Are you happy with your move to Sacramento?
Did you move from the East Bay/Bay Area to Sacramento? If so, how do you like it?
Some background: My husband and I are considering a move to Sacramento before our (currently preschool-age) daughter enters elementary school in the next few years. We are interested in living within the city limits. I read through some of the past posts on this issue, but I was hoping to get some more info from folks. The long and the short of it is cost. After many years in the Bay Area, my husband and I are starting to appreciate that we may never be able to afford a house here. Even with all of the price hikes, Sacramento seems to be substantially cheaper, and we could afford to put a lot more down, making the impact of the terrible interest rates a lot less. And private school seems to be noticeably less than the Bay too if we were to live in a neighborhood that we loved but a school district that we didn't love.
Did you make that move? Where did you go and how has it been? Were you able to find a good community that shares your interests?
Parent Replies
Sacramento is fantastic! It is hot in the summer- this is not an understatement (I grew up in New Orleans). We did the move after 10 years in SF/ East Bay, summer 2021 when I was pregnant, similarly as it was more cost-effective to get more space. We chose Curtis Park, but any of the older neighborhoods around the downtown/ midtown area (Land Park, East Sac) are lovely, and have something (cafe, market, etc) within walking distance. Because of our location, everything we needed for kiddo was within easy walk or drive, never more than 15-minutes on local roads, so we felt it was really manageable and family-friendly- if that’s what you value. At local park, it seemed like “everyone” had moved from the Bay area.
My family moved to Sacramento five years ago to be closer to grandparents and extended family and to escape the very high cost of living in the Bay Area. Unfortunately we didn't have a down payment for a house saved when we moved (see: expensive Bay Area cost of living), so we rented our home. While we love a lot of things about Sacramento, with remote work and the ever expanding Bay Area, the cost of living has recently become nearly as bad as it was in the East Bay when we left. And now we are sort of stuck because of the proximity to grandparents and because we don't want to move our kids again. Honestly, if I didn't have extended family in Sacramento and I was leaving the Bay Area now, I'd probably leave California altogether. Sacramento is great, but I feel almost like I'm stuck in the same situation all over again of never having enough to save for retirement or own a house. If you have friends or family elsewhere, I'd go there and start building community in a truly affordable place. I have noticed that some folks who move here from the Bay Area who do NOT have those existing attachments--familial or otherwise--choose to move again a couple of years later.
Hello Niavara:
We moved to DAVIS (15 mins from "West" Sacramento) right before the lock down. We loved living in the Berkeley Hills for 10 years, but husband's age became a factor for his feeling comfortable driving.
Davis is a small college town. And everywhere is free parking. Plus the Arboreteum.
You'll miss the great food of Berkeley-- but Sacramento itself has a super eating places (Davis, not so much).
For future reference, once you or your partner reaches 55 yrs of age, you can consider living in "Rancho Yolo" a retirement community of mobile homes --you buy your home & pay rent: $810 which includes all utilities. There are 2 swimming pools, a huge club house, live music 1-2 x monthly, tai chi, charades, choral, rehearsals for play performances, book studies, knitting, etc.