Sacramento Is Flawed But Still Wonderful - 10/3/2021

It is easy to say negative things about Sacramento as we have many problems that are common throughout California. Crime & homelessness rates are high here. Housing is expensive. Summers are very hot indeed. But there are also positives about Sacramento. The winters are very mild. No ice or snow. Being originally from Missouri it is a relief to escape the cold winters as well as heavy rain and tornadoes. There is a rich cultural history here. It is the Capital of California. Sacramento is one of the first cities established after California became a state. So there are numerous homes from the 1800s downtown. The Capitol building is exceptional with beautiful grounds. Sacramento has many health care facilities and educational opportunities. Our roads and transportation system is generally good. We are centrally located from San Francisco to the west and Lake Tahoe/Reno to the east. There are many good restaurants and places of entertainment. It is easy to drive out to the countryside which I really appreciate. We are growing from an influx of people from the Bay Area and it pushes our housing costs up quite a bit. Sometimes I think about leaving California but realize we are a progressive state and that matters a lot to me. In spite of its faults I love Sacramento and will keep living here!

[Comment on this Posting]

You don't want to live here - 5/15/2021

High, high crime rate and car theft capitol of the country. Everyone knows someone who’s had their car stolen or have had their own car stolen. Sacramento’s violent crime and property crime is way above the US average. Lots of shootings and murders and more murder of cops than anywhere I've ever lived. Lots and lots of theft. Twice during the first months after moving here, in the middle of the day, while grocery shopping in very good neighborhoods, I witness store employees chasing young men with unpaid groceries, out of the store! You do not want to go out at night. Keep your doors and windows locked at all times. Leave nothing of value outside at anytime. Do not have packages delivered to your door! Long hot miserable summers from May through mid-October or later. Weeks of high 90s and even 100s without end. Half the year above 90 degrees often triple digits for weeks on end. 111 temps for days. Rolling blackouts – no electricity in record heat! No rain in the summer and often very little rain all year. So many years of drought that fire season is year round. With the fires, the air pollution is almost too thick to breath. Stay inside. “The City of Sacramento was named the fifth most ozone-polluted city in the country. The city was also ranked No. 15 on the list of most polluted cities by short-term pollution, according to the State of the Air 2019 that comes from the American Lung Association…. Short-term pollution is typically when the air is smoky, like after a wildfire.” Lots of car vandalism and defacing; passing cars toss paper cups with liquids, ice, or worse, hard objects, etc. at cars. Very high car theft and car vandalism rates. Worst drivers in the country. Usually #1 worst drivers in country and always in the top 3 worst drivers in the country. Top 3 in DUIs – often #1 in DUIs. Very high car insurance rates. Unfriendly, rude people. Cultural Wasteland. Outrageously high cost of housing for dumps. Crime rate 35% higher than average. Extremely high cost of living for everything. Bottom line, don't live here, worst place ever. People are leaving CA in droves. You don't want to live here. It's a nightmare - not a dream.

[Comment on this Posting]

is this the symbol of our state? - 1/30/2020

The city is very mixed. I will start off by saying it has some excellent historical and educational sites to look at. It is a contractual obligation that you look at the state capitol and at least one of the many museums while you're here. I love looking at the grey squirrels outside the state capitol. That's probably the nicest part of the main city along with the northern and furthest south suburban neighbourhoods. Go to the city centre more than 5km away from the state capitol and it's just full of homeless drug addicts, shantytowns, trash littered everywhere, and pollution. Even the rivers are used as bath water by the homeless. This place is really mixed. Some areas are decent while others are absolute dog poop by comparison.

