I've never been to Sacramento before but after being layed off my job of 20 years, I'm considering applying for a job which requires relocating to Sacramento. After all the horror stories about the outrageous prices in Northern California, I'm a bit concerned. I currently live in Orange County, CA which isn't cheap either, but certainly much cheaper than the northern Ca. bay area etc. Appreciate any comments about the beauty, priceing, safety, culture of Sacramento. (Sorry to have to admit that I've never even visited my own State Capitol) Craig

Well, last week it was bloody hot! But other than that.....

Sacramento is close to lots of the best of Northern CA like SF, Wine Countries (Napa, Sonoma and Foothills)and Tahoe etc.

Lots of newcomers do not move into the city of Sacramento but prefer the smaller cities and towns around it or the suburbs of Sac, some of which have been incorporating recently, eg: Citrus Heights. Newcomers who prefer city living and can afford it choose to live in McKinely Park are or the Fabulous Forties or places like Land Park.

Sacramento is very much a government town. Our news is much more oriented to what's going on at the Capitol than most other places in CA.

I grew up in S CA and much prefer N CA.

I grew up in Sacramento and now live in the Bay Area. Some generalizations from my experience--Sacramento is a lot more family oriented than the Bay Area. Now that I have a family this isn't such a big deal, but for a single it can be a drag to see these people of 25 years old with two children everywhere. Also, I find the people in the Bay Area to be "sharper" than in Sacramento--that's a huge generalization, of course there are some pretty hip and smart people in Sacramento too but when EVERYONE in the Bay Area works in high tech it seems a little "duller" in Sacramento. Were I to move back, I would live in the Fabulous forties for sure, what a great area! I've never been one for the suburbs personally. There is a lot to do in Sacramento, and some good restaurants, and it's nice and close to SF, Napa and Tahoe. If I were you I'd spend about a week in the area checking it out.

Is the Fabulous Forties a city?? Never heard of this when we visited this area 2 years ago.??

The Sacramento housing market is no where as high as the Bay area and Silicon Valley. A lot of people actually like the area. It's going to be warmer than many areas of OC, but nothing an a/c can't help with.

Southwest Airlines has cheap tickets between OC & Sac, so why not hop there over the weekend and give it a look around.

Unique perspective Monica. I find that most people who live in Sacramento are not originally from Sacramento. They move from all parts of California and the other 48. So maybe it attracts the leftover dull people who flee the really sharp ones from the "City".

We don't have the same level of homeless problem that San Frnacisco has. You'd think with all those "sharp" people someone could come up with a solution to those problems.

There are all the regular things to do, like regional theater, small art galleries and good restuarants.

It's a good deal cheaper to live in Sacramento than in other northern California locations though prices continue to climb. It seems pretty safe but there are pockets of areas that have higher rates of crime than others.

The downtown area is loaded with trees and the city seems to promote this.

The Kings are a great NBA team to cheer for and the Rivercats stadium is located near Old Sacramento and the river.

There's a lot to like about Sacramento is you are "dull" enough to live here.

For a look at Sacramento in the '70s - check out Eight is Enough reruns on Nick at Night. ;-)

But seriously, you should visit and check out some of the sites like Old Town Sacramento. I take Bay Area newcomers there while on the way to places like Tahoe and they can't believe they've never heard of it after visiting.

The Sacramento area is agricultural.
While the city is more diversified in its economic base, the mentality of people there is more rural in the sense that it's more family oriented, less fashion and trend oriented, etc.
High end hotels and shopping wouldn't prosper in Sac.
It is very warm in summer, cool in winter, and even gets snow on rare occasion (something like 13 recorded dustings of snow in the county over the past 100 years).
Best asset is proximity to lots of other neat areas (Tahoe, Yosemite, Bay area, etc)

Thanks for the comments. I'm a big
Lakers Fan....can't imagine becoming a Kings fan. hmmmmm.... Lordy Lordy! Really appreciate the help out there. Thanks so much. Craig

Ok craig, now that we know that about you, you may not move here. Crime in the vicinity of YOU will rise dramatically during Basketball Season!

Carol, The Fabulous Forties is a section of houses that are fabulous. They are located on the streets numbered in the 40's between Folsom Blvd on the South and what H? on the North. Is H too far? Maybe J. Well you get the idea.

Monica,

You must be from San Francisco with your arrogant attitude putting Sacramento down. You must also be the same person who bashes San Jose, which by the way in the only "real" City in Northern California. San Francisco is nothing but a homeless and hooker infested town. Who in their right mind would want to live or visit such a place?

as long as you leave the stupid shiny yellow Kobe or Shaq jersey and pants behind you will be OK. There are - unfortunately - actually a lot of Lakers fans here.

BTW the fab forties are the premier neighborhood inside the city limits. Called that because they lie on 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th etc streets The closer to 45th St the posher it gets. Housing in the city is VERY diverse - from the high end fab 40's, Land Park, McKinley Park, Greenhaven to low end neighborhoods like in any city.

The fastest growing areas are south of town in Elk Grove/Laguna (commute getting very bad), north of town in Natomas (surrounding Arco Arena) and in south Placer county (Roseville, Granite Bay (Where most of the Kings Players live - so you should avoid al all costs)

Curious as to ballparking what one might get for say $500-$600,000...?? Size is not as important as location. Kids are grown but have 2 dogs and 3 cats. My wife would divorce me before she's give up these guys. What's the price range in the Fabulous Forties?
Thanks, Craig
P.S. I suppose I could leave the gold jersey in So.Cal.

Half a mil will go pretty far in Sacramento. Someone in my family just bought a brand new house - 4 br, 3 ba - right near a golf course for about 250K. The development is brand new and just south of town. I think that property values in town are a bit higher.

You'll have no problem finding a nice 4 bedroom, 2 bath home in Sacramento for that price range.

Don't you think you're jumping the gun? If you're just considering applying for a job, there's a huge chance that they'll never even call you for an interview not alone a need for you to worry about an offer. A friend of mine told me that last week she posted an ad for a mid level position and received over 1,000 resumes in the first 48 hours.

Sorry to say Craig, homes in the fab forties are for sale few and far between and usually more than $600,000. There are two for sale one on 46th between H & J $679,000 and one on 47th between H & I 639,000. The Fab forties are located in the 95819 zip code.

Not to knock your relatives J Correa, I'm sure their home is lovely, but I would never live South of Sacramento. Ugly area, too many homes, very densely populated which is reflected in the price $250,000 is pretty average.

I like to think of Sacramento as the Cincinnati of California. Pleasant on the surface, but somewhat backwards and inbred, too.

Jim, sorry but I live in San Jose. Nice place to live, not so nice to visit. Sure we have our problems too, what city doesn't. Why can't I state my opinion about a place I grew up in without being slammed. So I live someplace else now and have a different take on what it's like in Sacramento than you do?! Hey, that's why I don't live there now and you do. To each his own.