Relocating to Sacramento area
 

There is a chance we will be relocating to the sacramento area..currently in Raleigh, NC. Can anyone tell me about the school system? We have a 10 year old son...we want a nice safe, middle class area with good schools/athletics program. Our son plays competative baseball (AAU/USSA). I am an RN and should have no trouble finding a job. What are the major hospitals in the area? I realize that housing costs are very high. Thanks for any info. Feel free to email me at [email protected]

There are 3 major hospital systems in Sacramento: the University of California at Davis Medical Center, the Sutter group, and the Kaiser group. In addition, there's a Shriners hospital.

Housing costs in Sacramento proper are not terribly high, but out in the suburbs things can get pricey. You might want to look at Roseville, a fast-growing community only about 20 minutes (at other than commute time) from downtown Sacramento; there's a large, new Kaiser hospital and clinic in Roseville.

I'm sorry not to be able to help you with schools, but I only know what I read in the paper. You might want to get a subscription to the Sacramento Bee, come to think of it. You could follow stories about the schools and also have a look at housing costs.

Underhill left out the other major hospital group - Mercy Hospitals (actually Catholic Health Care but everyone just calls them Mercy) have several facilities in the region.

Schools are all over the board - from among the best in the state to near the worst. There are a lot of fundamental and acadamy-type schools being introduced into the public school system. One of the worst high schools (Sacramento High in the Sac City unified school dist) was just converted to a charter school and now there is a waiting list to get in.

But in general, with some significant exceptions in each district, the best elementary/high schools are in the San Juan, Roseville, Folsom and Davis school districts. Elk Grove has excellent schools but they are getting very over crowded because of the extremely rapid growth there.

there biggest areas for new construction are in Elk Grove/Laguna about 10 miles south of downtown Sac and North Natomas about 5 miles north of downtown. I really don't recommend either area because they are building much faster than the infrastructure can support - especially the schools.

Parts of Folsom and Roseville are also growing very fast but they seem to be a little better planned - but also tend to be more expensive.

I usually don't recommend buying a house right away - rent until you have started to learn your way around and landed jobs. The commute patterns are changing rapidly and some commutes are just not worth the hassle.

Besides the Kaiser in Roseville there is also a new Sutter off I80 (exit Eureka/Atlantic) right off Roseville Parkway. I think housing all over the state has gone crazy, price wise. Don't know how people come up with the money to buy. If like Roseville the best school scores are at Catherine Gates or Vencil Brown for k-5 or schools in the Eureka district which are in east Roseville/Granite Bay.

I agree with the advice to rent for a little while before buying a home. That way you can get the lay of the land and decide where you want to live. Sacramento has a lot of different neighborhoods and then there are the suburbs as others have mentioned.

Personally, I think that the neighborhoods closer to downtown are great - the Fabulous 40s (named for the blocks with names in the 40s) is full of wonderful old homes. The 50s and 60s have smaller houses, but the neighborhoods have been around for awhile and have great character.

I don't care for the developments in Elk Grove or Roseville, but a lot of people love living out there.

It all depends on what you want. Housing prices are going up in Sac, but they are still pretty reasonable for California.

J_Correa, at least be specific about your pan of Roseville that it's the west side developement of Roseville so that those of us who have lived here awhile won't feel slighted. ;)

Of course the fabulous 40's would be a great area to live in but jeez who can live there? Besides kids would still have to attend the less than desirable area schools. The high schools are dismal if you're not going to Rio. We moved from Sacto along time ago so we could have and raise our kids in a better school district. Who could have seen the growth that has happened eastward. UGH, but it's nothing like Elk Grove.

travelrn,

Funny, we moved from Sacramento to Raleigh a little over 7 years ago. My wife and I are both Native Californians (somewhat rare these days), but we LOVE North Carolina and Raleigh.

You can receive all of the advice you want here, but your best bet is to go out there and visit before making any decisions.

While Sacramento has a lot of trees, it is nothing like Raleigh. The hills are brown most of the year and traffic is much heavier than Raleigh (which is getting worse).

While you are still in Raleigh, look up and take notice of the blue sky. You won't see another like it in California unless you are high in the Sierra's.

You have never seen fog in North Carolina like they get in the Sacramento Valley. There are mornings when you litterally cannot see across the street.

Sacramento also has it's pluses, but your best is to take a survey trip and see for yourself if this type of area would interest you.

We will never move back. It's hard enough just to visit relatives and friends.

Curious

Curious........you have given us a lot to think about...Raleigh is pretty great. We love it here...great hospitals and great schools. We will definetly take a survey trip and would most definetly rent before we bought anything. One of the perks of being a nurse is that I can go out there as a travel nurse and they will provide us with housing. From you description Sacromento seems to pale in comparison to Raleigh. Where do you all live? We are in the Leesville area. Thanks again to everyone for all the tips.

