Anyone move from Austin to Sacramento? (San Francisco: allergies, live, air quality)

[wburg]

Old Sacramento and the Railroad Museum, and our local restaurant/bar scene, definitely qualify under the criteria of "the one thing people not from that city are likely to know about that city," which is basically the same as the best-known tourist attractions mentioned in cities like San Antonio, Austin, San Diego, Seattle and Portland above. Native Sacramentans tend to downplay them because they kind of instinctively downplay anything local even if tourists love it, and the natural inclination of people to be somewhat disinterested in their own home city's tourist destination of choice. People like our waterfront, they like riding the trains from Old Sacramento along the river, and they like going to Rivercats games on the West Sacramento side and concerts at Golden 1 Center on the Sacramento side (even if the Kings' seat-filling power has been lackluster.) Of course, to many this is like being complimented on what one is convinced is one's worst feature, so even a compliment sends a chill down the spine of those who see Sacramento as a humble "plain jane" city with nothing about it that visitors might ever want to explore--hearing out-of-town talk about what a great time they had on the Underground Tours or at the Railroad Museum, or a music festival in Discovery Park or the Railyards, all within walking distance of Old Sacramento and our riverfront, must be like fingernails on a chalkboard to them!



So while it is endlessly infuriating to some Sacramentans, people from all around the country and the world know about Old Sacramento, even if they have never visited, frequently because the image many people get of Sacramento is that view of the Tower Bridge with the Delta King and Old Sacramento behind it, right on the riverfront. But the grass is always greener (or the riverwalk always more vibrant) on the other side, so many Sacramentans tend to look right past it. And, as mentioned above, the restaurant business isn't exactly a high-paying and/or non-volatile employment market that can become the basis of a more robust economy. Worrying about having a more-beloved tourist attraction or more successful sports team is like worrying about the garnish on a dinner plate instead of the main course!


The city is taking another step to approve a long-deferred streetcar project over the Tower Bridge tomorrow, a plan to run light rail over the Tower Bridge to the Rivercats' baseball field from Sacramento Valley Station, which, using earlier plans as a guide, could be expanded to serve more places on both sides of the river, starting with the places visitors tend to want to go most often, even if some locals can't bear the thought of it.

[Chimérique]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

What I've been waiting for far too long.... will Sacramento ever have some synergy or one or two attributes that catches the nations attention and lasts for a generation or more.

Such as:
Austin's Foodie and Drikke(Bars) and Music scene
San Antonio's River Walk
San Diego's Zoo and Balboa Park
Seattle's Pike Place Market and waterfront
Portland's waterfront access and numerous interesting restaurants

Sacramento has notable elements of the above, and by are more than anything else in the Central Valley or Fresno, fer sure, and distinctly more than we had 20 years ago.....but still nothing that's lasted a long time.

Nationally, even globally, the one thing we had was a really good NBA team, which had a 10-20 year solid run that was respectable and fun. Will they become relevant again?

I still wonder if the influencers and powers that be in Sacramento have never actually been to Austin, San Antonio, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, for any length of time because of the way they respond.

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by dontbelievehim

Fresno has been hiring Portland city managers as consultants for years, but has reaped little reward. It just takes too damn long to build anything in California. CA needs to figure out a way to reduce red tape for the valley. It shouldn't be subject to the same strict standards as the coast.

I mean aside from a good chunk of the Sac metro area lying directly in the flood plain, and the threat of a once in a century type of storm that could hit any year now, sure.

The rest of the Central Valley has other issues though, like scorching summers and air pollution, which definitely impact desirability and people wanting to bet their money on it.

[Wellwouldyoulookatthat]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

I mean aside from a good chunk of the Sac metro area lying directly in the flood plain, and the threat of a once in a century type of storm that could hit any year now, sure.

The rest of the Central Valley has other issues though, like scorching summers and air pollution, which definitely impact desirability and people wanting to bet their money on it.

Do you happen to know if the Roseville area is high enough elevation to be out of the flood plain?

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by Wellwouldyoulookatthat

Do you happen to know if the Roseville area is high enough elevation to be out of the flood plain?

I'd say so, but I'm not 100% sure the entire city is excluded from it.

[Valley Boy]

The difference now is, the railroad 120 years ago and the military 70 years ago made up a huge chunk of the GDP. Of course, California was much less populated in 1950. Sac County only had 250,000 people.

The government has grown, but it still had at least another prominent industry in tandem with it. Even after the bases closed post cold war, we had a HUGE RE Development industry. But the last bust wiped a lot of folks out, and knee jerk over regulation ensures it will never re-emerge to prominence. In fact, a good amount of local construction is government contracts.

So where does that leave us? Gov't, healthcare, and much neutered RE Development guiding the economy. Covid pre vaccine they tried to hedge our bets with Bay Area work from home. But many ordered back to the office and buyers remorse may show it to be a foolish gamble. Yet to be seen, but we will know in a year or two.

At this point I expect Sac to stagnate. High crime, out of control homeless, and local school District dysfunction takes Sac out of the game. The 20's will be the decade of the suburbs.

[johnnyz]

Following : Curious if the OP made the move from Austin to SAC after all....and if so, how it's going ?

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by johnnyz

Following : Curious if the OP made the move from Austin to SAC after all and if so, how it's going ?

No, my family vetoed it. Once our daughter finishes college in Texas, my husband and I want to move. California is still the leading contender, but we are looking all over the state now.

[sanmiguel]

Originally Posted by Topaz

No, my family vetoed it. Once our daughter finishes college in Texas, my husband and I want to move. California is still the leading contender, but we are looking all over the state now.

Our home in Hyde Park was one mile from the UT campus. We loved it but family in Sacramento wanted us to be closer to them in our "golden years". After lots of investigation, we purchased a home in Folsom. Seven years later we are glad we made that decision. In both cities, convenience to shopping, gym, health facilities and recreational opportunities were paramount.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by sanmiguel

Our home in Hyde Park was one mile from the UT campus. We loved it but family in Sacramento wanted us to be closer to them in our "golden years". After lots of investigation, we purchased a home in Folsom. Seven years later we are glad we made that decision. In both cities, convenience to shopping, gym, health facilities and recreational opportunities were paramount.

You can drive to Lake Tahoe. I can drive to Lake Travis. No comparison! I am very eager to leave here.