Thinking of Moving Back home to Sac - Tell me why I should, and shouldn't

[The Hammer]

Hey all.

Long time poster here, obviously. I grew up in Sac, left at age 18, have grown and changed a lot and had many adventures since, am now 39, close to finishing pre reqs for med school, am a carpenter (looking to get out of that), have done sales, have been a nutritionist, a cook, a phlebotomist, and more.

Some things have shifted for me recently and I'm considering moving back. Tell me why I should. Tell me why I shouldn't.

And if you have or know of a job for me, I'm open. Non-profits, sales, I can do a ton of things, mostly related with people. I won't be fixing your computers though.

It's an exciting time for me. Be part of my process. I want your perspectives. All of you.

Thanks!

 

[macadocious]

Pros: The Weather
Cons: The Weather

You're welcome

 

[Bricklayer]

I've heard they have paved the streets with gold since you left, and that when walking down the streets the city's burgeoning supermodel population is prone to showering you with their panties, on those rare occasions when they are wearing any. You should go back.

 

[PurpleHaze]

PROS:

Weather for sure. Four distinct seasons, for the most part relatively mild summers and winters. Plus, 'ol River City is close by ocean (along with two of its own rivers) the high Sierras, coastal mountains, all very close by. I'm not telling you anything probably don't already know very well, just be prepared for too many cons - sadly. Maybe there's few more pros but can't think of any at the moment.

CONS:

Poor overall job picture, due mainly to exceedingly high taxes, over-regulation of private business, basically anti-private biz, anti-middle class, no matter what glorious gummit down at the state capitol dome proclaims or spouted off by our illustrious city council. If you want to live here, don't reside Sac city but choose unincorporated county or better yet, nearby Placer or El Dorado county with lower taxes, lower crime rate. Sacramento is a gov't town still but that % of workforce has been in decline for years. But robust expansion of private biz has not taken up employment slack. Not like days when McClellan AFB and Mather AFB were open - both closed down mid 90s. Some new enterprises open at both installations but nowhere near peak employment of over 20,000 civilian and military workers. Thus stubbornly high unemployment or underemployment. Lot and lots of homeless drug addicted people seemingly everywhere you look. This state has horribly high taxes on everything, income (CA among highest, some states like NV, WA, others - zero state income tax), high sales tax (highest), high gasoline tax/ high vehicle registration tax (astronomical), moderate property tax but Sac housing not cheap - average home around $350K, moderate to high crime area, mediocre nightlife - especially if not a millennial. Still, it's not that bad of a place for me, just retired single guy, with only one daughter graduating couple years from UC Santa Barbara's College of Engineering, Sac home long ago paid off, no other significant debts to worry about (except taxes!). Btw, I did not feel this way at all (negatives) in 60s, 70s, 80, up to around mid 90s. Unfortunately simply grown lot worse over past two decades. I'm recommending to my 20 year old daughter after she graduates university not to live anywhere in Cali unless she lands $80K plus high tech job in Silicon Valley or some such. Otherwise, living in a place like on border of WA and OR intrigues. WA to reside (no state income tax) and right across Columbia River do all shopping (retail purchases, gas, etc.) paying zero sales tax - thus much, much lower tax environment (Portland, OR / Vancouver, WA good example of this strategy). That way gov't won't be constantly in your pants pocket at every turn, always demanding more and more to prop up the great nanny state of Taxifornia. That's my 2 cents.

 

[kennadog]

You're in Idaho now, right? When's the last time you were in Sacramento?

It's hard for me to describe why I like living in Sacramento or close). Sacramento doesn't blow you away. I will say that I've been here most of the last 48 years. JFK High graduate of 1968. Go Cougars! If you haven't been here for a while, you will find it dramatically different. mostly in a good way, I think.

Things I like that you might like or hate:

- I love weather that is outdoorsy three seasons. You could wear shorts here most of spring, summer and fall. Yes the heat can be brutal, but Sacramento has the most beautiful summer nights I've ever experienced. And you can practically live on your patio or balcony year round. And having relatives back east and in the south, dry heat is MUCH preferable to me.