[Comment on this Posting]

Bit of a downer... - 7/13/2019

I'm 21 years old and I've lived in Sac my whole life. I have always enjoyed the K-12 schools in Sacramento (albeit in the nicer parts of the city). The recreation and sports department of the city is one of its best qualities. I'm a distance runner and Sacramento offers some of the best road races in the state. California International Marathon is an especially outstanding event. Old Sac in the downtown area is also a neat place to visit. However, Sacramento State is a different story. The school is nice enough, but parking has to be some of the worst in the country and everyone commutes to and from school, fabricating a very mind-your-own-business environment. Not to mention classes are impossible to get. Sac weather is hotter than the Sun and I typically flee to the Sierras for the summer. The central location isn't bad. The city is about 2 hours from everywhere, it seems (SF, Tahoe, Redding, etc.). My biggest gripe with the city is probably the traffic. Even at 1 pm on a Wednesday, it seems like the highways are jam-packed. Getting to know the streets well is almost an essential to getting places on-time. Finally, the homeless issue is out of control. It seems like things have been getting worse over time. The bike trail that spans approximately 34 miles from Discovery Park in Downtown Sac to Beals Point in Folsom is not as pretty as it no-doubt used to be. I ran the thing in one go and the first seven miles near Discovery Park are so overgrown with brush and homeless camps, I honestly wonder if the city even cares anymore. Might as well cut the crap and name that part of the city a "Hooverville." Sac has redeeming factors, but I won't be there much longer.

[Comment on this Posting]

Sacramento, best place to live in California. - 3/26/2019

I've lived in Sacramento since 1989. I used to live in the S.F. Bay Area. Never regretted making the move. We have glorious seasons. Summer can be hot, but we've discovered air conditioning...LOL..... It's never humid! Great family communities surround our fair city. I love living here, and it's getting better every day. Good people. Less pretentious than the snobs of L.A. and S.F.

[Comment on this Posting]

The Real Scoop - 10/9/2016

I am a native-born who lived in Sacramento from the mid-1960’ s to 2005, left for 10 years and came back for family reasons. Here is my assessment of the city: Cons: -Unaffordable real estate for the average wage-earner ($350,000+ for a old house in need of repair that you could buy in the mid-west for $120,000). In an area with decent schools, a 70’s half-plex will run you $300K. Decent newer home in the burbs or one of the older established areas will cost you much more. Most non-professional jobs do not compensate for this. -Commuter traffic that takes me one hour to travel home at night 15 miles on I-5. I’ve seen country roads in the burbs flooded with cars trying to avoid the freeways. A mayor nixed the idea of a crosstown freeway in the 80s. All the land rights have been since bought up. -There are proportionately very poor drivers, some quite aggressive who take chances with other peoples lives because of their impatience and lack of experience. -Roads poorly maintained and with a lot of refuse on the shoulders. Honestly I’ve seen better maintained roads in third world counties. The state should probably enact toll roads to improve this. -I’ve experienced, as some of my friends, non-responsive 911 attempts-which is unnerving. -Light rail transportation is dangerous when not during peak hours. In the downtown area, many stops occupied by aggressive acting individuals who do not pay their fares. Fare increases have been recently enacted for fare payers to subsidize the non-fare paying riders. -Very hot summers, often reaching 100+ degrees. If you are in the downtown area, there are many beautiful old trees that provide shade canopies, but not so much in the burbs. -Air can feel dirty during the late summers, and so dry that you will need lots of moisturizer! -Don’t believe when they say “only two hours to SF or the mountains”, as often on the weekends if you do not get out very early, you will be stuck in traffic on the freeways. -Crime can be high in some areas, with many neighborhoods that are sadly underfinanced and past their prime as developers attract people further out to newer communities. A lot of urban blight. -Homeless (drug) population is expanding into areas that were once occupied by professional classes. -Bike trails can be dangerous in areas Pros: -Pretty decent job opportunities when compared to states like Oregon (not Portland) or Nevada, and if you can get a job for the State (which are most of the jobs in the downtown area). -Excellent colleges and universities nearby -Access to multi-cultural food and the restaurant scene has gotten better -One of the most diverse and integrated cities in the US, and generally most people get along and are not close-minded -The arts scene is getting better, with the new Golden 1 Center promising to bring nationally acclaimed sports and music to the downtown area -Great local baseball team -Beautiful mornings and warm evenings -Mostly sunny days -Somewhat close to beautiful areas such as Napa Valley, world class skiing in the Sierras, and San Francisco – But you’ll have to deal with the traffic! Hope this helps! Better to get an honest answer than some propaganda from the press!

