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I live in Placerville and I love it! Yes it has a small town feel with friendly people. If you like art, you will really love it. Great place to raise kids and Sacramento isn't to far, although you have Eldorado Hills and Folsom about 25 min away with all the shopping you need.
I keep hearing good things. For is it's a chance to own some land like we have always wanted to, in a place with 4 real seasons. We're So Cal born and raised, so we've never seen a white Christmas or trees that change color down here. We want to get out of the suburbs and move a little slower---but not too far from civilization!
Does anyone have any dirty little secrets about it? Things you don't like, compromises you feel you've made--no sewage treatment plants nearby or smelly chicken farms? No hidden, rampant meth problems? (I realize no town is immune to crime and drugs.)
What about fires? Really bad weather?
I keep hearing good things. For is it's a chance to own some land like we have always wanted to, in a place with 4 real seasons. We're So Cal born and raised, so we've never seen a white Christmas or trees that change color down here. We want to get out of the suburbs and move a little slower---but not too far from civilization!
Does anyone have any dirty little secrets about it? Things you don't like, compromises you feel you've made--no sewage treatment plants nearby or smelly chicken farms? No hidden, rampant meth problems? (I realize no town is immune to crime and drugs.)
What about fires? Really bad weather?
Everybody knows where californias best income comes from..the quiet places attract ...it's the things that are made that are really scary in placerville it seems Ok .... but then I grew up in brooklyn ny..but that makes me less naive..fires are an act of god most of the time and thank you god for sparing us now and in the future..it is absoltutely beautiful here now..
My husband and I are going to spend some time in Placerville in January to help us decide if we want to move there. I'd like some opinions of what to see while we're there. We have small children, and will be looking to buy a house on at least 5 acres. I want to see some local spots, places to eat, everyday shopping, and some neighborhoods/areas that are nice to buy in. Can anyone direct me to a certain part of the city?
And, if you live here--does it feel like a small town? Are you happy there? We don't like the traffic, busy-ness and crowds of where we live, but we don't want to live where there aren't any grocery stores or cable TV either!
One more question-is it possible to get Comcast Cable if you have a house on a large lot? Is satellite TV necessary if you're not on a suburban street, or does it depend on the house and the lot?
Anything's helpful. Thanks!
earthwatersunwind;
I lived in Simi for 33 years; how is 5th Street Beach?
January is cold so make sure you bring a heavy coat and gloves. With small children, you need to make sure you get into a good school district. In the Placerville area I highly recommend Motherlode Union or Gold Trail (I know employees and families at both). If you are willing to come a little further west, Buckeye School District in the Shingle Springs/Cameron Park area is outstanding.
Downtown Placerville has a lot of independent merchants; some geared towards the tourist market, but many that locals shop at too. It depends on what you are looking for as far as food - Sweetie Pie's is great for breakfast and lunch; Cosmic Cafe is a great coffeehouse with vegetarian food and it is built into the side of the hill with a tunnel for gold ore and then I believe served as a "soda works" for cold storage. Neat old building. You'll miss your great selection of taquerias in Oxnard - there's really only one place in Placerville that I've discovered that is fairly authentic (coming from la maestra who used to shop at a Vallarta market in North Hollywood!!) and I can't think of the name of it at the moment, it's up beyond the Grocery Outlet on Broadway, east of it...maybe Tijuana Taqueria?? There is a small chain of little Mexican eateries in Sac with the varied names of Adalberto's/Carolina's/Adanberto's that are very authentic, when I need a fix and I'm down that way. Ok, back to Placerville. For chinese food, there are a lot of places and everyone has their favorites, but I like the Golden Dragon on Broadway for their vegetarian bean curd dishes, or Hong Kong Inn on Placerville Dr for their inexpensive meals, or Diamond Chinese in Diamond Springs for their cherry chicken when I used to eat meat!
Cafe El Dorado outside of El Dorado is good for breakfast, as is Firehouse Cafe in Diamond Springs. In Cameron Park, we like Bubba's for breakfast. In the same mall as Bubba's, we like Fernando's Mexican and Salvadoran restaurant - good tamales and pupusas!
In Placerville, there is a Raley's to grocery shop in, kind of an upscale place. There is also a Safeway, which is the same as Von's, you can even use your Von's club card there. There is a Grocery Outlet on Upper Broadway (which I might add surprisingly carries a good selection of vegetarian foods). There is a TJMaxx, a forlorn KMart, and a Walmart. Payless Shoes, CVS Drug Stores (they just bought out Longs Drugs), and a Big Lots, for the chain stores. There are also ACE Hardwares in the communities, and a Home Depot in Placerville.
Cameron Park to the west has a Safeway, Bel-Air (upscale like Raley's), and Food4Less (discount bag your own place).