-Sacramento definitely has a left leaning political bent, like most of urban California.

-Sacramento is one of the most diverse cities in the US racially and ethnically. I love that. Your can experience many cultures right here. And people are pretty accepting. There is a strong LGBTQ community here, that's been here a very long time. Generally, people are pretty tolerant here.

-The food culture here has come leaps and bounds. Lots of really special coffee and craft beer places, too.

-Being right in the heart of the Central Valley means the produce available close by is amazing year round. There are lots of great farmers' markets.

-There are tons of cultural and food events.that go on all the time and live theater is alive and thriving here.

-It is the City of Trees and I love trees. There are a lot of very nice parks all over and the American River parkland and bike trail are amazing.

-I'm excited about the future of downtown revitalization, including the new arena. Midtown continues to get better and the railyards development downtown could be spectacular.

-I love our rivers and driving around in the Delta.

-Some people think its a face slap to the city, but I see its location close to so many other activities and special places as a positive. Within a couple of hours I can be at beaches, ocean headlands, redwood forests, Sierra Nevada beauty, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite. the Napa Valley and other gorgeous wine-growing regions. There's camping, skiing, back-packing, day hiking, river rafting, beach sunning and more. Its hard to beat the sheer diversity of habitats to enjoy.

-If you want the uber-international and cosmopolitan city experience, San Francisco can't be beat and is close.

-Sacramento is urban, but still retains a smaller town feel.

-The River Cats and Republic are great.

-The Kings!

Probable negatives?

-Housing prices and cost of living in general. Certainly more affordable than the coastal areas, but its still pricy and getting more so.

-Bad air quality.

-Public transit needs improvement.

-It does get HOT.

-Drought.

-Depending on where you live, wildfires and/or flooding could happen to you.

-Lack of major corporate presence means the arts has a struggle here.

-Anything I like above that you don't.

That's all I can think of right now. Does that help?

 

[pshn80]

I'm sorry but I lack qualifications or a least a vital one to so advise you. I am in my 80's and never lived anywhere else's.

That being said. Sac is the greatest. Come live in or near downtown, midtown, old land park, Curtis park, east Sac meaning between Sac State and old Sac. Got everything, vital, always changing for the better, great and an endless variety of good restaurants, safe, beautiful. You, wherever you are, know about where
Sac is, what the weather is like, what it is near. Come and enjoy it getting better yet.

Downside: nothing unless you count drought, forest fies, a relatively liberal society.

Come on and move in. Call me and you can drive me to a Kings game and sit in my seats. Good luck.k

 

[The Hammer]

Wow guys! Great responses so far! Thanks for the thorough job!

Though I'm mostly just paying you lip service because I lost my reading comprehension ability after Brick's post. Now I know the real reason why Omri signed that contract. Check again the smile on his face from the photos of the signing.

 

[The Hammer]

I'm sorry but I lack qualifications or a least a vital one to so advise you. I am in my 80's and never lived anywhere else's.

That being said. Sac is the greatest. Come live in or near downtown, midtown, old land park, Curtis park, east Sac meaning between Sac State and old Sac. Got everything, vital, always changing for the better, great and an endless variety of good restaurants, safe, beautiful. You, wherever you are, know about where
Sac is, what the weather is like, what it is near. Come and enjoy it getting better yet.

Downside: nothing unless you count drought, forest fies, a relatively liberal society.

Come on and move in. Call me and you can drive to a Kings game and sit in my seats. Good luck.

Thank you Sir! I will take you up on that!

 

[The Hammer]

Not like days when McClellan AFB and Mather AFB were open - both closed down mid 90s

I was born at Mather AFB, actually.