[Comment on this Posting]

Earthquakes - 4/20/2016

Hi, My husband and I may be locating to Sacramento he is getting transferred from work. However, I visited Barstow in 92 for two weeks, when I encountered an earthquake which was pretty big. Since then I have been terrified of them, and I personally do not want to move to California because of that. I was also reading that Sacramento is prone to have earthquakes. I like to know if anybody lived or lives there and how long, and if they encountered any earthquakes. Thanks Petra

[Comment on this Posting]

Lots of Lovely Trees...But the Crime.... - 3/19/2016

My family and I moved to Sacramento CA. (the Arden/Arcade area) about 11 years ago because my brother lived here. It was the worst decision of our lives. It was an especially bad decision since our daughter was only 10 years old and we had previously lived in nice areas. I got a quick horrifying glimpse of what life was going to be like here when I went to enroll my little daughter into elementary school at Del Paso Manor. On the teacher/parent night - I ran into the parents of some of the kids and the parents all looked as if they were meth tweakers! I thought maybe I just had a bad steak and tried to shrug it off. A few weeks later, my little daughter asked if she could play with a boy (her same age) from down the block and so as usual I went down there to see where he lived and to talk with his parents. The parents were friendly enough...but they were tattooed from head to toe and had just gotten out of jail. I discovered that many people here were on drugs or sold drugs and the crime rate was/is through the roof. My young daughter survived it all, she is 21 years old now, and managed not to become a drug addict or alcoholic, but three of her close friends died here -- all under the age of 21!!! If you love high crime and high drama with lots of poverty -- move here! After the 2008 crash recession, Sacramento was hit HARD. There were foreclosures all over the place. The economy still has not recovered and it seems crime has grown worse. The upside is that Sacramento is innocently bucolic looking, with it's many gorgeous trees and big yards...I always said it looks like city in the country. If it weren't for the churches here, it would be truly abysmal. However, there are some great churches in the area - check out Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on 11th St. or Saint Francis of Assisi Parish or if you are Protestant, visit Arcade Church (there are so many more) and that's the sparkle of Sacramento. The nicest thing I can say about Sacramento is that most folks here are down to earth and friendly -- and that is the upside - but it's very strange. You see the oddest things here. For example, at one of our stores, there is a full bearded woman who is just as pleasant as a spring day, as she politely chats as if it's the most normal thing to be a lady cashier with a full beard! The skies over Sacramento are always sunny, with the exception of a few cloudy or rainy days. Summers in Sacto are scorchers with temperatures easily tipping the 100 mark or more. On those days, which are plentiful, you really don't want to go out in this desert-like heat -- so if you do plan to stay here, make sure you have a decent working A/C. Before the crash of 2008 we always rented homes, but after the crash, we could no longer afford renting a home. I began to look for decent apartment living, if there was such a thing in a place like this. In 2012, I must have visited and toured 22 apartment buildings to see if they were suitable to live in. It was a long process that seemed to be nothing but horrible looking places...until I found this one. It was affordable, gated with decent management. They keep the grounds beautiful - and whenever something needs fixing, they are right on it. We have a nice pool, a clubhouse, tennis courts, a dog park with a BBQ area. Every apartment has a front or back outside porch...but this was difficult to find, sort of like finding a needle in a haystack. I'm thankful I found it. The neighbors are all pleasant. The management does not put up with chronically noisy neighbors and will put them out in a heart beat if they keep up the racket. In a few years, my husband and I plan on retiring. We want to move to Florida where I have family. As for Sacramento, it would truly be a lovely place if it weren't for all the shady elements of drug & thugs every where killing and robbing their way to another fix in a ghetto culture. If one doesn't get completely depressed here, you will find Old Town quite charming. There is an interesting Train Museum to visit, FairyTale Land and the Zoo is a fun place for the kiddos. There is the beautiful American River to walk or bike along, there's Effie Yaew park land to investigate in Carmichael (next to the Arden/Arcade area) And just outside of Sacramento there is Grass Valley and Nevada City about 45 minutes away, which are great little western towns to visit. Every fall season we visit Apple Farm in Placerville where they bake fresh apple pies and having many farms that have a fair-like atmosphere. During the winter the Sierra mountains are usually covered in snow and if you ski or snow board, this is the perfect place. Lake Tahoe is about a 2 hour ride and the lake-water is a clear emerald! San Francisco is about an hour and a half away -- if you don't mind tolls and the bumper to bumper traffic. It has great little places to eat and lots of fun places to explore. However, as pretty as it is here, I'm sad to say, I would never encourage anyone to move to Sacramento - especially if you have children. It is definitely not the place to raise your kids. I understand that there are no perfect places to live -- but this is the very last place on earth I'd move, had I known what I know now.

