Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So yes, you're going to have to look outside the confines of Granite Bay and Roseville. All you have to do is do EXACTLY WHAT YOU DO IN DENVER...
That's understandable to an extent. But it "seems" as though we have a lot more kids activities in our current suburb of Denver than we'll have in the suburbs of Sacramento. I'm trying to find out if that's true or not. We've come to learn that we have an excellent parks system here and that there is a huge focus on activities for kids here in the parks and recreation areas here in the suburbs - it just doesn't seem as strong in the suburbs of Sacramento.
My wife currently only has to go do Denver to do a small percentage of the activities available for her and our daughter - most of the activities can be found without having to jump on a freeway around here. She's not looking forward to moving to an area that has far fewer activities for children locally, which will force her to go to Sacramento for many of the same activities her and our daughter now enjoy here locally. I'm hoping that isn't the case, but all of the feedback she's gotten from a few people she knows that have moved there from here only back up that view. I'm just trying to find information to dispute what she's been told.
Last edited by Ludachris; 09-02-2009 at 10:33 AM..
I have raised 2 kids in Granite Bay. There are 100s of other kids that have been raised here. It's one of the best areas to raise kids.
Here are some things they did growing up.
When they were small we took them almost every day to different parks in GB or Roseville.
Zoo in Folsom.
Swimming lessons at Johnson ranch. Swimming lessons in Loomis.
(Johnson Ranch is a health club. Also has tennis lessons).
Swimming/fishing/boating at Folsom Lake (Only a block from us).
Library holds story time (also large book stores)
Music & Art Lessons at Children's Creative Arts Center
Tricks Gymnastics and Polka Dots Dance Studio
Horse riding lessons.
Soccer
Baseball
Tennis
Riding Bikes
Indoor playgrounds from bounce houses to climbing centers.
John’s incredible pizza company
Golfland SunSplash
Magic Circle Repertory Theatre
Antique Trove
two hours of both the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Mountain Range.
Denio's Farmers Market
Movie Theatres
Mall Galleria at Roseville
Camping
Gold Panning
Gold Mines & Caverns
Trips to Old Sacramento - Train Museum is their fav.
Other Museums in Sacramento
Rivercats Baseball Games
Maidu Interpretive Center in Roseville (close to GB) has a wonderful park and Indian Museum
The fairgrounds in Roseville always has activities.
Apple Hill (by Placerville) in the fall.
Old fashion holiday festivals in Grass Valley or Nevada City.
Six Flags & Marine World in the Bay Area.
San Francisco
Nimbus Fish Hatchery
Jelly Belly factory.
If you are active w/church then you will love Bayside. Lots
of activities for children & families.
Great Book
Fun Places to Go With Children in Northern California
I use to live in Denver and Fort Collins and loved it!!! Are you defintely moving to CA? My advice is stay in Colorado.
Yes, most all of our family resides in northern California - and we'd like to raise our children to be close to family... something we didn't think would be as important to us as it's become in the past 2 years.
Just so you know, almost none of those things are in the sub-suburb of Granite Bay. Except for a handful of items, all of them are in Roseville, in Sacramento, or are an hour or more away by car.
Quote:
That's understandable to an extent. But it "seems" as though we have a lot more kids activities in our current suburb of Denver than we'll have in the suburbs of Sacramento. I'm trying to find out if that's true or not. We've come to learn that we have an excellent parks system here and that there is a huge focus on activities for kids here in the parks and recreation areas here in the suburbs - it just doesn't seem as strong in the suburbs of Sacramento.
My wife currently only has to go do Denver to do a small percentage of the activities available for her and our daughter - most of the activities can be found without having to jump on a freeway around here. She's not looking forward to moving to an area that has far fewer activities for children locally, which will force her to go to Sacramento for many of the same activities her and our daughter now enjoy here locally. I'm hoping that isn't the case, but all of the feedback she's gotten from a few people she knows that have moved there from here only back up that view. I'm just trying to find information to dispute what she's been told.
No, what she has been told is exactly right--and it's also exactly what the above poster told you. There are plenty of things for you to do near Granite Bay--all you have to do is hop in your car and drive to them. But relatively few will actually be located in Granite Bay.
Just so you know, almost none of those things are in the sub-suburb of Granite Bay. Except for a handful of items, all of them are in Roseville, in Sacramento, or are an hour or more away by car.
No, what she has been told is exactly right--and it's also exactly what the above poster told you. There are plenty of things for you to do near Granite Bay--all you have to do is hop in your car and drive to them. But relatively few will actually be located in Granite Bay.
My wife knows that most of the activities will likely be in Roseville - she's just been told that even in Roseville there isn't as much activities as she's used to having here (in our suburb). I'm not hunting for things to do strictly in Granite Bay, but more in Roseville and the adjoining towns/cities - I'd just like to be reassured that there are plenty of organized activities for kids without having to drive to Sacramento (or farther). This way I can show my wife that the feedback she's been getting isn't necessarily all true.
There are many excellent parks in Granite Bay, a nice library, Folsom Lake, dance studios, great sports activities for the kids (soccer, softball, baseball, swim teams, etc.), an awesome art studio (Childrens Creative Art center), good trails for walking or biking, etc.
You don't have to leave GB to have a variety of great options!
