davis, CA nice? (Stockton, Elk Grove, Woodland: sales, foreclosure, rent)

[cag25]

We live in Davis, and I absolutely love it. However, we are renting, and can't afford to buy here, so we are looking to move to Roseville or Folsom sometime soon. The houses here in the 500k range need a lot of work... so many homes are just plain old.

I have a young son who has speech articulation problems, so he has done special education with the Davis district. His speech therapist was very nice, but overall, Davis has a reputation of being TERRIBLE when it comes to special-needs kids. The services are very limited. There really is a focus on high-achievers, and the district is great for that.

I agree that a lot of Davis youngsters feel "entitled" and that it could be difficult to keep young people here from getting caught up in "keeping up with the Joneses" if you don't have a lot of extra money. It seems, though, that this could be a problem anywhere that is affluent.

On the other hand, there is a somewhat relaxed feeling in the town itself, and the liberal slant makes overt consumerism somewhat unpopular, although still very evident.

If we could afford to live here, we'd stay. The school district has a public school Montessori program as well as Spanish Immersion programs that are very popular. I think the size of the town is perfect, and I love all the green spaces.

[dreaminglion]

I live in Davis now. It's very expensive and we could never afford a house here. The food costs are also high. It is a beautiful town and the people are mostly really friendly. I have children in school here and the elementary schools put a lot of pressure on the kids. My child is doing ok but sometimes the pressure is a bit much. I noticed that most kids are on the old side in each grade and the teachers and principals tend to hold back kids who are not scoring high enough. It seems almost all of the kids are a year older in a grade then when I was a kid. They start kindergarten at 6 etc... The teachers my children have now all seem to be pretty good. Some are great.
I know a few kids that were in the spanish emersion and ended up leaving it because it was just too much for them. On the great side... well it's beautiful here. People bike everywhere so there is a lot less car traffic, the population as a whole appears to be well educated. It is a college town which in itself has good and bad points. If we had a lot of money ie.. 100,000 or more yearly income. I would stay here.

[christeen]

Thanks everyone for the very informative feedback. (and glad to hear you didn't totally hate your davis experience, clairerandall ).

I'm not entirely surprised to hear kids are being redshirted in elementary school, but am surprised to hear it's the principals and teachers doing it. Do you think this is to keep their API scores, etc high?

Dreaminglion, what kind of pressure is your kid facing in elementary school? Yikes, that really scares me. And what experience do you hear about the kids in the Spanish immersion school? It's interesting, though, that you and cag25 would prefer to stay in Davis, despite these issues.

And sorry to hijack this thread further, but what concerns do you Davis residents have or see re air quality there? Do you hear of high asthma rates amongst kids, etc? I'd think the town would have pollution considering its proximity to Sacramento area and Hwy 80, but it was always nice the times we've visited (including hot summers).

Thanks again everyone.

[christeen]

Hope it's ok to add another question here . . .

I've read references in the Davis Wiki to racial tensions (I think between black/white) at Davis High, and an undercurrent of racism in the city despite it's famously liberal views. Can anyone speak to the high school atmosphere and/or general issues re diversity/tolerance in the community?

Thanks so much.

[Cayceincali]

I have been in Davis for 16+ years. Loved it when I first moved here with little kids and dogs, however never got used to the lack of interesting landscape and architecture. Most houses look something like a doublewide or McMansions with no privacy shoved together on a postage stamp. The town has nothing for teenagers to do outside of sports, if they are into sports I guess its okay. People don't really like to mention the very very high, high schoolers! This town is filled with kids with money and not much responsibility in my opinion. People like to say it is two hours from everything... the ocean the mountains however that means we are two hours from anything, 4+ hours driving time for a day trip gets really old pretty quick. There is no water to speak of in this town, lakes, rivers etc. No nature other than the planned greenbelts. The school district is facing giant funding cuts leaving the arts, counselors, libraries and many teachers in the dust. There is a shell of progressive town feeling right up until it feels very white protect your assets NIMBY stuff. There is a low growth that just lifted however as others have posted the housing is out of this world expensive for what you get! It is a party town with crowded downtown streets, limited parking for those who live in the burbs driving..... we live right downtown so can walk or bike to everything we need from Davis. It is true you have to leave town to buy underwear. I am planning on getting out of here soon as my kids (15 and 17) would like more. More choices: diversity of nature, people, activities. We have some really great gay friends who find it to be an okay place to live openly gay, however the lack of diversity in the schools is pretty bad unless you are upper middle class and white and straight. There is more than a fair amount of taunting in the schools here as I have been called in to offer school climate assistance, teachers tend to turn their over worked under paid eyes....

