California Dreams or Suburban Nightmare?

One of the items from our list of must haves on which we compromised was living in an urban center where we could walk to many (if not most) amenities. Well, maybe not compromised on so much as simply tossed out altogether. In cities like Portland there is a large area surrounding the city core where residential areas are intermixed with restaurants, theaters, shops, and even light industry. And so you could live well out from downtown Portland but still be able to walk to a wide variety of eateries, grocery stores, theaters and other necessities. Sure, if you ranged far enough out you will eventually find yourself in the suburbs, but there are a lot of neighborhoods to choose from before you get there. Unfortunately Sacramento is like most American cities: a small urban core surrounded by miles and miles of suburban wasteland.

What's wrong with the suburbs? Nothing, if you like to drive everywhere for everything, if you don't mind giving over vast expanses of land to high trafficked roads and countless square miles of asphalt parking lots, supporting massive uncaring corporate chains rather than local businesses, and giving up on any sense of real community. Clearly we're biased, but for all of the right reasons.

Of all of the potential pitfalls we may find on our scouting trip next week the reality of suburbia is the one thing I worry most about shattering our plans.

And so just how are we going to adapt to this sort of life, or can we avoid it altogether or at least mitigate the worst of it?

Urban Option

As I mentioned above, Sacramento does have an urban center (basically downtown and midtown) and so we could possibly find a place there to live. But this is a small area and the housing selection very limited (and most of that very expensive). At any given point in time Zillow++ shows one or maybe two options for this area within our budget, and often there are no options at all. Invariably these houses are at the extreme high end of our budget and at the extreme low end of acceptable square footage. But if we can find a nice place here we will take it because this lifestyle is worth it to us.

Close In Suburban

There are suburban areas  just outside of the Sacramento city core that are close enough such that transit into downtown is easy enough to almost qualify as walkable.

In particular the stretch of land between the American River and  Highway 50 looks promising because the homes here are typically within walking distance of both the river and to the light rail line that runs between Folsom and downtown Sacramento. Specifically the communities of La Riviera and Rancho Cordova (and possibly even Folsom itself, although it's a little far out there). Unfortunately the light rail line that runs along I80 only goes north a short distance into the northern border of Arden Arcade before dead ending.

Sacramento's meager light rail service is a major disappointment. The I80 route should have extended all of the way to the neighboring city of Roseville, which would have connected additional communities along the way with downtown. The attached route map makes it look more extensive than it really is.

Just north of the river from downtown is Old North Sacramento. It has limited light rail access but is close enough that using bus lines might be a convenient way to get to the city center. This area looks a little dated and run down and we will need to visit it to see for ourselves if this is an acceptable community.

West of Old North Sac is South Natomas, which is considered a very nice area with good access to the city center. But it is on a floodplain which makes it much less desirable.

Across the Sacramento River is West Sacramento, the eastern end of which does offer walking distance treks across the bridges into downtown. This area is generally as expensive and difficult to find housing as downtown and midtown.

Southeast of the city core is Oak Park and a few other neighborhoods that are close(ish) in, but driving from here to the boarding stables will take more time than we are willing to accept.

Suburban

The vast bulk of affordable housing in the Sacramento area is pure suburban and will require driving to get to most shopping, restaurants, or other services. We are looking to the north and northeast of downtown to minimize our commute to the stables where we will be keeping Taylor and Topaz -- choosing a stable (or narrowing the choice down to two or three) is the primary focus of our scouting trip.

Not all suburban neighborhoods are equal and so we need a set of requirements to help decide which are suitable and which are not.

• Sidewalks. Insane as it seems, many suburban neighborhoods do not have sidewalks (this problem is not limited to Sacramento).
• Not next to a major road or highway. The noise, congestion and infestations of big chain box stores and strip malls that accompany these stroads** are reason enough to keep away.
• Walking distance to light rail or a functional bus route.
• Easy access to the boarding stables -- a 30 minute drive is the limit and less is better.
• Evident pride of residents: no trashy or overly cluttered or neglected yards or unmaintained houses.
• No cookie cutter housing developments where every third house (or less) is the same.
• Nearby park or green space.
• If at all possible walking distance to at least one restaurant or store that we might want to frequent.
• No wacko HOA rules that require bizarre things like lawns or limit landscaping choices.

A few of the towns in our area of interest actually do have small old town centers, but naturally these are also the most popular and have the fewest available homes. Fair Oaks, for example, is perched on the north side of the American River and while it has a couple of stroads running through it, there is also an (albeit small) city center with shops and restaurants adjacent to housing. There is a plan to convert a mall in Citrus Heights to an urban center, but for the most part the areas surrounding Sacramento are doubling down of requiring a car just to live. The bottom line is that there are far more housing options out in the suburban wilderness than places with an actual sense of community.

On the plus side even if we find ourselves in a more suburban neighborhood than we'd like it will still result in a more enjoyable lifestyle (at least for me) than we currently have way out in the sticks.

Housing Needs

Our housing requirements are simple:

• 2+ bedrooms.
• 2+ bathrooms.
• At least 800 square feet of living space.
• Functional floor plan.
• No carpet in the common areas (preferably no carpet at all).
  
• Off street parking for two vehicles.
• Move in ready.
• A small to modest size lot.
• Doesn't suck. There are some depressing, odd, dark or otherwise soul crushing homes for sale.
  

In an urban center we will consider most forms of housing (detached single family, multi-family, townhouse or even a condo). In the suburbs we want a house or a town home with a garage, and room for the horse trailer would be a plus.

Work Update

February 28 was supposed to be my last day at Oracle. I am still working. Something has come up in my division in which I have a vested interest and so I agreed to stay on until the situation has been resolved or until it is decided that nothing will change. Thus I will be there probably to the end of April and possibly into May or even June (yes, I may be working even after we move).

Notes

++ I spend way too much of my spare time on Zillow.

** Stroad: a derogatory word used by urban planners to describe a transit route that attempts to serve multiple purposes, but does all of them poorly. It is the hallmark of the streets and roads that provide services to most American suburbs. Wikipedia: stroad