[Comment on this Posting]

Median Sales Price - 2/21/2016

According to the Sacramento Association of Realtors, the median sales price in Sacramento County, for a single-family home (one house on a lot), as of 12/31/2015 was $295,500.

[Comment on this Posting]

studios - 6/17/2015

Sacramento cheap apartment for low income person!

[Comment on this Posting]

Property Investor - 4/26/2015

Looking for REO properties in the Sacramento area.

[Comment on this Posting]

The straight dope on Sacramento, neighborhoods, ev - 4/2/2015

I am 51 years old and I have lived in the Sacramento area since 1973, or since I was 9 years old. I actually love Sacramento. I really like the weather, although we get some rain during the winter, there are many sunny days each year. Sometimes during the winter from Nov to Feb we get fog, which can keep the sun away for weeks at a time which can depress me on occasion. Most of all the weather in Sacramento is about as good as it gets, but since I like the heat, I am used to the summers here. It gets over 100 degrees usually 10 to 25 days each summer, however, one of the saving graces about Sacramento heat is it usually will get broken up after a few days by a delta breeze which like a giant air conditioner can drop the summer heat 10-25 degrees in a single day. One day it is 104, the next 89. Relief. The cons of Sacramento for me are the cost of living. Since I don't make much money, I am constantly trying to find some room to rent, which means I have to move a lot. Decent apartments in a decent neighborhood are impossible to find here for under $800 per month. Good places to live in the Sacramento area? Roseville, Folsom, Lincoln, Woodland, Granite Bay, Placerville, some parts of Elk Grove, Orangevale, Rocklin, Auburn, Davis(although is a liberal, regulated bicycle college town), parts of downtown, Land Park, East Sacramento and some of the Greenhaven/Pocket area. Bad places? Oak Park, North Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, anywhere in South Sacramento, North Elk Grove, Del Paso Heights, Meadowview, Florin, parts of West Sacramento, and most of Carmichael. Avoid these areas at all costs. Crime, drugs, filth, noise and junk. The reason I am leaving is because of the high cost of living. Gas taxes, state income taxes, regulation, automotive smog check laws are the reason. Another big reason I'm leaving is because of the springtime allergies I suffer living here. Sacramento has to be the worst place on the planet if you suffer allergies. Don't come here if you have them unless you have excellent health coverage so you can get allergy shots, or endure the 2 months of hell each year. Shots cost thousands of dollars if you don't have coverage for them. Sacramento in my opinion is my favorite place to live except for the fact that I can't afford it. The government constantly has it's hands in my pocket, and I'm sick and tired of it. Sacramento, great place to live if you can afford it and like to subsidize the wastefull spending of the California state government.

