Expert: Lance Date: 1/14/2003 Subject: living in Sacramento
Question How would you describe the general feel of Sacramento? I am a recent college graduate thinking about relocating from the east coast and I'd like to hear first-hand what life there is really like. How would you describe the people? Are there events and places for many types of people, or is the Sacramento area trendy? If you had the choice to live anywhere else, where would you live? What do you think is the most important thing for a resident to know about the Sacramento area?
I'd really appreciate hearing from you on these subjects. If this question is too long, please answer what you have time for.
Answer Hi Natalie,
Sacramento is a pretty cool place to live in my opinion. Perhaps the first thing you will notice are the trees. We have the most trees per acre than any other major metropolitan city. A good friend of mine moved to the East coast and what she missed the most is; 1. the many beautiful parks 2. the mostly warm weather and 3. the energetic "buzz" from living in a city that is alive with commerce, government and a growing night life scene.
We have a bunch of different clubs. Polyesters, a nationwide metro club, has themed dance rooms ranging from the 60's to new releases, once a week they have foam parties. We have clubs that cater to ravers, hip-hop, goth/industrial and country.
In the shopping department, there are 4 major malls in the greater Sacramento area.
As far as the people go, Sacramento is said to be the "most diverse ethnic city in America" according to a recent Time Magazine article. I would have to agree with that; we have just about every major ethnicity here. Most living side by side with minimum tension. One good benefit of this is the variety of ethnic restaurants, we have Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Greek, Italian and so on...
And if you run out of things to do in Sac, we are only 1-1/2 hours from San Francisco and the beach and 2 hours to world-class skiing at Tahoe or gambling and shows at Reno. The annual Burning Man event (www.burningman.com) is 4 hours away.
Sacramento has a good balance of old and new. The downtown area has victorian style homes, some from the 1800's while outlying areas like Antelople/Elk Grove/Roseville have newer homes.
To answer your additional questions:
If I had to live anywhere else it would be Honolulu, Hawaii. I have family there and nothing beats paradise!
The most important thing to for a Sac resident to know? Hmmm... That we are safe from major earthquakes! There are no faults under the Sacramento Valley. The only natural disaster we have encountered in the past is rare flooding when the river gets too high. Not really an issue to worry about since the levees have been improved.
Additional facts:
Sacramento summers can get hot from July-Sept, like a few days of 107 degrees but overall, the weather is nice. Winters are mild, coldest days are 32 degrees, no snow.
Since we are in the middle of a fertile valley, spring time allergies can sometimes get crazy.
well, I hope this helps! Feel free to ask if you have any further questions!
