Hey all,
I live in New York and when I think a cities capitol I think of ours (Albany)…eek
That said, a tech company may be offering me an opportunity to freelance, and eventually if it turns into a job would want me to move to Sacramento CA. I’ve been to San Fran and loved it, but how is Sacramento? Is technology big there? Is it nice, etc
I’ve never lived there, but I have stayed there a few times. So this will be the impressions of a visitor.
Climate: hot and dry in the summer, cold and dry in the winter.
People: lots of government types and lawyers, but also lots of young people - I think there are a fair number of colleges and universities in the area. It’s Northern California so I think it’s fairly liberal and open-minded.
Physical layout - flat and spread out, like a small LA. There are areas where walking or biking can be both pleasant and practical (i.e. there are places to go that are reasonably close to other places to go), but if you live anywhere outside the city center, it’s car time all the time.
Mass transit, crime, social activities - I don’t know. But it seemed to me to be generally pleasant.
On the whole, I wouldn’t mind living there maybe, although I might get tired of the summer heat. 3-digit temperatures are not uncommon.
Roddy.
Its a very outer extension of the Bay Area, hours away from SF.
Not “cool” by SF standards, because everyone “cool” goes to SF and the rest of the Bay Area.
Also not “cool” by weather standards, be aware it is a completely different climate than the Bay Area.
You didn’t say where in NY you are, but for some, Sacramento and its suburbs have their charm. Relatively close to mountains for ski or other getaways. Possibly easier to get to Napa Valley form their than much of the Bay Area.
Most of the tech community IMHO is spinoffs from the Bay Area. The tech there consists of people who, for the most part, HQ (or other forces) in the Bay Area decided could be moved to Sacramento because they are not primary functions, and it is cheaper up there. Intel, HP,places like that have large operations east of Sacramento, around Folsom e.g.
But I didn’t find when my sister and her family lived in Folsom for that reason that the jobs up there were especially connected to the Bay Area, at least not the vibrant aspect of tech entrepreneurship that the Bay Area has critical mass of. (that was ahorrible sentecne, but you know what I mean)
That is not to say there is NOTHING innovative in the Sacto area, just not much. Although it has been a while, I know a key VC person who left to mine the Sacto area, and came back about a year later completely disappointed at what was there.
Also, remember that Sacramento itself is not that big a city, and its prime industry by far is state government.
yeah I live in Buffalo NY right now…so I know I’m sure it’s better hehe…but I was just wondering. I loved San Fran so I’m sure I’ll be a little let down hehe.
I’m near Stockton and about 40 minutes from Sacramento but in the same valley and the demographics are much the same.
Weather
The weather is hot in the summers; upper 90s is the norm, with about 10-14 days of 100+ temps. The winters are pleasant unless you’re from elsewhere in California then you might find it cool. Currently it’s 50 degrees or so and that’s typical. It’s typically 20-30 degrees cooler between 10 pm and 6 am.
Housing
The housing crises pretty much started here, not Sacramento itself but this Valley. Look to rent, housing prices are no where near stabilized. Rents are currently dropping all over the valley.
Transportation
You’ll need a car, end of story, full stop. The SF Bay Area is about 45 miles west, Reno is 100 or so miles east with tons to do all over in between.
Crime
Unemployment here is nearly 20% officially, I’d bet it more than that when you factor in the never do wells. I’m having trouble trying to quantify crime here. Take a look here, I think this is fairly typical of the valley.
Politics.
This part of the Valley tends redder than the Bay Area but I think it’s a wash.
cool thank you. Culturally is there stuff to do? A night scene, etc?
Sure, there are night clubs and museums. There is also Old Sacramento which boast several bars, dance spots and a comedy club. I hand out there periodicly because my wife drags me to Joe’s Crab Shack.
My wife and I moved to Sacramento over a year ago from Atlanta and we are loving it here.
Geographically this may be true, but I would interpret it a little carefully. Sacramento is very distinct from the Bay Area and while it is easy to get there for day trips it would be an insane commute on a regular basis.
For its size Sacramento is a great town. It has a vibrant midtown area with lots of good restaurants and bars. It is easy to get around and traffic is pretty good compared to San Francisco or Atlanta.
It is a very pleasant place, but not terribly exciting in terms of tourist attractions. I wouldn’t make a trip here specifically as a tourist, but living here is great. And all sorts of things (San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley, etc) are available for the weekends. I am very fond of the easy cultural access to the Bay Area without the cost of living of the Bay Area! We found Sacramento to be quite comparable to Atlanta from a financial perspective.
I am not sure how large a tech industry there is in Sacramento. My impression is that it is very limited, especially compared with the reasonably close (but not reasonably close enough for a commute) Bay Area. Sacramento is largely a government town.
It’s a nice place to raise a family, but as cities go it doesn’t come close to being, what I’d call “cool.”
It’s a medium sized city, with emphasis on government but big enough so it’s not the whole economy. Everyone seems to love San Francisco, and Sacromento is close enough so you can visit it a lot. Maybe that way you won’t get tired of it.
I have only been there once, for two days. It was 105 degrees outside. I only saw the insides of the buildings. I definitely decided I did not want to live there; I didn’t even care whether that was typical, I want to live someplace where it won’t happen.
People kept saying “Yeah, but it’s a dry heat.” And I replied: “Just like the inside of my oven. . .”
