Suburbs of Sacramento (San Francisco, Orange, Roseville: salons, how much, neighborhoods)

[orchid1]

My family has been researching some 'warmer' areas to live and Sacramento sounds like a wonderful places. We love walking/biking, enjoying nearby lakes - but having the ocean AND skiing within 2-3 hours sounds amazing as well.

What can you tell me about Sacramento weather, jobs, the city as a whole. We live in the northern suburbs of Chicago and love the area but hate the weather. We love our farmer's market, our downtown mainstreet and it's proximity to Chicago and the O'hare airport. But - the weather is just getting to be too much and our parents are getting older. It would be so nice to live in a warmer climate but still have good restaurants, culture, job options nearby and a big city (for theatre, etc) within 1-2 hours.

It looks like you can take the train from Sacramento to San Fran or to Reno which would be great!

Is the weather as wonderful as I've read? What suburbs of Sacramento would you recommend with a mainstreet (downtown) and good restaurants, banks, salons, movie theatres, etc nearby?

Any 55+ communities in the area - reasonable housing prices?

Thank you so much...I'm sure I'll think up more questions but appreciate any info you can give me.

[kruledent]

It's a furnace in the summer. No kidding; it's unbearable. Winters are colder and wet. Spring and Fall are mild.As for suburbs, I'd recommend Fair Oaks, Folsom, Orangevale, East Sac, or downtown.

[wburg]

Having experienced Chicago summers, I'll take a Sacramento furnace over a Chicago steambath ANY DAY. Our summers get hot, but dry (it pretty much doesn't rain from May until October.) Winters are colder and wet, but it doesn't snow here. You won't need snow tires or chains unless you're going to ski in the Sierras, and you'll never have to shovel snow off your driveway. They're an absolute cakewalk compared to Chicago.

Taking the train to San Francisco from Sacramento is fairly easy: the Capitol Corridor has a dozen or so trains a day. Reno, not so much, but they do have a couple of trains a day.

Suburbs in the Sacramento region generally don't have a main street/downtown. Chicago's suburbs grew up along steam and electric interurban commuter lines, but Sacramento's suburbs are mostly postwar suburbs, which means instead of a Main Street they have shopping centers or maybe a mall.

Roseville, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Woodland and Elk Grove have "old town" areas that are the remains of what used to be small farming, industrial or railroad towns, surrounded by new subdivisions. Davis is a college town about 10 miles west of Sacramento, but not really a suburb (I'm pretty sure more people live in Sacramento and commute to Davis than the other way around: it's not cheap.) Of those suburban towns, maybe Roseville or Folsom have the most options in terms of things to do, but most will be scattered around in strip malls rather than in a closely-built, walkable area.

Sacramento has a very walkable midtown/downtown area, and some of its inner neighborhoods (that used to be suburbs before they were absorbed into the city) might meet your needs: look at East Sacramento, Land Park, or Curtis Park (note that these are small neighborhoods, not cities or even towns.) Don't expect a level of culture and things to do similar to Chicago. San Francisco is the regional center of art and culture, and its surrounding cities tend to orient themselve towards San Francisco. Sacramento, on the other hand, is a bit more like Milwaukee, but smaller.

[orchid1]

Thank you!

wburg - you've given me a very good feel of the area. I like how you compared the area to 'milwaukee,' etc because it gives me a little more idea of what to expect. Thank you for the list of suburbs - I'm going to see what they're all about and which areas we like best. Not 'sold' on Sacramento just yet, but so far it seems like a really nice area.

[Lyrsc]

Sacramento is hot but not muggy hot.. not phoenix hot but definitely do not go bear foot in the summertime hot, Ive never seen it snow, but heck, auburn is an hour up the hill for that..
Sacramento is very diverse, ethnically.. the lightrail serves the suburbs.. there are malls everywhere, the American river is good for swimming, Sacramento river for fishing, Traffic isnt so great but it has a ton of freeways.
It is definitely an active city, great nightlife and surrounded by mountains.
I guess what always got me was the 75-80 degree summer nights.

Lol you like farmers market? you'll love the SJ valley.. all 900 miles long of it
golden foothills and agriculture up the yang.

[edwardius]

How much are you looking to spend on housing and how much space do you need? 3 bed 2 bath etc? That will give us an idea of what kind of neighborhood you can buy into. What you may find is that your housing dollar doesn't travel quite as far here as in the midwest. Although by California standards, housing in Sacramento is relatively cheap.