El Dorado Hills to the west has a Target. There are movie theatres in Placerville and in El Dorado Hills.
There is big box shopping in Folsom - Costco, Sams, Michaels, Bed Bath, REI, Petsmart, Lowes, Kohl's, etc. For malls, my family prefers to drive to the Roseville Galleria over Arden Fair in Sacramento.
So - you won't lack for shopping.
It is definitely small town. We moved here 8 years ago and haven't looked back. Like you, we wanted to escape southern CA. There is traffic, and especially if you have to work in Sacramento, you'll live with traffic (it's similar to commuting to the SFV from Ventura County). However, both hubby and I have worked in the communities and we run into people all the time....both up here on the hill, but even when we are out and about in Sacramento! I have to tell you, I lived in Simi for 33 years, went to school there, worked there, and I NEVER ran into anyone I knew in town. I never knew my neighbors in So. Cal; here, yes. I feel like part of a community here.
There are certain areas you will definitely want to avoid; but that is hard to pinpoint in a forum post. Upper Broadway, not so good. Certain areas of Diamond Springs, somewhat dodgy. Speaking of Diamond Springs, developers there want to put in 19 new developments amounting to 2000 new homes, so that will change the face of that small town, although residents have organized to be heard by the Board of Supervisors. If you are considering a piece of property, you need to investigate what is slated to go in around it or how it was zoned. Don't trust your real estate agent, they are part of the development lobby that are proponents of all these projects. Go to the planning department and ask. Also, beware the real estate agent who drives you around and is not willing on a map to help you figure out where you are going. Roads are not like those in So Cal - they are windy and it is easy to not be able to figure out where you are. We were shown a home on the very tip top of a steep hill - nice home, great local view, but we had a 6 year old- HELLO! But the worst thing was was that they didn't tell us about the quarry just out of view! I figured that out myself!!
On acreage, be very careful about old mineshafts on the property - and I'm saying this because you have young kids, and it could be dangerous.
And just saying....are you sure you know how much work 5 acres is? I'm just saying...because housing prices zoomed and we initially thought that was what we wanted, and we couldn't afford it and we were disappointed. Looking back, I'm glad we didn't, because I have friends who spend their weekends fixing fences, mowing/tilling fire-prone weeds, doing fire clearance with their trees, fixing up their old house, cutting firewood (ask about your heat source! Seriously! Some places use wood to heat!), are tied down to their horses (can't give them away in this economy) financially (vet bills, feed bills) and in caretaking mode (can't get away). You may be on propane (no natural gas up here) or on a well in some areas (no water in a power outage unless you fire up your own generator) and on septic (can have issues, and you have to have it cleaned out periodically). It is relatively earthquake-free up here, but our big threat is catastrophic wildfire (flooding only if you live on the floodplain of a creek or river) and some homes are so far in the backwoods that there is one way in and one way out. Some areas do not have cable or internet (you need to check with each property).
Not at all trying to discourage you, just things to think about. It was culture shock for me, but not for my Michigan-born hubby.
Let me know if you have other questions. If there are certain areas/streets you are interested in, PM me and I'll reply.
There is a great abundance of outdoor recreation here, lots and lots of different types. We had discovered all the great outdoor places in Ventura and LA counties and were ready for new adventures; we've found it here (although we do miss the beach; it's not the same at No Cal beaches as in Oxnard/Ventura; but we do have Lake Tahoe).
Yes; we are very happy here. My daughter who was 6 when we moved here and really mad at me for making her leave Simi Valley tells me that she would never move back to So Cal; she loves it more up here, too. She rafts and wakeboards and hikes and snowboards - her friends in Simi go shopping and to the movies - no thanks - she's more adventurous than that!!
I keep hearing good things. For is it's a chance to own some land like we have always wanted to, in a place with 4 real seasons. We're So Cal born and raised, so we've never seen a white Christmas or trees that change color down here. We want to get out of the suburbs and move a little slower---but not too far from civilization!
Does anyone have any dirty little secrets about it? Things you don't like, compromises you feel you've made--no sewage treatment plants nearby or smelly chicken farms? No hidden, rampant meth problems? (I realize no town is immune to crime and drugs.)
What about fires? Really bad weather?
In Placerville you will get occasional snow; if you go up higher to Camino, you can count on it. I'm in Shingle Springs, we get snow every couple of years; but every winter we'll drive half hour to Pollock Pines to Safeway to go shopping or to the Chinese restaurant there, just to have the snow crunch under our shoes! Only a half hour away.