 

[The Hammer]

PROS:

Weather for sure. Four distinct seasons, for the most part relatively mild summers and winters. Plus, 'ol River City is close by ocean (along with two of its own rivers) the high Sierras, coastal mountains, all very close by. I'm not telling you anything probably don't already know very well, just be prepared for too many cons - sadly. Maybe there's few more pros but can't think of any at the moment.

CONS:

Poor overall job picture, due mainly to exceedingly high taxes, over-regulation of private business, basically anti-private biz, anti-middle class, no matter what glorious gummit down at the state capitol dome proclaims or spouted off by our illustrious city council. If you want to live here, don't reside Sac city but choose unincorporated county or better yet, nearby Placer or El Dorado county with lower taxes, lower crime rate. Sacramento is a gov't town still but that % of workforce has been in decline for years. But robust expansion of private biz has not taken up employment slack. Not like days when McClellan AFB and Mather AFB were open - both closed down mid 90s. Some new enterprises open at both installations but nowhere near peak employment of over 20,000 civilian and military workers. Thus stubbornly high unemployment or underemployment. Lot and lots of homeless drug addicted people seemingly everywhere you look. This state has horribly high taxes on everything, income (CA among highest, some states like NV, WA, others - zero state income tax), high sales tax (highest), high gasoline tax/ high vehicle registration tax (astronomical), moderate property tax but Sac housing not cheap - average home around $350K, moderate to high crime area, mediocre nightlife - especially if not a millennial. Still, it's not that bad of a place for me, just retired single guy, with only one daughter graduating couple years from UC Santa Barbara's College of Engineering, Sac home long ago paid off, no other significant debts to worry about (except taxes!). Btw, I did not feel this way at all (negatives) in 60s, 70s, 80, up to around mid 90s. Unfortunately simply grown lot worse over past two decades. I'm recommending to my 20 year old daughter after she graduates university not to live anywhere in Cali unless she lands $80K plus high tech job in Silicon Valley or some such. Otherwise, living in a place like on border of WA and OR intrigues. WA to reside (no state income tax) and right across Columbia River do all shopping (retail purchases, gas, etc.) paying zero sales tax - thus much, much lower tax environment (Portland, OR / Vancouver, WA good example of this strategy). That way gov't won't be constantly in your pants pocket at every turn, always demanding more and more to prop up the great nanny state of Taxifornia. That's my 2 cents.

Not to get too political, but your entire con list can be summed up by basically saying the taxes are too high in California. Tell me it was an intentional pun that you ended with "That's my 2 cents." Perhaps you should have said "That's my 20 cents."

Sincerely though, thanks for you thorough and honest answer. This is exactly what I wanted.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Not to get too political, but your entire con list can be summed up by basically saying the taxes are too high in California. Tell me it was an intentional pun that you ended with "That's my 2 cents." Perhaps you should have said "That's my 20 cents."

Sincerely though, thanks for you thorough and honest answer. This is exactly what I wanted.

Yes it was a pun at the end. I filed my first tax return in 1971 at age 17-18. Been filing ever since and now at age 62 I've had enough (in Calif), paid enough, had it with higher and higher taxes. Hopefully current capital gain tax rate stays where it has been since around 2003 so when sell my house can exempt first $250K ($500K for married) instead of getting killed under former gouging tax rate - exempt $50K single / $100K married. I probably will live abroad in a few years and not look back, except for occasional short vacations to Sacramento. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

[The Hammer]

I think I have mostly decided that I will be moving. But still, hearing everyone's pros and cons is helpful.

I will also be looking for a temporary room/house share type situation until I find a more permanent apartment.

 

[Sac.1989]

great read guys, ill most likely be relocating in the near future and these posts are very informative.

Is there anything keeping big business and big employers out of Sac in particular ?

Taxes be damed

 

[PurpleHaze]

great read guys, ill most likely be relocating in the near future and these posts are very informative.

Is there anything keeping big business and big employers out of Sac in particular ?

