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If you can't stand the heat, stay out of Sacramento
I'll try not to sound redundant, but I personally enjoy living in Roseville/Rocklin area. It's close to downtown (although plan for an almost hour commute if you work 8-5) and is very family-friendly. I admit, it is a little white-bread, and has expertly executed urban sprawl, but that is made tolerable with how "active" the area is. You can cycle, run, golf, wake-board, you name it, so if you're physically active or want to be, it is a perfect environment to be! The downtown is being revitalized- but is still sleepy in many respects- don't expect off-off-Broadway- but there are plays and musicals at the restored theater; you go more to build a sense-of-community than anything else. The city is growing by leaps and bounds and is becoming more culturally diverse every year. My husb and I have been looking at buying another home for some time, and although our price range is not as ample as yours, you would be amazed at what you can buy in your price range- (mini-mansions in Rocklin, a minor fixer in Granite Bay, a rancher on a craggy acre in Loomis). Although, I have said it before on a different thread, Davis is a very impressive area; on the other side of Sac, and if work led us there we would move in a heartbeat- to me, it has a more hip vibe and everyone rides bikes. ws
One last thing, it does get hot in the summer, 100+ degrees, but it is a dry heat and as long as you don't mind drinking water by the gallon during the summer it is more tolerable than DC's humidity (or NY's) by any means. Moving from the EC, it will be a culture shock, but it depends on you- whether or not you can get over the shock and embrace the new culture!
Well...I'm originally from Chicago-pretty similar to NY on many levels. I lived in SF for 10 years-different from Chicago but very nice-expensive but nice. We've been in Sacramento (my husband got a job near here) for two years and we looked forward to a lower cost of living. You will be able to get the size home you want for the money you're willing to spend here. We live in the city in the Land Park area-very quaint but absolutely boring! Roseville is where the big mall is and there are some nice homes if you like brand new, no character construction. You will have to drive everywhere-there are no neighborhood cafes or neighborhood anything really. It is safe and it does have good schools. El Dorado Hills is even more generic-I could never do it. I don't know where you are in NY but if you are a city person you will be bored. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be negative but we are so glad we did not buy here because we are definitely leaving Cowtown-that's Sacramento's nickname and it lives up to it. It has some cute areas with cute homes but nothing goes on here and it's hotter than Hades five months of the year. Roseville & El Dorado Hills are not near any water and it feels like you're in an oven. I wish I could say good things but I wish someone was honest with me because we would not have moved. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
I agree with Yellowbird!!! MAN is it HOT!!!! Triple digits in the summer...think about it....someone just posted that it was 77 degrees the other day and it's only April!!! What do you think it will be like in July?? It's too hot to even go out on those types of days..
I used to live in Rocklin and then Lincoln...I found it boring too really. If you are not into religion here,then, you do feel like abit of an outcast. People are ok mainly, if not alittle rude at times, (just my opinion) I have 3 kids and the amount of times I was asked whether I was going to have any more and sometimes the looks I would get when I said that I thought 3 was ample!!! Their mentally was that surely I would want more as I already have a small brood and it wouldn't take much to add another 1 or 2!! You see many people in these areas have 4, 5 , 6 + kids in their family!!! Not that there is anything wrong with that of course I just don't like people to assume that I am some baby making factory!!!! LOL..))) I found the people quite forceful but then I am a laid-back Brit - so I guess I would notice this more than most people.
The schools, as well, are ok. If you don't mind your child being 'taught to the test'...CA schools rank almost bottom in this nation for education. However, there is a Charter school movement here which is trying to bring education away from the idea that kids are just mini calculators designed to spit out information on worksheets....my daughter attended a Montessori charter ( which was free because charter schools are public schools) She enjoyed it but even that had it's pitfalls as quite alot of the teachers didn't really know anything about the Montessori philosophy - I was told so often that to be Montessori-credentialed was too expensive and therefore they didn't feel able to do it!!!! Also another phenomenon which is applicable to all schools here in CA; I feel is the propensity to fundraise aal the time and therefore you get to the stage where you wonder what the money is going on because you just don't get the feeling that it is being spent on anything worthwhile.
My family and I are actively looking to leave this state and go to a better school area..We have 2 special needs kids and this is why really. Minnesota looks promising and so does Virginia. Good luck with your move - I LOVE NY..Have relatives in CT and have been there a couple of times
Well...I'm originally from Chicago-pretty similar to NY on many levels. I lived in SF for 10 years-different from Chicago but very nice-expensive but nice. We've been in Sacramento (my husband got a job near here) for two years and we looked forward to a lower cost of living. You will be able to get the size home you want for the money you're willing to spend here. We live in the city in the Land Park area-very quaint but absolutely boring! Roseville is where the big mall is and there are some nice homes if you like brand new, no character construction. You will have to drive everywhere-there are no neighborhood cafes or neighborhood anything really. It is safe and it does have good schools. El Dorado Hills is even more generic-I could never do it. I don't know where you are in NY but if you are a city person you will be bored. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be negative but we are so glad we did not buy here because we are definitely leaving Cowtown-that's Sacramento's nickname and it lives up to it. It has some cute areas with cute homes but nothing goes on here and it's hotter than Hades five months of the year. Roseville & El Dorado Hills are not near any water and it feels like you're in an oven. I wish I could say good things but I wish someone was honest with me because we would not have moved. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
Funny, I'm originally from Chicago too and , though I agree with some of what you're saying, I disagree with other parts. No, Sacramento is not a hoppin' town, though it's definitely improved in the six years we've lived in this area and is continuning to do so. Still, one of the best things about Sacramento is its proximity to Tahoe, Napa, San Francisco and the like.
