Vibrant, Diverse, Fun, Upscale Area? (Sacramento, Stockton: middle-class, apartment, townhouse)

[smhatfield]

I'm considering relocating with my current company to the Sacramento area. Can you suggest an area to reside for a 28 year old single woman who enjoys diversity, good restaurants, good bars, culture, museums, and liveliness in an upscale area?

[wburg]

I'd say Midtown if you aren't too strict about the "upscale" part. The central city has diversity, good restaurants and bars, some pretty decent museums, and liveliness, but the incomes here are very mixed. For the most part, the high-income portions of Sacramento are car-centric suburban areas, mostly pretty weak in the diversity aspect, and if there was any liveliness (or diversity) the residents would quickly instruct the police to kick it out of their neighborhood in the direction of downtown.

In the central city there are some wealthy folks, some middle-class folks, and some poor folks all living pretty close together. The statistical outcome, for those who are more into statistics, is that Midtown looks pretty weak in terms of average incomes and average educational attainment, but in my opinion it's all part of the bigger diversity picture. I have friends who have doctorates and others who are high school dropouts, some who are highly paid professionals and others who are chronically unemployed. It's a weird mix of highbrow and lowbrow. If that works for you, give the central city a look.

[mattinsac]

The Sacramento region hasn't done a good job of retaining or attracting highly skilled immigrants minority folks. Here is a map of ethnicity in the region as well as a map of income. While the region is diverse, generally the diverse areas are the poor areas.

STI: ERsys - Sacramento, CA (Ethnicity)
STI: ERsys - Sacramento, CA (Income)

Your best bets in terms of nice areas that are diverse would be Davis, Elk Grove and Greenhaven (also known as the pocket).

There is a UC campus in Davis which makes the region diverse. There is also a bunch of restaurants in the area. So Davis might work. But it also might be too much of a college town.

Elk Grove is a boom burg south of Sacramento. The former mayor of Elk Grove was an African American police officer who did public relations work for the Sacramento City Police Department. During the peak of the housing boom, when Elk Grove was exploding, this area attracted the minority folk priced out of the bay area seeking good schools with a diverse student body. The main corridor for selling Asian foods in the region is along Stockton Blvd. This area was close to the Asian corridor, had better schools than the city of Sacramento and seemed fairly welcoming to African Americans. If you were seeking a diverse place to raise a family, Elk Grove was probably the place you sought out first.

Before Elk Grove got big, there was Greenhaven and the Pocket. This is the neighborhood were the wealthy asians flocked. Because it was diverse and still fairly close to the large African American population on the Southside, it also started getting your wealthy African Americans.

If you were looking for residential areas to find people who look like you, those would be the neighborhoods that would probably serve you best.

If you are looking for the areas with restaurants, bars, I would look at midtown, East Sac, Davis, downtown Folsom and downtown Roseville. Sacramento's gay community is centered in midtown. Midtown and East Sac are fairly white, but they are liberal and those areas have lots of bars and restaurants. Downtown Folsom and downtown Roseville are more yuppie republican, but there are some nice restaurants in both places.

[FentonForche]

You're picking the wrong city.

Davis is as close as you can get to that list of adjectives.

[CityGirl72]

You sound like you need San Fran or Seattle ...there isn't a "Big City" here with culture. It's very "down to earth" here. I've heard people tell me it reminds them of the midwest.

DO you want international diversity? You are looking in the wrong spot. Think more diverse like latino, and working class.

And if in upscale you are looking for something say like Manhattan, still not here. But if upscale is out in the suburbs with the 750K houses. Then yes we have that.

I also would say live in midtown, that's where I was single. But you'll be living more "down to earth with a cup of coffee" not "upscale with culture"

[wburg]

I think upscale must be a matter of degree...if I have one complaint about Midtown these days, it's that there are too many "upscale" places and not enough "down to earth with a cup of coffee" places anymore. Sacramento is diverse in that the population is a mixture of ethnicities, but it's an American sort of diversity rather than a pronounced international flavor. There is culture, but it's a rough sort of culture: small indie theaters instead of a black-tie theater scene, small local art galleries and the grand old Crocker instead of a high-end dog-eat-dog art scene, little resale shops where local fashion mavens sell their own handmade or modified clothes instead of a money-rich fashion district, divey bars with scruffy local bands instead of a bunch of exclusive music venues.

If by "upscale" you mean "snobby," Sacramento generally isn't that either. It's fairly down-to-earth around here. We're kind of California's last bastion of real. On the other hand, it ain't Mayberry...unless you live in the suburbs.

[Rob98LS1]

Originally Posted by smhatfield

I'm considering relocating with my current company to the Sacramento area. Can you suggest an area to reside for a 28 year old single woman who enjoys diversity, good restaurants, good bars, culture, museums, and liveliness in an upscale area?

You mentioned two important things: single, and upsclae area. I would suggest you look into a townhouse, or apartment in either roseville, fair oaks, or folsom. During the week you will find the comfort and availability of essentials in close proximity to your home, and during the weekend you will be able to hit the weekend culture, party areas fairly quickly in midtwon,downtown.

I experience this every other weekend. Hope this helps.

[bigdave01]

Davis or midtown.

[Alicia64]

I can't keep my mouth shut: a 28 year old woman looking for diversity, good restaurants etc. etc. living in Fair Oaks?!

I live in Fair Oaks. It's a wonderful suburb in many ways, but it's quiet, upscale, NO decent restaurants (maybe Carmalita's for Mexican). I would never call Fair Oaks "vibrant." Safe, yes. But not vibrant. Awesome library, great parks, quaint old village, friendly people. But for a 28 year old??

Great restaurants - midtown

I have to agree w/ the people who are saying you may be picking the wrong "city."

Alley

[Phil Minor]

Time to give Fair Oaks some love.

In Fair Oaks I am a big fan of Slocum House, La Boheme and the Sunflower Natural Restaurant. There is also a Mukuni Sushi off Hazel. That is just off the top of my head.

There are plenty of great restaurants in Fair Oaks.