Taxes be damed

It's well known many big and medium sized companies have been leaving (Waste Mgmt of Folsom one local example who moved to low-tax, biz friendly Texas couple years ago). Calif recently lost huge new employer (thousands of high paying jobs) when Tesla Motors announced it was going to Reno, NV and rejecting Calif for a state of the art gigantic new manufacturing plant. Taxes (too high - CA has highest corporate tax in the nation!) and regulations (Calif's insane amount of red tape). But to really zero in on your question - it's who gets voted into office and who doesn't from city council to the board of supervisors to the state legislature and governor. Lastly to your final statement. I don't mind paying my share of taxes if they are fair, reasonable, money spent wisely. But that has not been the case for a long-long time - leading me to my current fed up attitude.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I was dating someone back home briefly this summer, of course I wanted her to move here and that wasn't very realistic and we stopped seeing each other but we had a great time going out and around downtown/midtown when I visited. New bars and restaurants popping up everywhere. Good coffee shops too, though I like mine better

Also right before our first date I rode my first metric century on the American River bike trail and if I had more time I easily would have rode a full century. I enjoy biking in Sacramento, it's not Portland where I bike to bars and places to go but that trail is great for just nailing a long ride without interruption. I would much rather ride that everyday than the comparable version here.

Also close to Tahoe. ha.

 

[The Hammer]

I was dating someone back home briefly this summer, of course I wanted her to move here and that wasn't very realistic and we stopped seeing each other but we had a great time going out and around downtown/midtown when I visited. New bars and restaurants popping up everywhere. Good coffee shops too, though I like mine better

Also right before our first date I rode my first metric century on the American River bike trail and if I had more time I easily would have rode a full century. I enjoy biking in Sacramento, it's not Portland where I bike to bars and places to go but that trail is great for just nailing a long ride without interruption. I would much rather ride that everyday than the comparable version here.

Also close to Tahoe. ha.

The new bars and restaurants are all I really need to know as a sign of the economy. It tells me people are willing to take risks, banks are feeling more confident lending, all those business proposals for those businesses are making sense to smart people... all are indicators.

Are a lot of people remodeling? That's another great indicator.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Yeah quite a few of my friends complaining about gentrification. I get it, I really do. But Sacramento is about 50 years late on gentrifying that area which should be the heart of the city.

 

[The Hammer]

Yeah quite a few of my friends complaining about gentrification. I get it, I really do. But Sacramento is about 50 years late on gentrifying that area which should be the heart of the city.

I love gentrification actually. It's also known as: making the area nice. Urban downtowns and even mid towns in 2015, should be sharp, hip, full of great art that people can actually sell, and attract educated and skilled people like architects, entrepreneurs, creative types. It should have things that are worth paying for, and people with enough money to pay for them. Culture needs a strong economic base to thrive and become interesting.

Anti-gentrification types paint themselves as progressives, but they're really just the younger version of all those curmudgeons who were trying to block the arena. Very narrow minded.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I'm torn on it in some respects, I mean when you wipe out the part of the neighborhood that brought in the gentrification in the first place that's not good. Like here in Portland a longstanding popular bar is about to close because a huge apartment popped up next door. Now part of the attraction to living in that apartment is the shops and bars you are right next door to, but the bar is forced to close and many of those shops will be next.

On the other hand when we're talking about an absolute destitute street nobody would be caught dead on being turned into a new hot spot, my sympathies dry up.

 

[The Hammer]

I'm torn on it in some respects, I mean when you wipe out the part of the neighborhood that brought in the gentrification in the first place that's not good. Like here in Portland a longstanding popular bar is about to close because a huge apartment popped up next door. Now part of the attraction to living in that apartment is the shops and bars you are right next door to, but the bar is forced to close and many of those shops will be next.

On the other hand when we're talking about an absolute destitute street nobody would be caught dead on being turned into a new hot spot, my sympathies dry up.

Well said. But you have to take the good with the bad. There is a cost to everything. But on the whole, bringing money into a neighborhood is a GOOD thing.