I remember seeing an article soon after the 2000 Census which stated that the 1990's was the first decade since California was admitted to the union in which more people moved OUT of California to other states than vice versa. Yet population continues to explode in the state, primarily due to immigration.

I am a native Sacramentan, now living in Denver, and like Curious, we will never move back. I never realized until we moved just HOW MUCH people pay to live in a California that is now totally unlike anything you see in the movies or anything like it was when we were growing up. Everything is taxed to the nth degree -- utilites, gasoline, retail sales, you name it. Housing costs are beyond ridiculous and the traffic never so seemed horrible when I lived there, but I had no idea what it was like in other states. Denver traffic at its worst is nothing like 2:00 in the afternoon in Sac. Anything you think of doing, anywhere you can think of going.....several thousand people will have thought of it too and probably beat you to it. A state with 30+ million people is just too crowded and has too many fiscal problems for us anymore.

I echo the sentiment here about a sample trip. Try living there for a while and see what you think. Oh yes, how does 114 degrees in the summer sound to you? ;)

Yeah.
Nothing on the west side of Roseville but the urban sprawl of mud huts and carboard shanty towns.

As for schools, we do our "fancy learnin'" in a one room school house. We hope to get flooring soon because the dirt turns to mud during the winter months.
Our west side sports complex consists of a "pool" (a damned creek with a tire on a rope),soccer/football field (paved over dump), baseball/softball fields (horse pasture) and a gym that doubles as a squaredance floor for our annual hoe down.

I now have to ride my bike 15 mins. vs 10 mins to get back into the land of jackrabbits, coyotes, snakes and an occassional mountain lion. Oh the humanity!

For fun, we make Elk Grove jokes.

I'd move to the Eastside or Granite Bay but the statute of limitations hasn't expired yet.

Since I've lived in the area for 42 yrs. and Mrs Kal's born and raised here, we get a chuckle at those people who have lived here for a few years and then complain about the rapid growth and how it should now be curtailed. [-X

Travelrn-My "lil Sis" is an RN and she's worked at just about all of the hospitals mentioned after about a 30yr stint at Sutter Roseville. Been "floating" and loving it. Speaks highly of Shriners.

Q'motives-I hear yah on the cost of living here....and it's not going to get better any time soon. I keep telling my friends that I may move somewhere where the cost of living is lower...like Kauai! ;)

I guess it's all about perspective and priorities. I am a native Californian and don't think I will ever live anywhere else. To me, the benefits of living in California outweigh the negatives like a high cost of living. I have friends who have moved to other states - some are happy while others can't wait to move back.

I live in Sacramento (Fair Oaks).Today I am going up to the Amador Wine country for the afternoon -- about 1 hour away. Napa Valley wine country is 1-1/2 hours. Last weekend we drove to San Francisco - 2 hours. Our ski cabin at Lake Tahoe is 1-1/2 hour drive, and lots of ski areas are even closer. The bike trail runs from my neighborhood several miles along the American River to downtown Sac. Our boat is 10 minutes away on Folsom Lake, and white water rafting is getting geared up for the summer. Yes, it gets hot in the summer, but the mornings and evenings are wonderful and we can always cool off in our pool.
And then there are THE KINGS!
I think Sacramento is the best kept secret in the country.

I think Kal is just being modest. The best schools in the Roseville city school district, Gates and Brown, are on the north west side of Roseville. The middle schools of Cooley and Buljan are far superior to Eich. My only complaint with the north west side is that it has become densly populated very recently making traffic pretty bad and lot size pretty small.

You shouldn't have to wait to be a long time resident before you become an active person in your new chosen community by participating in planning and governement There are more than 2 speeds of growth. Not just none and hyperspeed.

travelrn,

We live in North Raleigh, off Falls of Neuse. It was super convienent for my wife when we moved here because her office was just under one mile from the house. In October, her office (IBM) moved to the RTP (Research Triangle Park) main campus. However, she now works at home 3 days a week and carpools the other two days. It's a breeze.

The Shriners Hospital they talk about is the Shriners Childeren Hospital that moved from San Francisco 7-8 years ago. The only problem with the hospital is the location; South Sacramento. Think South Raleigh inside the beltline and you have an idea of the area.

As far as 114 degree days in the summer, it happens, but not often. All together you might get 14 days or so of temps over 100. HOWEVER, it is nothing compared to an August temp of 95+humidity we get here.

As I said earlier, Sacramento has it's pluses, but it will be a real shock for you when you go for a survey trip.

We liked Sacramento when we lived there. We had no idea of the beauty and history of the North Carolina area. For example, in California, they think the discovery of gold in 1848 is real old. Raleigh was incorporated in 1797!!

