle Springs or even higher like Placerville. -FedEx Driver. I've been everywhere.

[MissLiss]

Thank you all so much for the super helpful information! I'm excited that it sounds like there should be some great options, and I'm also going to keep the forest fire information in mind. Thanks again!