Roseville does nothing for me and I do not see its appeal. I lived in Land Park for five years and loved it. It was great to be within biking distance of downtown and it has its own coffee shops, park, zoo, etc. Very friendly neighborhood with great houses, albeit small. We moved to Folsom last year to be right by my husband's work. The traffic around here is ridiculous and we decided that a 45+ both way commute everyday defeated the purpose of moving out of San Francisco and Chicago.
The heat's not that bad. It's a dry heat, so the 90 degree days are more equal to 78 degree days with humidity. Every night it cools down and the closer you are to the Sacramento River, the stronger the Delta breeze is every evening. It gets breezy and pushes the heat out. Even on the days that it's hot, hot, hot, the mornings are cool and you can get out everyday as long as it's early. I had my kids in tennis lessons at McKinley park at 4pm during July/August and they were fine with it.
If you are out Folsom-way, there's Folsom Lake and it can be very fun. Folsom schools are quite good and it's on the light rail line, too. Family oriented, lots of subdivisions and strip malls with a historic district too.
However, the music scene in Sacramento bites. Big time.
Like mumof3 I have a special needs child, and have found California to be wonderful. In fact, we moved from Ohio to California because the programs, especially for handicapped adults, are so good. We previously lived in Virginia, and both Ohio's and Virginia's programs were not as extensive as California's.
Regarding a few other issues, I would like to address as a recent arrival and one born and raised in Philly. Yes, it is exceptionally hot here for a few months in the summer. But, it is only hot for half the day. The mornings are quite cool, even in the middle of summer, and the nights cool off rapidly once the sun goes down. Also, there is a significant increase in comfort during the day if you go into the shade, the lack of humidity makes the temperature much more tolerable.
Regarding the city being boring, it seems OK to me. Plenty of variety and nightlife in midtown area. And midtown is fairly large for such a modest sized city. Also, I think the housing variety is remarkable, especially between the new developments and older areas. Lot's of choices and most with decent schools. I agree education may not be optimal, but it doesn't appear any worse than what I witnessed in Cleveland, Columbus, Philadelphia or Northern Virginia.
I like it here, and am glad we made the move. By the way, it is about a two hour trip to San Francisco if you REALLY want to see a big and interesting city!
Which middle/high school do kids attend in Land Park? Is it a good school?
Middle school is California Middle School and it's not that good though, in all honesty, it is getting better. Most folks try to get into Sutter Middle School in East Sac through open enrollment. Though Land Park's Crocker/Riverside elementary school is top-notch, kids from Jedediah Smith (ie: project kids) feed into Cal Middle and it changes the make up quite a bit. The principal is fairly new (just a few years ago she was vice-principal) and she's made excellent inroads into getting Crocker kids into Cal. It would be best for all the kids involved if Crocker kids didn't have to go across town and the Crocker vibe would be a good influence for the J. Smith kids.
The high school is McClatchy and it's pretty good. It has two schools within a school and the liberal arts track is good. We used to live in Land Park and I looked forward to having my kids go there. I was hoping that Cal would change enough before my kids were of that age. But, then we moved and it was a moot point.
So work is taking us across the country to what people are telling me is "the good life". I work in the music industry and my wife is a pharma rep. We have been told about El Dorado Hills, and Rose-somethn..but wanted to get a true feel as to where is good to move too. Good people, nice 3500sq foot house and a safe place to raise a family are what we are really looking for around the 600-700k range.
Very important info...we are both in our young 30's and want to begin a family sooner then later so schools are very important. I will be working downtown but am willing to live a little distance if it makes the wifey happy...I have seen a few websites talking about new construction but being that I am not familiar with the area I don't want to fall in love with a company before i see where the house is going to be....
Any and all suggestions will be great!
Thank you!
Hey my goomba!! I too am from NY and have been in Sacramento for 5 years now. I'm in my 30s as well and have found the move out here to be the best thing I've ever done. Sure there are pros and cons to living everywhere. NY has it's good and bad, so does CA. In my search for a good neighborhood to live in, I've found myself in East Sacramento. Only minutes from downtown. It's the "Italian" district of Sacramento, complete with Bocce court and all! I miss my Italian roots back east, so this area has the markets that I'm used to back home. The river is close by, the houses aren't all generic looking. There is character is this area I feel. No track housing, and more established and stablized people. Fab 40s section is quite something. Don't forget to bring me some canollis when you get out here.
Hey my goomba!! I too am from NY and have been in Sacramento for 5 years now. I'm in my 30s as well and have found the move out here to be the best thing I've ever done. Sure there are pros and cons to living everywhere. NY has it's good and bad, so does CA. In my search for a good neighborhood to live in, I've found myself in East Sacramento. Only minutes from downtown. It's the "Italian" district of Sacramento, complete with Bocce court and all! I miss my Italian roots back east, so this area has the markets that I'm used to back home. The river is close by, the houses aren't all generic looking. There is character is this area I feel. No track housing, and more established and stablized people. Fab 40s section is quite something. Don't forget to bring me some canollis when you get out here.
My husband used to play on that bocce league! Ah, Corti Bros. in your backyard. Nice. I have to travel all the way from Folsom to shop there and there's nothing like it out here. Also the Italian Importing Company too.
(I'm from an Italian neighborhood just outside of Chicago.)
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If you can't stand the heat, stay out of Sacramento
ws
