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.
I think being able to see the Sierra and the Coastal Ranges at the same time is very cool, and since we had a "normal" winter of precip this year there's still snow on the Sierras, although that's not going to last long now that summer heat is here...
OK, flat is good. In fact, most people even PREFER a flat terrain. LOL, not in my experience, but it appears once again as though more people posted on this thread to defend their city . . . .
It is a big difference--if you're counting the whole Sacramento MSA in this discussion, then "Sacramento" (as a metro region) is decidedly NOT flat--it includes Placer and El Dorado Counties, which includes the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range!
Please stop thinking that I consider this city paradise on earth--there are plenty of problems here, believe me. You're welcome to your opinions, just don't try to pass them off as "objective." Some of what you consider negatives (like the heat and the mild winters, the lack of hills) other consider positives, and vice versa. You are of course entitled to your opinions, and there are certainly folks out there who would agree with them--they just aren't "objective."
As to weather--I was born in Chicago. The spring and fall are very pretty, but I'd take a Sacramento summer over a humid, sticky Chicago summer--and I'd sure as heck take a rainy, cool Sacramento winter over a snow-up-to-your-eyeballs-while-standing-on-a-ladder Chicago winter!
As to Saca's project, it wasn't people's opinions of him that made him fail but the market realities--despite considerable financial assistance (some of which wandered well outside the legal or the appropriate, according to the various building department scandals) from the city of Sacramento. He failed on his own merits--or lack of same. It wasn't some mysterious wave of attitude from Sacramentans that somehow destroyed his plan.
I think that any positive or negative could be subjective, depending upon your viewpoint. I tried to be objective, but it's impossible to list any positive or negative without leaving room for some debate.
I listed the negatives mainly in terms of the complaints I have heard from other people regarding the area. The heat, terrain, and eyesoars are probably the most common complaints that I've heard from people. So, I listed them.
Sure, there are people that prefer our weather, or prefer flat terrain. In my opinion, that's not really the norm though. Places like Athens, San Francisco, Seattle, etc. are considered picturesque because they have hilly terrain and offer amazing views in many parts of the city. Sure, there are some other ciites with a flatter terrain that also receive praise, but it's usually more for their landmanks (St. Louis with the Arches/Gateway, Chicago with the Sears Tower) than the actual city. How many pictures of St. Louis have you seen without the Arches? That's because there isn't much of anything else that is picturesque there.
And, that's not to say that everything in San Fran or other cities with varied terrain is a peril to drive in, but rather, those cities just offer a more diverse and interesting landscape. MOST people consider diversity and a variety of options to = positive.
Hot, flat, inland (away from the coast), ugly. Those are the most common complaints that I hear, time and time again. I don't think those points are too far off base either or biased.
What is funny so far is that I don't think one perspective resident of this city has posted here yet. It's all people that came from somewhere else and like Sacramento better, or are happy here, so are we really getting anything "objective"? I think not.
I actually like it here, but I try to stay realistic. It's not my ideal place, but it also has some great things going for it.
Born and raised in Sac, moved out for 20 years and came back. The lists are quite amusing. They are minimal in complaint, especially if you've lived in some of the east coast hell holes I had to survive in.
Sacramento will always be an also-ran. We have the same ups and down of all western cities, without the oppressive slums of the major cities such as LA, SF, or Oakland. The positives outweigh the negatives by a long shot. You can have Cleveland, Detroit, Philly, and Houston. I'll be happier riding my bike along the tree-lined bike lanes.
I think that any positive or negative could be subjective, depending upon your viewpoint. I tried to be objective, but it's impossible to list any positive or negative without leaving room for some debate.
I listed the negatives mainly in terms of the complaints I have heard from other people regarding the area. The heat, terrain, and eyesoars are probably the most common complaints that I've heard from people. So, I listed them.