If you can afford Granite Bay, you can afford to live in Marin, Peidmont or Orinda. If the goal is to live closer to family in the bay area, why not move to the bay area where the climate is better and there are more things to do?
The primary reason people move to Sacramento is that they were priced out of neighborhood in the bay area that was safe enough to raise kids. But if you can afford to live in Granite Bay, you can afford to live in nice part of California, like Marin, Peidmont or Orinda. So why not do so? The economy in the bay area is much better diversified, so you can probably find a position that suites your skills better.
In the winter time when the tule fog comes in you can go for weeks without seeing the sun and in the summer time its gets really hot. I understand why people who could only afford to live in West Oakland, or Richmond decide to move to Sacramento, but you can afford to buy into a nice part of the bay area, so why move to the Sacramento region?
You don't have to settle for Sacramento so why are you settling for Sacramento?
If you can afford Granite Bay, you can afford to live in Marin, Peidmont or Orinda. If the goal is to live closer to family in the bay area, why not move to the bay area where the climate is better and there are more things to do?
The primary reason people move to Sacramento is that they were priced out of neighborhood in the bay area that was safe enough to raise kids. But if you can afford to live in Granite Bay, you can afford to live in nice part of California, like Marin, Peidmont or Orinda. So why not do so? The economy in the bay area is much better diversified, so you can probably find a position that suites your skills better.
In the winter time when the tule fog comes in you can go for weeks without seeing the sun and in the summer time its gets really hot. I understand why people who could only afford to live in West Oakland, or Richmond decide to move to Sacramento, but you can afford to buy into a nice part of the bay area, so why move to the Sacramento region?
You don't have to settle for Sacramento so why are you settling for Sacramento?
Really? Have you looked at what's available at comparable price points in Granite Bay and the places you mentioned (try doing a search for $400k)? You can't even get something comparable in Pleasanton, let alone Orinda. Granite Bay isn't as expensive as some think - though there are some really expensive properties there.
We can find a pretty nice 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2500 sq.ft. house on on a large lot in a nice area with a pool, 3-car garage, and highly rated public schools in Granite Bay for around/under $500k. If you find something like that in the bay area, please do forward me the details.
I know most people in the Bay Area look down on the Sacramento area as inferior, but we're trying to look at it without the Bay Area bias we used to have. Moving out of state helped us look at places differently, and it's shown us that you don't necessarily have to sacrifice so much to live in an area and still be happy. I do like the Bay Area, but I'm not willing to sacrifice so much to live there. And Granite Bay seems to be a great place to live if you look at it without the Bay Area bias.
Cheapest listing I found in Orinda for a 4/2 was $680k. Granite Bay has 33 listings for under $550k. It's easily more affordable than any comparable location in the Bay Area. I'm not settling for Granite Bay. I'm simply choosing not to sacrifice so much to live in the Bay Area. And I'm not necessarily bound to the local economy being a web guy.
But we're beyond this discussion really. I'm more interested in finding answers to my original question. We've done plenty of research on the area and we like it.
In Navato and San Rafael, you can find multiple zipcodes where the median price of a home is less than the median price of a home in Granite Bay.
[94945,94947 and 94903]. Its also more expensive than Moss Beach or Pacifica. [94038 and 94044] and Petaluma, Santa Rosa or Sebastopol. [94952,94954,95409,95407,95405,95404,95403,95401 and 95472].
If you had family in Sacramento or you owned a Sacramento based business that meant that you had to be in Sacramento, in that situation, I can understand why you might want to live in Granite Bay. But when you don't and when you aren't that enthusiastic about living in Sacramento in the first place, I don't understand why you are looking for a place here.
If your goal is to live closer to family in the bay area, then why not actually live closer to them IN THE BAY AREA.
If you look at the people whose inner voice is telling them that they don't want to live in an area, generally when they move to that area, they spend a great deal of energy resenting it. Citygirl really never wanted to live in Seattle and was just unhappy the entire time she lived there. Mossy has never been particularly happy in any place she lived in the Sacramento region. She has moved often and none of the moves seems to have improved her outlook on Sacramento.
My hunch is that you too are in that category. It sounds like you were happy in Denver and in the bay area but you have doubts about the Sacramento region. Listen to those doubts.
It really does get hot in the summer time here. If you don't feel comfortable with that don't move here. You really can get socked in with fog in the winter time. If you don't feel comfortable with 4 weeks of no sunlight in the winter time again don't move here (we average about that much tule fog in an average year). If you don't like living in suburbia again, don't move to Sacramento. Its just about entirely suburban filled with big box retailers including the downtown grid area, which has a Target and for a while was going to get a Walmart too if the economy hadn't crashed. If that really bothers you, again, you really aren't going to like Sacramento.
There are people who grew up in the midwest and when they move here from Ohio or Indiana or Illinois they are really happy because they are used to living in flat suburban areas and the climate in Sacramento is much nicer than the one they had in the midwest, so moving here is a real improvement in the quality of their life. Those people love it here and get excited about the prospect of moving here.
But you aren't in the category. You have a lot of doubts. You really aren't sure that moving here is an improvement over what you had in Denver. Listen to those doubts. Moving is expensive and there is no reason to move to some place that you really aren't sure if you want to live there.
You seemed to like the bay area, you seemed to like Denver. You never have seemed that sold on Sacramento. That is okay. Not all people are meant for all locations.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