[Comment on this Posting]

A great place to live once upon a time - 3/28/2015

Well, I started using this site because my husband I are leaving this city and want lots of good information on other places to live. I'm leaving this review as a warning to others. We have lived in Sacramento since 1981 and have seen it change for a good mid sized city that was great for raising a family to a large city teeming with crime and decay. It is so sad to see how this city has changed and not for the better! Everything about living here is higher than the national averages: Gas prices (because of the high state tax rates), food, utilities, rents and home prices, and of course taxes overall. We own a small business and Sacramento, and California in general, is not a great place to own a business. Crime is on the rise in general with this area being one of the worst for car thefts. We live in a gated apartment complex that is considered to be one of the best in our area and we have had three neighbors have cars stolen in the last year! I know this only my experience and I encourage everyone interested in moving here to check the local crime stats carefully and choose which area of the city to live in with extreme care. California in general is at the bottom when it comes to the quality of schools. There are some good schools in this area but you have to choose carefully to find the right one. Our children are grown now. When we were raising them we had them in private schools to avoid the low quality of public schools in the area. To be fair there are some good parts of Sacramento and the surrounding suburbs, so if you want to move here choose with care. I live in the Arden Arcade are, which was once a nice place to call home, no more however. So sad. The good points of the area are that it is close to the mountains, Lake Tahoe and San Francisco. However, the Bay area's traffic has gotten so bad that it is a hard drive to make. Tahoe is beautiful as well as the foothill towns to the east of Sacramento. A town with so much potential, too bad it is fading.

[Comment on this Posting]

Think twice before you move here - 1/28/2015

My husband, myself and my disabled adult son moved here last December. The worst move we have ever made. We are both professionals who lost their jobs due to the recession so we had to move from the Walnut Creek area due to the high cost of living there. We have not been able to obtain jobs here even after going to the EDD/One Stop Center which I can tell you has been NO help what so ever other then to have us go to "classes" and tell us to look online and register with local employment offices. They do not have a job developer or any training as we were told "we have no funding." We live in the Arden Arcade area and the crime here is unbelievable. My son was held up at gun point as well as an elderly resident in the apartments we live in. The area has lots of homeless, thugs, and drugs. All we were told is this about Sacramento: Don't live on the South Side, the Del Paso area, North Highlands, Oak Park, the Pocket area or the Rosemont area. Well what is left? As they are all bad areas. I have never seen such a run down area as Sacramento, old building that are not kept up, abondoned buildings, and trash on the streets. We were told that Sacramento County does not have money to pay for police or for infrastructure. We are leaving ASAP. I now have what they call "hood disease." We definitely have PTSD because of the crime in this area. I cannot find social services for my son as I've been told "our county is broke.""Too many unemployed people to serve effectively." "Move out if you want help" I.E.: other states as apparently most of California is broke. One would think the Capitol of California would offer more. This is not the golden state it is the pyrite state.

[Comment on this Posting]

its not as bad as everyone may say it is - 1/16/2013

All in all Sacramento is not that bad! There are some great pro's about the city. Its located perfectly in the middle of all great things in California.. With a 2hr drive you can go to the mountains(Tahoe), or the city(San Fransisco), or Napa valley, or if you drive 5-6hrs youre in LA... thats the best thing I like about this place. If you like to travel its a great base. For living I would recommend the outskirts of Sacramento, like Lincoln, Rocklin to live in... the neighborhoods are nicer and more family orientated. In the Sacramento area you have a lot of class diversity. One street over is a bad neighborhood, where one street the other way is a million dollar home neighborhood. So theres a mixture of different classes within the same region. In the outskirts like lincoln, the differences in class are very slim so overall the entire area is nice and safe so you would have to worry about making the wrong turn!

