Question Good morning, Lance. I currently live in Appleton, WI. There are 70K people in this town. I was transfered up here from Milwaukee in February. I grew up in Cleveland and went to school at Ohio State. I have an opportunity to continue to work for the same company w/ a transfer to Sacramento. I have lots of extended family in southern California and am quite familiar with it. However, I know nothing about Sacramento. I'm single and 28. Appleton offers very little in the form of social circles. I NEED OUT! My main question is: Are my chances good to meet people my age w/ similar interests? Will I be able to blend into a peer group? Are there many single people in Sacramento? I like to go out and have a good time, I love live music, etc. I don't want to move all the way out there and end up in a similar community as Appleton. Most people here are married, divorced w/ children, and very "small town" folky. Does this make sense? It probably sounds weird to get a question like this from a stranger, but I am looking for a glimpse into any type of scene that may exist in Sacramento. If you don't mind, I have another comment. I lived for a short period in Madison, WI. It is the state capitol of WI. I found it was mostly college students, middle aged suits from the state building, and 30 something males. All white. Is this the same in Sacramento? I don't mean to sound negative, but I like more diversity. I prefer the action of a larger city/metropolitian area, like Milwuakee, Cleveland, or Columbus. Will I find it in Sacramento. Thank you very much for taking the time help me out w/ this difficult decision.
Answer Hi Peter,
Congrats on your transfer! Sacramento County has a population of 1.4 million and Time Magazine ranked Sacramento as being the most diverse city in the US. We have a good balance of Whites, Hispanics, Asians, African-Americans, Russians and Ukranians.
I've lived here for most of my life and I find it strange when I visit other states that are less diverse. I guess you get use to home.
There are 2 major universities in our region and a handful of community colleges. The chance that you will meet decent chicks here are good, better if you include surrounding areas like Davis, Elk Grove, Roseville and Rocklin.
So with that being said, Sacramento has a decent nightlife. Some like it and some don't. Its definitely not like a major metro like LA or SF but its better than a small town. We have a fair amount of bars, nightclubs and annual events to keep most 20 somethings busy. Our live music scene is decent and the university town of Davis is only 15 minutes away. There's more bars and live venues there. A 2 hour drive will take you to San Francisco where you will find more nightlife than you could ever imagine.
My gripe about the Sacramento scene is that our downtown bites. The powers that be are revitalizing the area by building live-work lofts and creating more retail lots. If that works out then we will have more downtown businesses.
Gripe #2 - There's a fair amount of "ghetto" rats here. Not just Blacks but Hispanics and some Southeast Asian gangs. It disgusts me to see youth wasted and the cycle of negative, uneducated people procreating and teaching hate. Sacramento is also a haven for fat, obese white trash folk as well. I guess with any growing large city you have to deal with the negative stuff as well... (ok, I'm off my soapbox now...) :)
Here's a list of good stuff in Sac (my opinion):
Lots of good restaurants!
Interesting people
Cultural/Ethnic diversity
Everything is in relative close proxemity
State government jobs bring lots of $$$ to the economy
Good live music scene
Close to the Sierra Nevada Mountains
Close to the San Francisco Bay Area
Close to Yosemite
$299 round trip airfair to Hawaii!
We're getting an Ikea store in 2005
Decent jobs
Friendly people
Good live shows
Decent concert venues
River sports
Hiking, camping, kyaking, rafting, mountain biking
Tons of choices for day trips
Good tolerance for interracial dating
Lots of sun!
Mild winters
Burning Man! www.burningman.com
And the bad:
Hot as hell in the peak of summer 104 fricken degreees!
Gas is $2.05/gallon
White trash
Ghetto rats
Downtown closes early
No underground rave scene
Less than spectacular art galleries
Crazy drivers
Occasional flooding near the river areas
Ultra tree hugging hippies
So there ya go! We're not as cool as Columbus, but we sure shine in diversity.
Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions.