Sure, there are people that prefer our weather, or prefer flat terrain. In my opinion, that's not really the norm though. Places like Athens, San Francisco, Seattle, etc. are considered picturesque because they have hilly terrain and offer amazing views in many parts of the city. Sure, there are some other ciites with a flatter terrain that also receive praise, but it's usually more for their landmanks (St. Louis with the Arches/Gateway, Chicago with the Sears Tower) than the actual city. How many pictures of St. Louis have you seen without the Arches? That's because there isn't much of anything else that is picturesque there.
And, that's not to say that everything in San Fran or other cities with varied terrain is a peril to drive in, but rather, those cities just offer a more diverse and interesting landscape. MOST people consider diversity and a variety of options to = positive.
Hot, flat, inland (away from the coast), ugly. Those are the most common complaints that I hear, time and time again. I don't think those points are too far off base either or biased.
What is funny so far is that I don't think one perspective resident of this city has posted here yet. It's all people that came from somewhere else and like Sacramento better, or are happy here, so are we really getting anything "objective"? I think not.
I actually like it here, but I try to stay realistic. It's not my ideal place, but it also has some great things going for it.
I have seen a lot of pictures of St. Louis that looked nice that didn't include the Arch: my wife visited there and photographed some of its historic districts, like the Soulard, and had good things to say about it:
Similarly, while Sacramento's architecture certainly doesn't meet the scale of Chicago, or the sophistication and historic depth of Paris, ours is pretty nice--we have beautiful historic districts of residential buildings. Which may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I like 'em.
I personally don't like the Arch. Like Sacramento's Capitol Mall and riverfront, the Arch was built on the ruins of a demolished African-American neighborhood, displaced during St. Louis' redevelopment era.
Look, it's really okay for you to express your opinions. It's okay to put forth what you consider to be more popular opinions. Feel free--where I agree, I'll give kudos, where I disagree, I'll offer counterpoint. But don't try to suggest that anyone's opinions--yours, mine, or those of the majority--are "objective." I have no illusions that mine are objective, and they generally aren't popular, but I don't mind expressing them...but you've probably figured that out by now.
When we travel from Florida to Sacramento and go to Tahoe to ski, we never think as Sacramento as flat. really for the most part most major cities are on a flat area, it is the surrounding areas that make up the scenery anyway.
Nice post... I agree with pretty much everything but the statement about the lack of delta breeze.
Just look at the weather over the years on any website with actual temps... yes it gets hot in the summer but it does cool down at night, most of the time in the range of 20 -30 degrees cooler in the evening. There's a rare night here and there that doesnt but the average evening temp is more like low 60's. I think the SMF airport weather site show's the average at 57. Not too many places have that kind of difference in temp from day to night.
I also thought the OP's comment about the climate in Sacramento was a bit of an exaggeration. Sacramento is one of the closest valley cities to the delta and along with Stockton receives a fair amount of cooler coastal air that funnels thru the Carquinez Strait. Sacramento is the coolest valley city as a result. That doesn't mean Sacramento has a comfortable summer but it does make a huge difference compared to other valley towns like Redding that is at least 10 degrees hotter. There is a delta wind that blows into the Sacramento valley at night and makes it much more comfortable than the rest of the Central Valley from Redding to Bakersfield.
I have seen a lot of pictures of St. Louis that looked nice that didn't include the Arch: my wife visited there and photographed some of its historic districts, like the Soulard, and had good things to say about it:
Similarly, while Sacramento's architecture certainly doesn't meet the scale of Chicago, or the sophistication and historic depth of Paris, ours is pretty nice--we have beautiful historic districts of residential buildings. Which may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I like 'em.
I personally don't like the Arch. Like Sacramento's Capitol Mall and riverfront, the Arch was built on the ruins of a demolished African-American neighborhood, displaced during St. Louis' redevelopment era.
Look, it's really okay for you to express your opinions. It's okay to put forth what you consider to be more popular opinions. Feel free--where I agree, I'll give kudos, where I disagree, I'll offer counterpoint. But don't try to suggest that anyone's opinions--yours, mine, or those of the majority--are "objective." I have no illusions that mine are objective, and they generally aren't popular, but I don't mind expressing them...but you've probably figured that out by now.
