Your opinions on Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Arden/Arcade, and Rancho Cordova (Sacramento: rent, crime rates)

[B.E.C.K.]

We are a young family, relocating soon to Sacramento. I will be working at McClellan, and due the gas prices I'm looking for a fairly short commute. We also have 2 young children who will be starting school soon, so we need a good family-friendly neighborhood with good schools. (I know that the parent has a lot to do with what kind of school experience the kid has, so it doesn't have to be a nationally ranked school or anything like that, but one with good teachers and a fairly decent teacher to student ratio.) We are pretty active and like to get out and explore, go to parks, and want to get the kids involved in sports and activites.

We are looking at Roseville, Rocklin, Orangevale and Folsom, but we would like our dollars to stretch farther, so we are also interested in Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Arden/Arcade, and Rancho Cordova. Are these neighborhoods good for families? Are they safe? Would you choose to save money and live in these neighborhoods or spend a little more to live in the aforementioned neighborhoods?

Thank you for any info you can share!

[NewToCA]

Based on the situation as you have outlined it, I'd spend a little bit more and live in Roseville.

Kids are front and center to me, so the choice would be what works best for them.

[KC6ZLV]

Orangevale is a good community. Much of it is large-lot suburbs, but here are plenty of places with normal sized yards. Fair Oaks and Carmichael are somewhat the same. They probably have some of the lowest crime rates in the area. Carmichael is probably a little better for someone working at McClellan. The three above communities are close to 80% white.

Arden-Arcade: Stay east of B-80. The old section near Arcade and Marysville Blvd is overrun with problems you don't want to live near. It is much better closer to Watt Ave near Country Club. Most houses were built in the 50s, have larger lots close to a quarter acre. It is nice and quiet. I've been looking for a house recently and if you don't mind a 50-60 year old house and doing some work yourself, there are some really good deals there.

I never cared for Rancho Cordova. There are nice sections of it, but overall, it just seems like a place where nobody cares about much of anything. Housing is relatively inexpensive. A lot of "investors" have bought the houses there and rent them out to anyone. The end result is you are likely to have different neighbors every year.

Folsom is getting to be a little bit of a distance for someone working at McClellan. Folsom is another town that grew considerably in the last ten years. It is much more expensive than Carmichael or Arden.

[Bob Mc]

Pick financing and get pre-qualified, then you know your price range. Choose the school district, then the location. Use [URL="http://www.doe.ca.gov"]www.doe.ca.gov[/URL] and examine STAR test results by district, then school, but only after filtering for your demographic. School districts publish maps of the school neighborhood boundaries, call and ask. Not all higher income neighborhoods have decent schools, and some very average income neighborhoods have great schools.

[Aquaboy]

Forget Arden and Rancho Cordova. Fair Oaks and Carmichael are two of the best around here. Fair Oaks is more expensive but tonier too. Both are short local street commutes to McClellan.
Roseville and Placer County homes means being stuck in heavy traffic on I-80 but if you like the homes there thats the price you pay.

[hydro]

Fair Oaks

[B.E.C.K.]

Thank you all for your replies! We ended up in Citrus Heights, right near the Orangevale and Roseville borders. We are very happy with our choice, and LOVE the area! The school our kids will attend looks like a great school.

[Aquaboy]

Originally Posted by B.E.C.K.

Thank you all for your replies! We ended up in Citrus Heights, right near the Orangevale and Roseville borders. We are very happy with our choice, and LOVE the area! The school our kids will attend looks like a great school.

I'm glad it worked out. Sacramento has some very dicey areas these days. Best of luck.