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!

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.