Moving from Chicago (Sacramento, Napa, Davis: apartment, rent, car insurance)

[snowshoeman]

Hello,

This is my first post here. I'm considering moving to Sacramento. I can't take Chicago winters anymore, always have loved California, and I figured Sacramento was the cheapest place I could find with good educational opportunities. I would like to get an MBA and there are two universities nearby. I have lots of questions.
First, how is traffic? I haven't owned a car for quite some time, and don't want to jump into a long commute instantly. Also, I heard there is a light rail system there. Is car insurance expensive? Which areas should I avoid because of crime concerns? Is $900 reasonable for a 1-br apartment? I'm a late 20's single guy and don't have to worry about schools. My job will likely be in Rancho Cordoba. Finally, I'm looking forward to a more mild climate. Is it very humid there during the summer? I can take hot temps if not, but the combination is stifling. Thanks!

[CityGirl72]

$900 is a good budget. www.midtowngrid.com http://sacramento.craigslist.org
Live in Midtown where all the other professional singles are - unless you'd like to live in a suburb
Luckily light rail goes from Midtown to Rancho Cordova

And if you have no car then staying in Midtown you will be by the bars, concerts, cafes and resturants etc - Plus there is a direct bus that goes from Midtown straight to Sac State. (if you are going to UC Davis either live in Davis or get a car)

Sac is much smaller than Chicago so don't expect a metro kind of area - but there is extremely low humidty to where I'd want to say NONE. But knowing barometric pressure - yes there is some but not noticable.

Now on the other side to that - realize that Sacramento IS a commuter city. And I'd say over 85% of people commute using their car. The transit system really sucks. And you should ONLY use light rail for getting to work and back. Other wise you might want to invest in a scooter? I would if I was your age and no kids.

[wburg]

Traffic in Sacramento isn't so great, but it's nothing like Chicago traffic.

There is a light rail system. It costs more than Chicago transit, and is less useful, but it's not too bad in the central city. It has one line that goes through Rancho Cordova, and I think Rancho Cordova has a local shuttle.

Rancho Cordova is a small suburban city a few miles east of Sacramento. Prior to about the 1950s it was an air force base and some farms. They became their own city about a decade ago.

I am pretty familiar with the Chicagoland area (born in Skokie) so maybe the best way to explain the Sacramento area is to think of it like Chicago, but smaller and backwards, with the Sacramento River where Lake Michigan would be. Everything radiates to the east--originally it was along railroad lines (Sacramento was a pretty major railroad town) now along freeways. The little farm towns and unincorporated suburbs surrounding the city are now becoming their own small cities.

Summers are not humid at all. I'd rather be in Sacramento 100 degree summer than Chicago 80 degree summer. Normally it doesn't rain at all between about May and October.

$900 is reasonable for a 1br apartment. Nothing too super-fancy, but you'll have no trouble finding a place on that budget in Rancho Cordova.

If you prefer living someplace with more nightlife options, and your job in Rancho Cordova is near the light-rail line (so you won't have to drive) look at midtown Sacramento. The $900 won't go as far, but there's a lot of fun stuff to do (it's not Chicago by any stretch, but it's pretty nice and fairly safe) in terms of nighclubs and restaurants and cafes. It's also a convenient place to live if you're going to Sac State (easy to get there by bus or bike.)

[zen_klown]

In Sacramento you are going to want a car with A/C. There is a light rail system, but it doesn't go to that many places and the mass transit system becomes dramatically less effective as you get further away from the light rail system. The busses don't generally run that late, nor that often. Light rail can be a little sketchy after dark once the commuters have gone home.

Moreover, cars give you freedom. If you are coming here from Chicago there are going to be places you want to check out in the area and a car is your best way of getting there. If you want to spend a weekend in Napa, Tahoe, Yosemite or seeing the Redwoods along the North Coast a car is your best way of getting there.

[wburg]

Of course, you can always rent that freedom when you need it, and not have to have the freedom of finding a place to park it the rest of the year.

[CityGirl72]

Does Sac have anything like ZipCars?

[zen_klown]

The mass transit systems in Chicago and Sacramento aren't comparable. In Chicago the CTA operates bus lines that run all night. The elevated trains run all night, they even run to the airports. There is a huge dense urban agglomeration, that allows the bus lines to run frequently and to go to a lot of different neighborhoods. The dense area is big enough to support a bunch of cabs running around in these neighborhoods, so its easy to find and catch a cab.

Sacramento isn't anything like that. Light rail basically stops running around midnight. The light rail line to Folsom stop running around 8 pm. There is no rail connection to the airport and the bus that runs out there runs pretty infrequently. The bus system just isn't as comprehensive. It doesn't go to as many neighborhoods, the bus lines don't run as often and lines stop running much earlier. It is difficult to find a bus line that is still running after 8 pm. You don't find night owl bus lines. If you need a cab, you have to call for a cab, because there aren't a lot of cabbies driving around looking for fares.

In Chicago if you live in a neighborhood like say Lincoln Park, you really don't need a car. But in Sacramento, there really aren't neighborhoods comparble to Lincoln Park.

In Sacramento the problem generally isn't parking. Its the hassle of waiting an hour because you missed your bus.

In Sacramento if you need to commute into and out of downtown to work at a state office building, with some planning, you can find places to live where that is fairly feasible. But the idea of living in Sacramento without a car isn't practical in Sacramento the way that its an option in some place like Chicago.

[zen_klown]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

Does Sac have anything like ZipCars?

No.

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=331642

[CityGirl72]

That's too bad

That article was written in 2007, I wonder now with the gas crunch and poor economy and the flooding of people in the buses, if maybe it would have a better chance to get off the ground.


It's hard to manage in a commuter city with people so dependant on their cars.

Makes me feel like if Zip Cars was a franchise - I'd so invest in it in midtown

[zen_klown]

I think it would have a better chance of working in Davis, because you find a fairly large population there of folks living near school riding there bike to class who might use it. But in the rest of Sacramento the people who are transit dependent are very poor. I am not sure these folks have the disposable incomes to spend on a car share program.