It is a small town but oddly enough pretty snotty. Davis has lost many of the things I really loved when I first moved here in 1991, a hopping music scene, funky book stores, local coffee shops, independent businesses. There is now the take over shops like starbucks and boarders...... you know the song and dance I am sure.

Hope this helps those of you thinking about moving here. You should come in on a saturday morning and go to the farmers market and have lunch to get the better feel of things. Thursday-Sat night are college party nights if you want that feel.

[Cayceincali]

My kids both went through spanish emerson, k-6th and really loved it. It is a ton of work as you have both spanish and english homework. My kids hate the haters club feeling of the schools. All 5 black kids (slight exaggeration) find it to be very limiting for them! I have a friend who is black who grew up here and hated the experience and moved to San Fran to find a better mixed community. My son chose to go to the charter school in Natomas (sacramento) as his teachers phoned to say he was going to get lost in the mix if we did not find him a more progressive environment..... The racial tension is between the hispanic and white kids here. My daughter 15 reports it is hard to find people to relate to other than fancy hand bags and cell phones..... she organized several local rallies such a global warming, no more troops/anti war rallies and maybe 4 kids from her school even knew what she was talking about or why she would do this. This left her pretty disappointed in kids her age.

I don't mean to make it sound harsh, these are just our personal experiences. There is a lot of money however many many people who were born and raised here can't buy a house here. Wages are low for the cost of living.

[Cayceincali]

Follow up......

Here are the finer things about Davis, it is safe, (cars do get broken into a lot) it has a nice downtown area, it has some interesting houses in the old east davis and old north davis area's (we live in the old east davis hood)

They just opened a new high school that is a bit more progressive like a charter school it is located in the main high school campus.

You can walk or bike everywhere if you get a place in the core area. Our kids are totally independent in getting around however most of their friends live in the outskirts and need rides......

BTW there is not a school bus system here so you need to drive or carpool until they can get there by bike without supervision.

There are lots of parks in the core area as well as the outskirts.

for kids under 14 I think this is a good place, I think most schools have diversity issues and tension these days sadly to say!

For older kids there is the movies and hanging out downtown and of coarse sleep overs. The Delta of Venus is a coffee shop with live music for all ages but it can be a pot head scene as well....... but with good agreements from your kids it is a safe place!

If you can afford to live here and supplement your kids experience it is not a bad place to live. The most complaints we here from folks are about the same as mine..... it was different in the 1990's, expensive but not outrageous and my kids were younger and needed less to keep them happy!

We are looking at the crystal coast of NC. Lots of nature, historic homes, the ocean, good schools, horse property, small towns all linked together and reasonable house prices.

Davis schools are better than most places in the US it is a ton of work for the kids however my kids went through k-7 here and one is still here in the 9th grade at Emerson the other is in Natomas at the charter school in Sacramento. They both started at age 5 and have moved right along..... I have had friends children asked to stay back in kindergarten as well as first grade due to the desire to have their "skills improved" I am not really sure what all that meant!

I think most new people like it here compared to living in other CA cities..... well aside from San Francisco
My best to you! Cayce

[Cayceincali]

P.S. I guess I should mention that our kids are upper middle class, white and straight. Their dad teaches in the Davis school district in the high school and these are their issues and concerns....... hope this all helps in some! I agree with the post of the person who went to school here, it sounds like our kids reports.

