Is Sacramento a good place to raise a family?

Tell me a little about it. What are the schools like, the neighborhoods, anything that will help. Thanks in advance. =]

Comments

  • It is a great place to raise a family. It is nowhere near the rat race of the Bay Area or So Cal. The schools are a REAL hit or miss. The saying is completely true about location, location, location. If you are on the wrong side of a street in an otherwise nice suburb, your kids may end up going to a really tough school when your neighbors will be going to a very good school in a different district. Do your homework and look for good school districts with high test scores and your kids will be spending more time doing well in school and less time figuring out how to survive school. Then look for a house smack dab in the middle of the school district.

    Outlying areas like Roseville, Rocklin, Folsom, Elk Grove are typical suburban sprawls mostly built up in the past 20 years. Nice houses, safe neighborhoods, mega school districts. Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Citrus Heights are a mix of 50+ year old houses mixed in with sub lots of 5-20 houses built 0-20 years ago on former farms. Schools there are a real mix with some great schools and some that really struggle. Some houses still have horse acreage. Midtown is typically for the younger urban crowd although there are many old house neighborhoods mixed into everything. You should stay away from the areas known as the "south side", Del Paso Heights and Rancho Cordova although oft times you will never know that you are driving through the "wrong area" until it suddenly hits you that you shouldn't be there. Sometimes its a real mix with tough neighborhoods right next to neighborhoods with new expensive homes.

    "Attitude and atmosphere:"

    Sacramento is probably more like Des Moines, Iowa more than it is like San Francisco or Los Angeles.

    Transportation:

    The airport is big enough to get to most destinations pretty easily, but small enough that it is never a problem to park or pick someone up. When the freeways have a traffic jam and things get bottled up, your commute will be delayed by 15-20 minutes, not an hour like it is in LA. Unfortunately if you do not travel along one of the "spokes" of the freeway network, you could be traveling a long way on surface streets which is typically more consistent than the freeway, but slower overall. Like the freeways, public transportation is great if you live on the right route, otherwise forget it; it could take you two hours to go on bus when you can drive in 20 minutes. The Light Rail goes all the way from Downtown to Folsom to the east, but only out to the old McClellan AFB to the northeast and it is often called the "circus train" for the characters that ride it.

    Shopping:

    You'll find everything here that you find at every other city in the US.

    Dining:

    Very good, not as diverse as in big cities, all the same boring chains and a few good local digs.

    Climate:

    Cool wet winters with occasional thick fog. Beautiful mild fall and spring. Virtually guaranteed sunny days from May through October and often through November. Expect 90's-105 in the summer, but its not as bad as it sounds. It can be as cool as 55-60 at sunrise and 80 at noon. 5-6PM is typically the peak and the delta breeze often comes in around sundown and drops the temperature very nicely at night. A/C is a must and most houses have whole house A/C. The air is very dry and anything you leave out will dry quickly including towels, dishes, plants and food.

    No hurricanes, no brushfires, no floods (unless you live near an urban stream and get a super heavy rain), no tornadoes and no earthquakes (surprisingly for California).

    Whew! I hope that's not too much.

    IMO it may be a little boring for a single person, but Sacramento is a great place to raise a family.

  • Sacramento is a great place to raise a family.

    I am not a family type guy but from what I can see most people enjoy it if they know what they are doing.

    My intention here is to expand or contrast on the answer RS gave you because that was a great answer.

    Roseville, Rocklin, and Folsom are great areas. I would avoid Elk Grove. It has really taken a dive in the last couple of years. Lots of pot houses have been discovered. RRF are great areas, but can be pricey. But with the fall in the market deals can be found.

    To compare Sacramento to Des Moines is a bit misleading. I have spent many summers in Des Moines. My mother was raised there. But she left in 1952. But save for the size of the city most of the comparisons stop there.

    However Sacramento is much closer to Des Moines than it is to LA. We have gangs and molesters, and random shooters. Again one needs to be aware as to where they are planning to live to avoid these things. I have been here almost 30 years, and have really never had a problem.