[Comment on this Posting]

Good and Bad - 12/31/2012

I lived there for 3 years while in college (about 3 years ago). It's a big city with unbelievably awful traffic. It takes 30 minutes to drive 4 miles down the road in some parts of Sacramento. The summers are unbareably hot reaching over 100 degrees on many days. Being that it is dry heat (which I was not used to being raised on the East coast) does not make it more bareable. During the summers I did not want to spend long outside due to the heat and constantly felt like I needed to drink water and carry lotion with me because my skin felt SO dry (and I don't have dry skin). BUT the people were very friendly and down-to-earth. I have lived a lot of places and I would have to say the people in Sacramento were probably the nicest most normal people I met anywhere.

[Comment on this Posting]

Never a blue sky - 9/30/2012

We rarely ever get a blue sky. And when we do expect chemtrails to ruin the view within an hour. Not sure what they are doing in this area but it seems to be chemtrail city.. Thought everywhere was like this til we vacationed in Florida. Even thought there were clouds the sky was soooo blue and clear!!!

[Comment on this Posting]

I wish my Brother & Sister would leave California - 9/29/2012

I would not wish Sacramento or Cali living on my worst enemy. Since my brother and his family moved to this town 10 years ago they have experienced job losses, breathing/health problems thanks to pollution, overcrowded schools, overcrowded roads. More than half of his friends have experienced job losses, foreclosures, health problems and have been victims of increasing crime rate. Crime is soaring. People of lower income have fled from southern to northern parts of California in search of "affordable" housing. I have tried in vain to convince my brother to move away from Cali-his wife refuses to move. Unfortunately, his wife is still holding on to the "California Dream" which is more of an illusion than anything else. She somehow thinks that because she lives in a state with "celebs" "trendies" and "Techies" that makes her "special" over everyone else in the U.S. To her --anyone that is not a Californian or New Yorker is a "Hick". Its a mentality that she never used to have when she lived in NY state- but developed soon after moving to Cali. Sad but i have noticed that this is the mentality of many people that i've encountered the few times i have visited (I've traveled northern and southern parts of Cali). What many California's don't realize is that the rest of the country views this state as a royal mess. One that has fallen to illegal immigrants, and housing bubbles and yielding gangs, drugs, and other illegal activities as well as overcrowded hospitals and schools. Many areas have become downright dilapidated since most people don't have the economic power to live in a decent home and cities don't have the budget to keep up with the demands of an increased population. Its truly sad. So many Californians are entrenched in the mirage that many don't even realize how bad they have it. I've encountered people that live in $700K garages, in a crappy neighborhood, they call home. And they think they have it "made". Tragic. And if you are wondering by now where i live, that would be in McKinney,Texas (A far north suburb of Dallas). While it is not perfect by any means, here we don't have the crime, drugs, pollution, overcrowded schools/hospitals or job losses that many parts of California has experienced. While we have had some job losses during the recession, it was never as severe as what California experienced. Not to mention the housing prices are pretty decent. I live in an 8 year old, 1,500 SF home i purchased for $120K in a beautiful and safe neighborhood close to many amenities. Our streets are lined with tons crepe myrtles and other mature trees & flowering shrubs that help clean the air and serve to beautify our town. Moreover, over the years, there has been aggressive restoration of historic homes and the historic downtown area. Many parts of McKinney have become as picturesque as a Norman Rockwell painting. The people here are friendly and the two friends that I knew which experienced job losses were able to find another job, at a better salary, in under a year. By contrast--Both my sister who lives with her family in Southern California and my brother who lives with his family in Northern California have suffered tremendously over the past few years. By sheer miracle my sister managed to sell her home, one that she almost lost on several occasions to forest fires and then finally to foreclosure. Her husband has 3 years left before retirement and they are getting the heck out of Cali. This year they are moving into a small apartment for the next 3 years until they get out. My brother, on the other hand, can't leave unless his wife is on board with the idea, or he gets a divorce in order to finally move. There are just so many other gorgeous places in this country that hasn't experienced the severe job losses, crime rates, overcrowded and pollution that California has. Last time i visited Cali was 6 years ago. I was so saddened by what is saw. It was not the same California i knew of 25 years ago.