Miserable trip.
I spent most of my child and teen years in Stockton, which has generally higher crime than Sacramento, per capita. I haven’t lived there in about 15 years, so a lot of day-to-day stuff has changed. See comments above for useful info. I’ve only been there for short visits since moving.
But apparently, crime stats haven’t gotten much better over the years. If you’re used to urban NYC, or parts of Jersey, you probably won’t think it’s that bad. If you’re from upstate NY, you’re in for an interesting experience, particularly in certain parts of town.
Public transport is crappy compared to NYC. You’ve got busses…and busses. And the people who ride busses tend to be from lower income neighborhoods. See crime stats above to determine whether you’re going to be comfortable commuting on busses. There’s virtually no rail intra-city.
You’re probably going to be driving. A lot. Study a map. Business 80 is different from HWY 80, and you will get lost if you don’t pay attention. I had a driving job in Sac., learned most of the roads and tangled highways, and I still got lost every once in a while. I found Los Angeles to be less confusing to navigate.
Oh, and lock your damn car, even if you’re going to be gone for “just a minute.” Sacramento is usually one of the top five cities nationally for car theft, and the surrounding areas in the central valley usually populate about 3–5 spots out of the top ten per capita. Don’t leave anything in your car if it is even slightly valuable; even in a parking lot during the day you can come back to a broken window and missing stuff.
Weather during the summers usually sucks. It’s cooler than Arizona, but that’s not saying much. Some major roads and even highways flood occasionally during the winter when they get sporadically torrential rains. Doesn’t happen every year, but it does happen.
On the plus side, you are close to both the Bay Area and mountains. Access to northern California where there’s sparse population and really beautiful country, Sierra Nevada mountains are great for hiking as well as skiing. Decent nightlife and cultural attractions. Two major colleges, several minor. A couple of gignormous malls if you like shopping.
I’ve lived in Sacramento all my life. This, I realize, is a terrible thing.
However, I do feel qualified to say that Sacramento is in no way “cool.” Parts of Sacramento believe they are cool, because they wear thick-framed glasses and ride huge bicycles. Most of Sacramento is suburban sprawl, to be honest. Generally it’s nice suburban sprawl. And thanks to the housing-bust, some people can almost afford to own homes there.
And if you ever need to go someplace with a beach, skiing, hiking, or somesuch activity it’ll take you around 90 minutes by car to be somewhere you can (traffic and driving habits allowing, of course). We have two rivers (one of which is quite nice), and a lake we let the people in Folsom take care of for us.
It is not the coolest city you could live in. I may be exhibiting my bias here, but I’d say it’s pretty decent.
Stockton tends redder? I am in Tulare County, I’d say the Valley as a whole is not only the reddest part of California, but quite possibly equal to the reddest parts of the US.
Sacramento itself would be a slight oasis in that, Davis to the west probably is as blue (and green) as it gets in the Valley, and is home to UC Davis.
True. But you would be surprised how many people DO make that commute every day.
My bro in law used to commute a few times a week from Folsom to Sunnyvale for about 5 years I think. His company put him up in a hotel each time in the Bay Area.
I only say it is on the edges because people do commute, but it is insane. Plus, the highways between the Bay Area and Sacramento and beyond ARE filling in with offices, and some of that is tech, biotech, and I guess green research.
Heh, the day we came to the Valley to look for a place to live, it was 115 in the shade. Not uncommon where we are, Vegas summers without the “Vegas”. We suffered miserably the first summer, but by the next summer, it came on gradually, and we don’t mind personally being on fire now for six months a year 
Sacramento has Corti Brothers - a fine gourmet shop that has things I’ve never seen carried anywhere else.
The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee is held every Memorial Day weekend.
If you like to ski, Sacramento is closer to snow than S.F. is. It’s also a good place to live if you like river activities such as rafting.
Generally, though, Sacramento isn’t as culturally interesting as San Francisco. Music, museums, theater, street festivals, food, etc. are better in the Bay Area. And, no, I wouldn’t consider Sacramento to be on the outskirts of the Bay Area. It’s about 80 miles from San Francisco, and is not in one of the nine Bay Area counties.
I went to high school in Folsom and UC Davis. Sacto is not cool. The best to be said is that it is relatively close to a lot of things people like (Bay Area, Mountains, wine country) etc. The summers are hot (when I worked construction we would get sent home when it hit 115 degrees - and it did). The winters are grey - get used to tule fog and not seeing the sun for a few months.
There are a lot of conservative rednecks too.
Of course, it has changed a lot (and for the better) since I left 25 years ago. But paradise it ain’t
If your schedule meshes with the train, Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor line is a nice way to commute between SF and SAC. About 15 years ago, I did it daily for about two weeks, and there were quite a few regulars. This was in the days before mobile WiFi or even affordable cellular data service, so the ride was a great time to snooze.
Now, I’m assuming they have WiFi on the train, but it’s probably still a decent opportunity for a nap. The only problem was that the train was a lower priority than freight, so delays are not unheard of. But it still beats the pants off sitting in traffic.
gotcha-does it have a gay scene at all? I am not expecint San Fran style, but I am from Buffalo NY so any change is good hehe.
At a certain level of generality, to say that Sacramento is to San Francisco as Albany is to New York City is not a bad comparison.