Sacramento relocation
 

My 29 year old daughter is considering relocating from San Diego to Sacramento for a job. She is rather hesitant about the move.
Can any of you give me some of the positives and negatives of Sacramento for a young professional who would be moving there

One positive for Sac is that housing prices are still relatively low so homeownership is still within reach for a single person. There are also quite a variety of homes ranging from townhouses and condos, older homes, brand new homes, etc.

There are quite a few things to do in Sac - Arco arena is there, so there are concerts and on on. Downtown there is some decent nightlife - nothing that compares to the Gaslamp, but decent.

Sac is within easy driving distance to a lot of things - Lake Tahoe, the gold country, the SF Bay Area, etc. So there are plenty of weekend trips to take.

For negatives - weather is a big one - it is hot in the summer and foggy and cold in the winter. It isn't nearly as pictureque as SD. Sac isn't ugly or anything - lots of trees, has the rivers, etc - but it is an inland city. Sac is also experiencing quite a bit of suburban sprawl as new developments go in. I don't find that particularly attractive.

So those are a few positives and negatives that I can think of off the top of me head.

Something that may be a positive or negative depending on how you look at it - Sac is a pretty relaxed town. People are pretty laid back, so Sac doesn't really have a hip, urban vibe or anything.

Boring does not sound like a good recommendation - I'm a little worried about her moving there - and it will be her second move in 1 1/2 yrs - have to make new friends AGAIN .
Maybe she wont get the job!

Just don't move to the Roseville Rocklin area if her job is in downtown or Rancho Cordova!!!

What does she like to do, maybe make suggestions/comments easier. ((Y))

L'Italy
15 mins??? Doncha wish!!!!!

I remember the good old days of making it to "The Little Onion" in about 30-40 mins.
We'd make it quicker to Dixon when it was the only Cattlemen's and we were hungry!

Hi Kal, yes 15 minutes to Sacramento would be great...would sure save on time to the airport wouldn't it? Only in our dreams. Haven't been to the Cattlemen's in ages. Talked to a friend the other day and they went there recently and she said they had fantastic lobster tails. I personally think those must have been frozen ones though. But she said the dinner was really good. When was the last time you ate at Cattlemen's? Take care and be good, well at least a little bit good, LOL.

tom_cruise must be in a scientology trance. Has no idea what he is talking about.

sunbum1944: J_Correa has given you a really good overview. But we would need a lot more info to give the best advice. By any chance, does your daughter work for the State or Feds? Especially for most CA State departments, Sacramento is sort of the holy grail. Most headquarters are here so promotions tend to be easier.

If she is "hip" there is a very lively, arts/restaurant scene in midtown.

Do you know where her company/department is located? Where to live could be anywhere depending on her commute.

With the Mondavi Center and UCD in nearby Davis we now get a LOT of first rate concerts/operas/dance p[rograms, etc. Arco Arena brings in most of the major concert tours. If she is into outdoorsy stuff - the American River Parkway is over 30 miles of riverside trails -- biking/running/horses or just nature walking.

Tell us where she'd be working and what sorts of things she enjoys and we can give more specific advice.

Hello sunbum,

My daughter who was 27 at the time moved from San Francisco to Sacramento due to the cost of living and commuted to San Francisco. She felt that Sacramento was not the place to be for a single person. Sacramento area is a great area, espcially for young familes and married couples. In my personal opinion, San Diego sounds like a better choice for her.

Obviously it depends entirely on her job prospects if she moves there.

My daughter worked in Sacramento for the State, under Jerry Brown, a long time ago in the days of environmental concern, as a consultant in that area.

She now works for PGE in the same job description but in a wonderful northerm CA community.

I would say that is it entirely possible for a 29-year-old to be happy in Sacramento, given that one does not mind summer heat and that one can be flexible and intelligent enough to make it a springboard if one is not happy there.

Given that it is a state capitol, I would imagine that the job opportunities in Sacremento would offer more flexibiltiy for movemen than in Sam Diego.

Just my opinion.

Well I guess our "movie star" left the screen!

I know that people commute from Sacramento to SF but I can't imagine how they do it with the traffic on I-80. What a long work day that would be.

Sunbum, I would suggest if it is possible that your daughter come up for a long weekend and check Sacramento out for herself. It is so difficult to know what would be acceptable for someone that you do not know. I will say this. I have an ex daughter-in-law that lived in Sacramento and worked for the State of CA for years. She got transferred down to San Diego on a temporary basis. And she put it for a permanent relocation. She loves San Diego and has no intention of returning to Sacramento. But again that is just her. Lots and lots of people do live in Sacramento. Best wishes to your daughter in her decision. I hope that whatever she chooses works out for her.

I grew up in Sacramento. It's a great place for families, but not so good for singles. I'd come back to visit (I live in the SF Bay Area now) and notice how young everyone seemed to get married. I go to the State Fair now and I'm a good 10 years older than all of the other parents in with their kids at the petting zoo.

Thanks for all your info - she just did a phone interview yesterday- now has to wait and see if she gets another one.

Dont know what area of the city she would be located in- she works for a large insurance comapany- not the the state. If she does get a second interview I know they will fly her out for a weekend so she will get a better idea then of whether she thinks she will like it or not. I have to say I changed planes there this summer and was amazed that it was so dry and so flat!!

I know she will enjoy all the outdoor things there are to do - but she is also very social and likes to go out to "hip" bars and clubs. Seems as though there are mixed reviews as to whether Sacramento offers much on that scene.

She would be happy to stay in SD but this is an opportunity for her to move up in the company and so she thinks she needs to give it a try - she has heard mixed reviews also - so guess will just wait and see if she gets the second interview.

Thanks again for all the info - it definately does not sound like a GREAT place for singles

Its official- my daughter is moving to Sacramento. Any suggestions of areas to live -she will have to rent- she wants to live in an area with young professionals with shops, restaurants
etc close by
Land Park is one recommendation
Any other suggestions - she will work in Rancho Cordova but thinks she wants downtown /midtown area to live

Well, good luck to her. I am sorry I don't know Sac'to well enough to make the recommendations you asked for, but I am sure there are persons here who can.

I live near Sacramento. I would recommend mid-town or East Sacramento. These are older, established neighborhoods, but the "in" place to live. Near some of the finer restaurants, clubs and shops. IMHO. Land Park is probably more family oriented, but Curtis Park is also and option.

Good luck,
MY

Hope this helps

Mid town or east sacramento would fit her criteria. The commute on hwy 50 between Rancho Cordova and Sacramento is really bad. But she would be doing it in reverse (out to Rancho, back to Sacramento) so not quite as bad but still congested.

Land Park is a very upscale, old established neighborhood and not at all convenient to where she will be working.

There are parts of east Sacramento that are very similar to Land Park - VERY upscale. But she won't end up in that area -- unless she is maybe a oil heiress.

In General - the area in Sacramento proper that is close to a TON of restaurants, coffee houses, theatres, night clubs, boutiques and small shops will be bounded by 16th street on the west, Sacramento State University on the east, T street on the south and D or E street to the north.

There are everything from new construction condos, to non-descript mid-century apartments to victorians and craftsman cottages split into flats. What I would suggest is that she stay for the first couple of weeks in someplace like Extended Stay America or other inexpensive places w/ kitchenettes. Then she can see how bad her commute really is (she might decide to move closer to her work), meet some of her co-workers and find out where they live (car-pooling is always an option), and get a feel of which neighborhoods she likes.