i have accepted a new job in Sacramento (actually Rancho Cordova) and me and my wife need to find a place to live. But we don’t really know the neighborhoods. We currently live in an aprtment in Hollywood in a pretty nice neighborhood with shops, bars, restaurants, theaters all witihin walking distance. We don’t have any kids. Any thoughts?
Depends what you want. If you want a decent apartment in a nice place with lots of trees and restaurants, then I recommend Midtown Sacramento.
Your best bet is to find a place that is bounded by the following:
D Street to the north
V Street to the south
26th Street to the east
21st Street to the west
Depending on what you want to be near…
J & K Streets are mainly commercial corridors
R Street is the street that carries light rail and can be handy for getting around. Light Rail also goes to rancho Cordova. Check it out. It sounds like living within walking distance of R Street near 21st would be perfect for you. If so, you might look in the area bounded by O & T Streets and 22nd to 26th.
There is a supermarket at 21st & R with other good stuff in that shopping center
There is another supermarket center at Alhambra and J, but you’re not near light rail.
Light Rail can also take you right downtown to the K Street Mall, and I think it’s FREE to ride between stops in the downtown zone.
You can also look west of 21st Street, headed toward downtown, but you might want to avoide the north-south railroad corridor around 19th & 20th Streets.
The residential stuff pretty much ends and turns commercial at 16th Street headed west to the Sacramento River. 16th is typically considered the informal boundary between “Downtown” and “Midtown.”
Alhambra is the informal boundary between Midtown and “East Sac.” East Sac is also very nice, but more expensive and less commercial stuff within walking distance.
Midtown is also a great place to get around on a bike or scooter.
If you’re alternately looking to get away from a city, further towards the hills is better, maybe somewhere like Folsom. You’re a lot closer to the mountains (and Lake Tahoe) if you want to get outdoors. But it’s definitely much quieter and suburban than Hollywood, and getting to work might not be as pleasant.
If you want something closer to what you’re used to in Hollywood, BearFlag70’s recommendation of Midtown is the best. It’s a very nice area.
Midtown is much more tranquil than Hollywood, but I think the comparison was about having good stuff close to where you live. Quite frankly, I don’t know how people can stand to live in Hollywood.
Hey, GO…I was just up in the area of Auburn (historic), Meadow Vista (sister-in-laws) and El Dorado Hills (speech and language therapy for my son) yesterday…all nice areas…do you have a budget of some sort? Do you want to rent or own?
Rancho Cordova is a nice enough place, in large part, and it is in the process of changing, but if you’re into clubs, fine dining and the like, you’ll definitely want to look more into MidTown.
If you do this, however, be prepared for a rather frustrating commute.
What part of Rancho are you looking to work in?
Tristan- who lived and worked in Rancho for most of his adult life…
Thanks for the response. I think Midtown might be the answer, my work will be just off the 50 at Zinfindel. I am used to pretty ugly commutes, and having been up there i don’t think I will be too flustered by that one.
Yeticus RexWe are planning on renting at first so we can build up some reserves. Outr budget is going to be 1500/mo or less.
Bearflag We actually live in Los Feliz area, which is the far east end of Hollywood. It is more neighborhood-y and quiet than the rest of Hollywood.
Ah, I was thinking of the apartments around Sunset & Highland.
… and I wouldn’t think the commute from Midtown to Rancho would be too bad.
Would you believe … 19th & R
It almost sounds like there are enough Sac Dopers to try another Sac Dope fest.
Of course, I’ll busily be at Gettysdope. Hehehe…
And Bearflag… you’d be amazed. As someone who regularly spent an hour or more trying to get to Sac City College from Rancho, I was amazed to see how badly 50/80 gets around 5 or so. Bleh.
The same drive going home took me about 15-20 minutes.
Maybe after the move? When’s the big move?
This thread is better suited for IMHO.
I’ll move it for you.
Cajun Man
for the SDMB
My move is over and done with, and I am now 3000 miles away.
Rancho Cordova, my hometown! DON’T EVER MOVE THERE!
That said…
Sacramento can be a fun town, but you have to work at it. There is plenty of do and plenty of hip, happening people and places. But they arn’t just going to jump out at you like they do in other cities. You have to seek it. But never get down because you arn’t in a cool big city. There is as much fun in Sacto, it’s just not as easy to find.
Midtown would be my bet, too. It’s probably the only place I’d personally want to live in Sac. Restaurants, quirky characters, local music, trees…it’s a good place. Parts of downtown are okay. I hear hipsters are moving in to crime-filled Oak Park.
Sigh Sacramento summers…walking down the tree lined street in shorts at nine o’clock at night, eating a Merlino freeze, hearing the distant sounds of the train…I do miss that place sometimes.
The house across the street from us is for sale…
We’re in Natomas, which is on the extreme western end of Sacramento, and about as far from Rancho as you can get without moving to the next county. My office is one exit before Zinfandel, and my morning commute is usually 20-30 minutes, depending on exactly when I leave home. The afternoon commute is probably 10 minutes longer. In Sacramento, a difference of 10 minutes in your starting time *can *make a significant difference in your commute time.
Living in Midtown should cut your commute some, and in any case it’s not anything like LA-area traffic. You didn’t say what your budget was, or whether you are looking to rent or own. Know that Midtown is one of the most expensive areas of town, though I have no idea how prices compare to Hollywood.
Another area that you *might *want to look into is towards Elk Grove, which is 15 miles or so south of Sacramento. Personally, I would never want to live so far “out of town”, but it is a rapidly growing area. The commute to Rancho is all surface streets, which can be good or bad depending on exactly where you are and what time you are on the road.
So when are you moving? We never seem to be able to manage a Sacto Dopefest, but you could make the commute for the Bay Area Fest on the 14th…