Ha ha I can see that you are quite opinionated. You definitely know your Sacramento history and bring up valid points as well. Somehow I knew you'd point out the fact that there is more to see in St. Louis than the Arches.
Sure, every city has something interesting. Hell, I could drive to Weed and probably take some pictures worth looking at, but all in all, I've never really heard anyone say "wow, I just came back from such and such city, and it was so beautiful, I mean, it was so FLAT". That doesn't mean Sacramento doesn't have nice neighborhoods or interesting land marks; I think it does.
Like I said, I listed the negatives in terms of complaints I've heard lauded of the area, coupled with my own experience. I've rarely heard anyone describe something flat as beautiful. Sure, some people like the desert, or rolling plains, but that is pretty mundane landscape. Honestly, do you hear more people rave about the mountains and the coast, or the 1-90 trip of flat desert like landscape between here and Los Angeles? Same logic holds true with cities. Most people like some variety or diversity.
But yes, true, there are some people that prefer static, steady, and a more "Kansas city" type landscape. Any "positive" or "negative" can be debated. I'm not trying to write the book on Sacramento, just give people an honest view of what they should expect.
I think if any potential newcomer checks this thread, they will be intelligent enough to know if the "flat" or "hot" negatives that I listed are something that will be a "negative" for them as well. Maybe an influx of people moving from Nebraska will disagree with me as well.
But I am being objective. If you disagree, go look at the positives I listed. There are quite a few of them. If I were truly being subjective, I would have only listed negatives, because truth be told, I'd like to get the hell out of this place.
Thanks Jasmine. It is a tough climate to get used to if you are not from an inland area, or if you have not spent a good amount of time in one. I don't think I've been to a place quite like this in terms of weather. New Orleans was hot and ungodly humid, but the high precipitation at least led to rainfall and some relief. Sacramento feels like 6 months of summer, 3 months of winter, and 3 months of fall to me, with summer being the truly dominant season.
That's true for most of California. Summer is very long & can be quite hot inland but on the coast it is delightful.
Your other remarks about Sacramento were very interesting to read since I am not that familiar with the area. I do have relatives in Chico about 100 miles north of Sacramento so I understand your concern about the heat but let me tell you that it is much hotter almost everywhere north and south of Sacramento in the Central Valley.
I also thought the OP's comment about the climate in Sacramento was a bit of an exaggeration. Sacramento is one of the closest valley cities to the delta and along with Stockton receives a fair amount of cooler coastal air that funnels thru the Carquinez Strait. Sacramento is the coolest valley city as a result. That doesn't mean Sacramento has a comfortable summer but it does make a huge difference compared to other valley towns like Redding that is at least 10 degrees hotter. There is a delta wind that blows into the Sacramento valley at night and makes it much more comfortable than the rest of the Central Valley from Redding to Bakersfield.
"Sacramento is one of the coolest valley cities . . . ". Yeah, and it's still pretty damn hot, and it still lacks distinct seasons. Winters here are a joke. They are like what we used to consider fall in Washington. The rest of the year is either very hot, or warm.
Good Christ, there hasn't been ONE person other than residents of this area that have posted here. And about 85% of the posts are defending some "negative" that I listed. Dude, it's HOT here. Even people from as close as the North bay/Santa Rosa area say, "damn, it's HOT there". My family was up the other day, which was only in the low 90's, and first thing they said was, "IT'S HOT HERE". It is. just accept it. It's a dry heat with little relief. And that "Delta Breeze" is like the rush of air that you feel when you open an oven; it's not like the refreshing cool ocean air that comes in and cools everything down, it's just a dry breeze blowing all the hot air around.
Accept it. It's goddamn HOT here. Saying anything other than that is totally misleading any perspective resident. Like saying, "don't worry about Seattles' rain, it doesn't rain that much. Seattle gets less rain than Atlanta and New York". BS, it RAINS in Seattle. A LOT. And in Sacramento, IT'S HOT.
I didn't write this thread for people that are from the valley or even know what the central valley is. I wrote it for prospective residents who are moving from other areas of the country.
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.