[Comment on this Posting]

I wish my brother would leave this place already - 9/29/2012

I would not wish Sacramento or Cali living on my worst enemy. Since my brother and his family moved to this town 10 years ago they have experienced job losses, breathing/health problems thanks to pollution, overcrowded schools, overcrowded roads. More than half of his friends have experienced job losses, foreclosures, health problems and have been victims of increasing crime rate. Crime is soaring. People of lower income have fled from southern to northern parts of California in search of "affordable" housing. I have tried in vain to convince my brother to move away from Cali-his wife refuses to move. Unfortunately, his wife is still holding on to the "California Dream" which is more of an illusion than anything else. She somehow thinks that because she lives in a state with "celebs" "trendies" and "Techies" that makes her "special" over everyone else in the U.S. To her --anyone that is not a Californian or New Yorker is a "Hick". Its a mentality that she never used to have when she lived in NY state- but developed soon after moving to Cali. Sad but i have noticed that this is the mentality of many people that i've encountered the few times i have visited (I've traveled northern and southern parts of Cali). What many California's don't realize is that the rest of the country views this state as a royal mess. One that has fallen to illegal immigrants, and housing bubbles and yielding gangs, drugs, and other illegal activities as well as overcrowded hospitals and schools. Many areas have become downright dilapidated since most people don't have the economic power to live in a decent home and cities don't have the budget to keep up with the demands of an increased population. Its truly sad. So many Californians are entrenched in the mirage that many don't even realize how bad they have it. I've encountered people that live in $700K garages, in a crappy neighborhood, they call home. And they think they have it "made". Tragic. And if you are wondering by now where i live, that would be in McKinney,Texas (A far north suburb of Dallas). While it is not perfect by any means, here we don't have the crime, drugs, pollution, overcrowded schools/hospitals or job losses that many parts of California has experienced. While we have had some job losses during the recession, it was never as severe as what California experienced. Not to mention the housing prices are pretty decent. I live in an 8 year old, 1,500 SF home i purchased for $120K in a beautiful and safe neighborhood close to many amenities. Our streets are lined with tons crepe myrtles and other mature trees & flowering shrubs that help clean the air and serve to beautify our town. Moreover, over the years, there has been aggressive restoration of historic homes and the historic downtown area. Many parts of McKinney have become as picturesque as a Norman Rockwell painting. The people here are friendly and the two friends that I knew which experienced job losses were able to find another job, at a better salary, in under a year. By contrast--Both my sister who lives with her family in Southern California and my brother who lives with his family in Northern California have suffered tremendously over the past few years. By sheer miracle my sister managed to sell her home, one that she almost lost on several occasions to forest fires and then finally to foreclosure. Her husband has 3 years left before retirement and they are getting the heck out of Cali. This year they are moving into a small apartment for the next 3 years until they get out. My brother, on the other hand, can't leave unless his wife is on board with the idea, or he gets a divorce in order to finally move. There are just so many other gorgeous places in this country that hasn't experienced the severe job losses, crime rates, overcrowded and pollution that California has. Last time i visited Cali was 6 years ago. I was so saddened by what is saw. It was not the same California i knew of 25 years ago.

[Comment on this Posting]

SUNNY DAYS ANNUALLY - 8/19/2012

I have spent alot of time in what was once America and Sacramento,California.The City Fathers must have an excellent Public Relations/Advertising agency on the payroll.Why?Because if you belive half of what you read...the sun shines most,if not all of the year. Well,I am here to tell you that this is not even remotely true. If you plan on retiring in the area or merely looking for a suuy clime in which to work and raise a family,do your own research and you will see what I mean.Have a nice day.

[Comment on this Posting]