In California we loved to go camping. I don't mean Folsom Lake. You are just as liable to get run over there because of all the boats. We would camp in the Sierras at 7,000'. It was great and we did it to get away from people. Houses are VERY close together in California and most have slab floors. We had a garage sale here a couple of years ago and sold all of our camping equipment! We live in an area where we don't have to get away from people. We have hardwood floors.

One last thing: Sacramento rarely has an earthquake. The year we moved to Raleigh (1996) we had Hurricane Fran. A tree fell on our house and water poured in. Thousands of $ later, we are just getting things back to normal. I'd much rather deal with an earthquake than a hurricane. I've never been so scared in my life.

Good luck and let us know how your survey trip goes. If you want more, my email address is [email protected].

Curious

Sac residents, just out of curiosity, what is your average and/or highest SMUD bill? (Sacramento Municipal Utility District) I understand from friends and relatives who still live in Sac that it can be $200-$300/month during peak summer usage. The highest electric bill we've EVER paid in Colorado was $55. Natural gas-- highest has been $78 during peak winter usage. During the summer it's less than $20 per month.

Now travelrn, add that on top of a mortage without the property tax benefits of Prop 13 (because you didn't own a home prior to what, 1978?) Your older neighbors will be paying far less than you in property taxes.

Don't forget the taxes you will pay for your phone bill (determined by the city councils), the extra taxes at the gas pump that cause gas to be over $2/gallon there (it's $1.70 here), the 8 percent or more in retail sales tax, etc. etc. and you get the picture. Oh yeah, your state income tax will be fairly hefty as well. And did you know that California has, in effect, a socialized medicare system called MediCal? You'll never qualify for it of course, but you will certainly be paying for it.

And yet, every government entity in California claims constant "fiscal crisis" and has been doing so for decades now. You pay and pay and pay and yet the state government always claims it is broke.

Hope AHnold is taking care of that. ;)

Touche, Suuuz! But ME...Modest? [-X

BTW...I don't want to "top" an old post but Pomo's is a Kal Fave. Especially since they have a low carb/gluten free pasta plate. Also, the rosemary chicken is very good.

While my personalized plate isn't "Aloha" my bumper is full of it!

The pers/plate on my old Toy, is nowhere close to Kauai themed.
It is my old nickname.

And if you see my or Mrs Kals's "Kauai Toyota" license plate frames, you're follwing too close! ;)

Q'mote-I heard Gov Ahhhnuld may have saved some swimmer in Maui yesterday?
Now if he can save "Colliefornia" taxpayers!
But no mouth to mouth after a cigar pleez. =;

re the electricity costs. You have to understand the different areas - most of the Scaramento area gets electricity from SMUD (Sacramento Muni. Utility Dist) It has some of the lowest rates in the state. But outlying areas get electricity from PG&E (Pacific Gas and Elec) which has some of the highest rates in the state. (A few other smaller utilites serve some areas)

I live in Sac county so I get elec from SMUD and natural gas from PG&E - this is the best of both worlds. My SMUD bills run from about $35 in the winter to $95-$100 (the highest I ever paid) in the summer. Natural gas runs about $50 to $95 in the winter and is so low they don't even bill me in the summer - just send a jun/Jul/Aug bill that runs about $30.

I don't have a pool or spa and am in a smallish 3 bedroom, 2 bath, living room, family room, kitchen - for a larger home w/ a pool, utilities would of course cost more.

I didn't realize that the Shriners Hospital had moved from central Sacramento to South Sacramento--was this something recent? As far as I know it's quite

Travelrn--don't rule Sacramento out because of all these negative comments. Take a look for yourself. As for 114 in the summer? Maybe one day, and everything has air-conditioning: GOOD air-conditioning. We've lived near Sacramento since 1965, and have no plans to leave anytime soon.

You might want to look at the nearby city of Davis, which has a Sutter hospital and well as fine schools and great food shopping. If you like Asian food, it's a paradise: Thai, Vietnamise, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Korean...you name it, it's there, and mostly in multiple restaurants. There's a branch of the University of California.

Underhill,

Shriner's Hospital is south of Broadway on Stocton Blvd. That is considered part of South Sacramento unless it has moved!

Curious

I must say that I am suprised to hear all of these negative comments...if what you all say is true I think that Raleigh must be heaven on earth. I think that we will have to take more than one survey trip before we make such a life changing decsion. I can't think of one negative thing to say about Raleigh. If you were to recommend one area of california to move to what would it be? Sacramento is not our only option. I will certainly keep you all posted and again thanks for all of the info. I think that after taking the survey trip I am only going to realize that Raleigh is the place to be.

Thi kind of thing is so subjective that it's hard to take other people's advice about places to live, esspecially if they don't know you personally. Definitely take a trip out and see for yourself.

A few years ago my husband and I were seriously considering moving up to Sacramento. For us, the job situation is better in San Jose, so we decided to stay here.

There are lots of terrific places to live in California, it just depends on what you are looking for.