Now, why exactly that bar closed, I don't know... maybe rent went up? And that is a shame. A bar, or truly, a pub, like in Europe, holds an almost sacred place in the community. A true pub, like in Ireland, they don't play music over a sounds system. Why? Because it's for talking with people! Conversations! It's considered very rude to go into a real Irish pub and not be open and willing to engage in conversation. So a community meeting spot is taken out.

There will ALWAYS be dive bars though. Everywhere.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

It was definitely an end of lease issue though I heard they weren't even being given an option to renew. The apartment building has been open for roughly a year and just sold for 3x it's construction cost so I wouldn't be surprised if the building will be razed and turned into mixed use. Portland's a funny town but I've only been here 10 years and am an evil California arrival so I tend to take the good and the bad while being sympathetic to the native complaints. Also the 100 year old home I fell in love with here was lost in my divorce and I moved into new construction because it is way easier on a single dad to have open sitelines across the home, no annual bill for something leaking or breaking and a small yard. I tend to like new construction as long as it stays in the character of the neighborhood.

Still I would say that midtown/downtown Sacramento is where Portland was 20 years ago. So call me in 20 years when the second wave of gentrification strikes.

 

[Sac.1989]

when enough people, or more importanly the people in power can profit from gentrification, it will come through. Everything has its roots in money and profit making. Sacto's time will come

 

[GoGoGadget]

I think gentrification has innocuous enough roots: people take an interest in cheap and usually interesting parts of town and begin making small improvements. That's positive. But it always gets out of hand. And when people from a city/neighborhood can no longer afford to live in that city/neighborhood, gentrification becomes considerably more problematic. Some of this process has been particularly ugly here in New Orleans.

But that's as far as I'll go here, lest the conversation get too political.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

... And if you have or know of a job for me, I'm open...

This seems like the sort of thing that answers itself. I feel like, when you're contemplating a move, there are a few basic questions to ask, chiefly among them:

1. Are you moving for a job?
2. Are you moving for school?
3. Are you moving to be closer to someone/something?
4. Are you moving to get away from someone/something?

It didn't seem as though the OP's answer to any of these questions was 'yes.' The closest thing to a reason that I could parse from the OP was homesickness, which strikes me, personally, as a horrible reason to move to or from anywhere... Having said that, in the interest of full disclosure, I feel obliged to point out two things: 1) I do not, have not, and will not ever live in California. 2) I was an 11-year Navy veteran, who also grew up in a Navy household; I moved around all the time, both as a kid, and since reaching adulthood, so the concept of 'roots' is not really one that I can get behind.

Anywaaaaay... I'm at a point in my life where I would never even consider moving someplace, and then hoping to find a job there; I'd be looking everywhere for a job, and then moving to wherever the job happened to be. I am not about that "Well, I'll find a job when I get there" life. I've done that once, and the lesson I learned from that is: I am never again leaving my job, until the ink is dry on the contract for my next job. I cannot, in good conscience, advise someone to move somewhere that they don't know how they're going to make that paper. Moving back to Sacramento might make your heart whole, it might even 'bring that old thing back', but 'that old thing' ain't paying that rent.

Anti-gentrification types paint themselves as progressives, but they're really just the younger version of all those curmudgeons who were trying to block the arena. Very narrow minded.

There's nothing I want to be able to say to this that isn't both political and highly racial, both of which are no-nos around here. But I want it stated, publicly and for the record, that I disagree strongly with the substance of this statement.

 

[NoBonus]

Here is the deal IMHO: in Idaho you have a lower cost of living and lower taxes than California... I think CA and NY pay the highest taxes of any state. Also, real estate is pricy. If I were looking to move to CA from outside of CA (I live here already), I would first find a job that makes enough more money than my current job so my quality of life doesn't decline. I would start with finding and getting that cherry job first, then make the move.

One other thing, I cannot find an affordable place to live in CA that does not also have a meth problem and a bunch of crime... CA is not hard on crime and AB 109 has worsened the problem.