[christeen]

Thank you SO much for your posts, cayce. I keep hearing "oh davis is great, I'd love to live there" from friends who don't live there or haven't in years, or don't have kids in schools. I do want to know the down and dirty, so I appreciate your (and your kids') insight in addition to everyone else's here on the board.

Like you said, Davis is still more appealing than some of the other areas around here (we're looking at Napa, Davis and Benicia, though currently ruling out Napa because of the schools and the Benicia refineries scare me -- we keep flip-flopping).

It sounds like Davis's atmosphere really is becoming similar to what I hear about other affluent areas. I'd been hoping it would be a different environment, ie, strong academics but not the snootiness/rich "entitled" kids atmosphere I hear about in other places where the schools are considered top-notch. (Sigh, does a balanced school/city exist? )


More questions (haven't gotten rid of me yet ):

Originally Posted by Cayceincali

People don't really like to mention the very very high, high schoolers! This town is filled with kids with money and not much responsibility in my opinion.

Do you think this is worse than other public schools these days?

Originally Posted by Cayceincali

The school district is facing giant funding cuts leaving the arts, counselors, libraries and many teachers in the dust.

Wow, that's news to me. Is there somewhere I can read more about this? What kind of programs are being cut? Are there parent fundraising groups that are working on this? It seems most schools have to rely on private parent "donations," doesn't it?

Originally Posted by Cayceincali

There is a low growth that just lifted however as others have posted the housing is out of this world expensive for what you get! It is a party town with crowded downtown streets, limited parking for those who live in the burbs driving..... we live right downtown so can walk or bike to everything we need from Davis. It is true you have to leave town to buy underwear.

Are there no more low-growth limits, ie Measure J? Or are they anticipated to be lifted soon? I was trying to understand from the Davis Wiki what's going on -- do you foresee more McMansions, strip malls, etc?

Originally Posted by Cayceincali

My kids hate the haters club feeling of the schools. All 5 black kids (slight exaggeration) find it to be very limiting for them! I have a friend who is black who grew up here and hated the experience and moved to San Fran to find a better mixed community. My son chose to go to the charter school in Natomas (sacramento) as his teachers phoned to say he was going to get lost in the mix if we did not find him a more progressive environment..... The racial tension is between the hispanic and white kids here. My daughter 15 reports it is hard to find people to relate to other than fancy hand bags and cell phones..... she organized several local rallies such a global warming, no more troops/anti war rallies and maybe 4 kids from her school even knew what she was talking about or why she would do this. This left her pretty disappointed in kids her age.

Ugh, this is so sad. You're right, though. It sounds like racial/ethnic tensions are high all over. I would've thought Davis kids would've had a more progressive/open-minded mindset, though, and would be the most politically active.

Originally Posted by Cayceincali

Davis schools are better than most places in the US it is a ton of work for the kids however my kids went through k-7 here and one is still here in the 9th grade at Emerson the other is in Natomas at the charter school in Sacramento. They both started at age 5 and have moved right along..... I have had friends children asked to stay back in kindergarten as well as first grade due to the desire to have their "skills improved" I am not really sure what all that meant!

Wow, so the schools are the ones holding back the kids, not just the parents, huh? I guess it's the opposite complaint of schools who keep passing kids who don't acquire basic skills. Do you get the sense they're really looking out for the kid, or just trying to inflate their scores?

Dang, you sure make North Carolina sound good! Good luck in your own search and thanks for all your help w/ mine!

[Cayceincali]

Well about the drugs with high schoolers.... my son who is 17 and pretty honest has said that there is plenty of cocaine available and most kids have to the cash to make the purchases, every party he has gone to has pot and alcohol. Kids smoke on campus (UCD) in the gardens at at the arboretum. I guess the real problem is that other than weekend parties there is nothing for them to do.... like live music, hanging out at the beach, horse ridding, hiking, snowboarding........ I think the other part is that these kids have plenty of spending money, cars and limited responsibility. There are a lot of totally crappy low lifes that know these kids have money so they don't have to look for drugs, if your downtown they will find you!