    As far as transportation goes the Airport is decent. It is undergoing a MAJOR upgrade which should be done in another year or so. However, even after that, it will still be lacking, compared to other cities its size. That said I have been too. It is easy in easy out for a person in a car. Parking and waiting for a shuttle to you car is a another question.

    The freeways are congested during "rush hours" and can become really frustrating. But welcome to California.

    As far as shopping goes, you can find pretty much everything you want. REALLY high end shoppers may be a little disappointed. Or perhaps lots disappointed. But do not despair San Francisco is 2 hours or less away and all of the needs are met.

    Dining is great.

    We have some world known chefs here. Two that come to mind are Biba for Italian, and Mai Fong for Thai Fusion. I have been to both of the restaurants. ( Biba, & Lemon Grass) both, world class. If that is too rich for your blood that the Guy Guy from Food Network has 2 Restaurants here. A Tex Wasabis and a Johnny Garlics. They are both great Tex is in Sacramento, Johnny is in Roseville. There are many great eating places other than those mentioned. If you want a great steak Cattleman's is pretty tough to beat.

    We have one of the best grocery chains in the country here, it is called Raley's.

    Climate can be a problem. It can get really hot in the summer 110+ is not uncommon. I like it. AC is pretty much everywhere. Make sure you have access to a pool in the summer.

    I really hate the cold, in the winter, where it can drop to the upper 20's. It has, just a few weeks ago in fact. I have had to evacuate due to flooding. However, I choose to live near one of the two rivers.

    Sacramento is a great place. I would never dissuade anyone from moving here. There is so much history, so much to see and do. I have only scratched the surface, if even that.

    If you have never been to California you could not land in a better place.

    We are close to all of the history that made this State great. And just as close to what may make this great State fall.

    Edit: Hillary makes a good point.

    City schools can be a problem. Schools in Roseville, Rocklin, or Folsom are much better. Get educated before you make the final decision.

  • Oh... Sacramento. Okay. Here's my side of the story. I just moved away from Sacramento last year. I'm a ninth grader now. I've lived in Sacramento from 3rd grade to 8th grade and I have to say... the school education was not the best over there! At least for me! The school I went to, Martin Luther King Jr. K-8, was just... NOT GOOD. I remember when it hit seventh grade! NEARLY NO ONE WOULD LISTEN TO THE TEACHER. The teachers would get so angry they would start yelling at the students and 5 minutes later, the class would be at cafeteria voice level again. The only type of homework I got in my English class in 8th(yes, 8th grade) was a spelling sheet on Monday with words they should have learned in 6th grade that could be done with at most 5-7 minutes if you went really slow on it! This happened throughout the both seventh and eighth grade! Suspension were a normal thing especially in my middle school. THERE WAS THIS GIRL WHO I SORT'VE KNEW WHO GOT PREGNANT JUST LAST YEAR. She was only in 9th grade at the time too! That was a huge gossip topic at my K-8. Ignorance was high in both Middle school AND high school. Yes. I have an opinion about high school because I got to go there for a math class. Let me make this clear: THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION. But the school system over there ISN'T going to be the best. The K-8 that I went to is called Martin Luther King Jr. K-8 and the high school I went to is called John F. Kennedy. That should sort've sum up my time in school... But who knows. You might like Sacramento.

  • The Sacramento area is a great place to raise a family. I have lived here all my life, my parents raised their family here and I raised my family here. We are good people. Community is all about the people you hang with, the neighborhood you live in and where you choose to spend your time. Just like everywhere else, we have good and bad areas of town, schools, businesses and people. Overall, we are a small enough city that we aren't too big. This barely makes sense but is the reality. It is a big area but small enough that you can still know people all over. Get to know the good people and you will enjoy it here.

  • I'd recommend something in the Foothills along Highway 49. Nevada City, Grass Valley, Cool, Placerville. They come about as close as you describe. Since they all were founded around the Gold Rush, the age is the same.

  • Let me give you a clue, though we have the same drug problems as the rest of America. My boy friend used to call it Sacra-boordom. Great place for families-but just burbs without much of a center.

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