We are a young couple...I am 38 and an RN so I can pretty much get a job anywhere. My husband works in the trucking/transportation industry in management (Roadway Express). We have one son who is 10 and VERY into sports, specifically competative baseball (AAU). We are most concerned with living in a safe community with good schools and a reasonable cost of living. We realize that most of california is very expensive. We would most definetly rent to start with and then see what happens. Other areas that we have considered are San Diego, San Francisco and the Long Beach area. Thanks again!

With your parameters - reasonable cost of living, safe community, good schools, and youth sports - Sacramento definitely qualifies. SF doesn't have a reasonable cost of living and I believe the public schools are pretty bad. I don't know about sports in SF, but bigger cities generally don't have the same emphasis on sports as smaller cities. The cost of living in SD is better, but still high. I don't know about the school systems, but I think they have pretty good youth baseball down there.

travelrn: You have only received negative comments from a couple of floks. There are some people who won't like __________ (fill in the blank)

There are great, good, bad and terrible things about Sacramento - just like any other metropolitan area. But Sacramento's good points FAR outweigh the bad ones.

For your criteria there is probably no better location in all of California. BTW - there are more recreational baseball and softball players and leagues in the greater Sacramento area than anywhere else in the USA. Not per capita but in actual numbers. There are baseball and softball complexes all over the 4 county region.

San Diego is wonderful - but housing is MUCH more expensive there. Anyplace in the Bay area will be EXTREMELY expensive. Other towns/cities in the central valley (Stockton, Fresno, Bakersfield, Redding, etc) are mostly hotter than Sac (It is a delta breeze thing - the farther north and south of the Sac/San Juoaquin river deltas the hotter the climate) and are cultural wastelands compared to Sacramento.

And - Being within 1 or 2 hours of some of the best skiing in the country, Lake Tahoe, the wine country, the gold rush foothills, and San Francisco is a big plus.

travelrn,

You never have said exactly why you might be moving to Sacramento. That may be a factor.

I have lived all over California, I think something like 14 cities and towns in Northern and Southern California. I really think Sacramento is your best option "if you have to move to California".

If for some reason we had to move back to California, we would probably choose somewhere in the Sierra Nevada Mts. That does not seem like an option for you.

People who have never been to California think it is all sunshine, palm trees and cute girls in bikinis. It is NOT!!

Take your survey trip and see for yourself.

Curious

The original poster here asked for "any info" which I'm assuming of course, meant personal experiences and opinions. Mine may differ from yours, but that certainly doesn't mean they are incorrect.

Anyone who moves to California from another state should be aware, IMO, of some of the reasons why there seems to have been an exodus of native Californians during the past decade. Taxation and cost of living are certainly significant issues, as are crowds, crime, commutes, etc. etc.

Yes, you are two hours from SF and Tahoe. So are the what, two million now (?) other folks in the Sac area. Not to mention all the towns and cities in between. If you like bumper to bumper traffic almost any time of day, you'll love California.

I read, possibly in the USA Today, where the Sac Metro area was voted one of America's most liveable communities:
http://www.mostlivable.org/cities/sacramento.html

Don't know how reliable the survey is. Afterall, it rates San Jose at the top.:-"

Nothing better than going over I-80 on a clear, chilly Nor Cal morning and seeing the snow covered Sierra Nevada.

How many Fodorites do we have in the Sacto area?

Might be time for a Sacto GTG? :-?

I was wondering the same thing. There seem to be several of us. I was really disappointed I had to miss the last SF GTG because of a class conflict.

Kal,

If San Jose was the top rated city in this piece you refer to, it obviously has absolutely zero credability. That said, Sacramento is a much, much more viable place to live than San Jose.

Also, your drive over I-80 to the Sierras with the snow can be easily countered in the summer by driving back from the Sierras into Sacramento from either I-80 or I-50 and viewing the layer of smog/haze sitting in the valley.

Curious

Curious,
I recall when the "layer" was below Loomis..then Penryn...then Newcastle...then Ophir.

Ahhhh..progress.

Met a kid at coffee on Sunday. Said he had just moved here and loved the area. Loved the fact you can see the mountains and open areas.
I asked him where he's used to live.

I think we know the answer.

Small world but I wouldn't want to have to paint it! :O)

Everyone has their own priorities. My dad worked many years for the state of CA; he turned down several promotion opportunities because they would have required moving to Sacramento.

When my wife and I decided to move back to the west coast after several years in Florida, we considered places from Seattle to San Diego, and Sacramento was well toward the bottom of the list (not for serious consideration). The closest we might have considered was Auburn or Grass Valley. We just don't like the weather in the central valley.

If you can take the heat (and gray winters), I suspect you can find some decent chunks of suburbia with good schools and athletic programs. The payment is often in commute time; house prices are fairly cheap by CA standards, though probably higher than NC.