Dirty secrets? Yes, there is meth up here and a homeless population. There is gang activity but it is isolated to certain areas (I've had no trouble with any of those things, but they exist and you need to know where they are). There are some redneck types up here, some intolerant types up here, and there is a strong conservative Republican base (a big Tea Party meeting made the front page of the Mtn. Democrat last weekend). Politics surrounding land use up here makes me queasy (Diamond Springs, "Dirty 19", or rerouting of Hwy 49 through Lotus/Shingle Springs, anyone??). But if you choose where you locate wisely, you should be okay. It's kind of like Oxnard, or Ventura, or Newbury Park, or Simi Valley. Simi Valley may be one of the safest cities in the nation, but I know which neighborhoods there is no way in hades I would live there, and I wouldn't feel safe there. Same thing here. Just like Oxnard, there are gang issues in certain areas, but there are areas unaffected by it...
Bad weather? Depends on what you term bad weather! If you choose a home with a steep slippery driveway and it terrifies you every winter when it ices up....well...that might be bad weather! . We occasionally get blustery, windy thunderstormy weather because of orographic lifting against the Sierras...I've been almost stuck on the freeway in Cameron Park in a hailstorm that left about 4 inches of hail on the freeway, very quickly. But not real bad. Fire is a worry. We haven't had a big fire on the "west slope" since we've been here, that I can think of. There was one in Cameron Park but it got surrounded quickly and put out. But it is always a worry and old timers have told me about fires nearby. Think of access, think of "fire safe principles" when you look at property.
Placerville is a great town. I would recommend the Fountain-Tallman Museum on Main St.--full of fun and info on the Gold Rush Days. El Dorado County Museum on Placerville Drive is a must-see too. Sutter's Mill Gold Discovery Site is in Coloma, just a few miles away. There are lots of groups for kids, including a very inexpensive summer day camp right off Placerville Drive. If you go into Town Hall on Main Street, they have a booklet listing all the activities for children/families in the area.There is a public pool, too, open in summer. There is TJ Maxx on Missouri Flat Drive, a Safeway Supermarket, KMart, etc. There is also Big Lots on Placerville Drive. If you like thrift store bargain hunting, there are 3 good ones in town, too-Partners in Care on Cold Springs Rd., Snowline Hospice on Placerville Dr. and Treasures on Placerville Dr. I moved here 1-1/2 years ago with a teenager and we are happy here. Good luck!
I can't thanks you enough for all the wonderful information, Just Ducky (and everyone else)! This is exactly what I was hoping to find out from some residents.
You're right, I do have concerns about semi-rural living and a big property. It's all new to me, but it's been a dream of ours for a long time.
I guess it would depend on the specific house as far as septic/well/heating, so we'll be sure to ask about all those variables. The developments worry me, too--it's gonna take a lot of research to find just the right place. (With no hidden mineshafts no less!!)
Do heat costs run very high with propane? I've only known natural gas and electric companies, you remember what the normal prices are. Any sticker shock?
I was wondering about the types of property, too. We wanted a big property more for privacy than to keep a bunch of horses or animals. I had more of a wooded lot in mind, where I could look out my windows and see a pine forest instead of houses. Do these exist in P-vile or do we have to go further up the hills? I am trying to find someplace green, that gets a lot of rain, sort of a Pacific Northwest climate with maybe some snow tossed in in the winter. Does this sound realistic for Placerville or any of those little towns? You can only tell so much from city data charts!
And to answer the next questions--my husband is CHP, and we have to stay in the state, obviously! We've considered moving further North, and we're checking out Humboldt county as well, but with its proximity to the HQ in Sac, we were hoping Placer might fit our needs without having to reach the end of the state. All our family is still in So Cal.
I'll definitely PM you sometime before our trip!!
We are also looking to move to Placerville area...have our house up for sale now here in Syracuse, NY area and are hoping to migrate soon !
We have many of the same concerns that you have expressed !
When we initially started looking to move to Calif we took a big Calif map and started eliminating all the places we didn't want to live by price, known earthquake activity, weather ,known flood activity, and frequent fire zones . It eliminated a lot of the state !
We checked out South Cal, but wanted an area more green, more treed and also we really wanted to live a nice visiting distance from the Redwoods.
My hometown of Sonoma was way out of our league price wise, but I love the whole valley climate there. (weather)
We have chosen Placerville, Auburn and Hidden Valley Lake to choose a house from.
Once we've sold our house here, we will head west & rent while we house hunt.
If you've already visited Placerville, I would so love to hear your thoughts and comments !
If your situation allows for more flexible area choices,You might want to glance at Hidden Valley Lake community up north.
The houses are varied in shape & size, rather on the new side and there are many really nice ones for well under 170K.....there's quite a price range . It is a community around a lake and golfcourse, but weirdly enough it seems somewhat rural in what I've seen of it online.
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I love Placerville