One thing about living in the Sac area that I love is the diversity. Sacramento is the most ethnically diverse city in the U.S. as there are not ethnic neighborhoods or segments... we all just live together.

Also, Sacramento is not the big big city, so you can still commute in a reasonable amount of time, get tickets to events, find parking, etc... so it's a pretty enjoyable place to recreate.

 

[ForlornKing]

Downtown Sac/Midtown. Culinary revolutions going on down there. Breweries.... The Cocktail scene is nationally recognized. Some really really great restaurants.

 

[Bricklayer]

Pros: The Weather
Cons: The Weather

You're welcome

As I think the supermodels may have eliminated the risk of this chasing away The Hammer, but let me just say that Sacto's weather bores the hell out of me. Four seasons my ass. Four seasons involves this white powdery stuff, and I hear you guys don't even do water falling from the sky anymore.

Still searching for my ideal paradise with 3 months of spring, 3 months of winter (the real stuff), 5 months of fall, and 1 month of summer.

 

[macadocious]

As I think the supermodels may have eliminated the risk of this chasing away The Hammer, but let me just say that Sacto's weather bores the hell out of me. Four seasons my ass. Four seasons involves this white powdery stuff, and I hear you guys don't even do water falling from the sky anymore.

Still searching for my ideal paradise with 3 months of spring, 3 months of winter (the real stuff), 5 months of fall, and 1 month of summer.

Chicago?

 

[The Hammer]

This seems like the sort of thing that answers itself. I feel like, when you're contemplating a move, there are a few basic questions to ask, chiefly among them:

1. Are you moving for a job?
2. Are you moving for school?
3. Are you moving to be closer to someone/something?
4. Are you moving to get away from someone/something?

It didn't seem as though the OP's answer to any of these questions was 'yes.' The closest thing to a reason that I could parse from the OP was homesickness, which strikes me, personally, as a horrible reason to move to or from anywhere... Having said that, in the interest of full disclosure, I feel obliged to point out two things: 1) I do not, have not, and will not ever live in California. 2) I was an 11-year Navy veteran, who also grew up in a Navy household; I moved around all the time, both as a kid, and since reaching adulthood, so the concept of 'roots' is not really one that I can get behind.
Anywaaaaay... I'm at a point in my life where I would never even consider moving someplace, and then hoping to find a job there; I'd be looking everywhere for a job, and then moving to wherever the job happened to be. I am not about that "Well, I'll find a job when I get there" life. I've done that once, and the lesson I learned from that is: I am never again leaving my job, until the ink is dry on the contract for my next job. I cannot, in good conscience, advise someone to move somewhere that they don't know how they're going to make that paper. Moving back to Sacramento might make your heart whole, it might even 'bring that old thing back', but 'that old thing' ain't paying that rent.



There's nothing I want to be able to say to this that isn't both political and highly racial, both of which are no-nos around here. But I want it stated, publicly and for the record, that I disagree strongly with the substance of this statement.

So, honestly it was a combination of 2 and 3, with the job market being good enough, and 4 not a factor.

In the past 48 hours, I have virtually decided yes, I am moving. I had contemplated it a lot already, and I think was basically looking for you guys to give me reasons to move, or possibly any huge red flags not to. Red flags didn't come (high taxes I already knew about, and cost of living/rent isn't exorbitant from what I'm used to).

About your final comment, I welcome your disagreement, and I'm open to hearing your thoughts via PM, if you are interested. I'm not looking for a fight, but I am looking to hear another person's perspective. You needn't worry about offending me along political or even racial lines. I want it straight.

 

[kingsboi]

As I think the supermodels may have eliminated the risk of this chasing away The Hammer, but let me just say that Sacto's weather bores the hell out of me. Four seasons my ass. Four seasons involves this white powdery stuff, and I hear you guys don't even do water falling from the sky anymore.

Still searching for my ideal paradise with 3 months of spring, 3 months of winter (the real stuff), 5 months of fall, and 1 month of summer.

1 month of summer? I think Europe is calling your name.