Reviews & Comments
Vacaville, CA
Depends on your perspective. -
9/23/2019I am a former Bay Area resident who moved to Vacaville to escape the ridiculous cost of living in the Bay. Now, if you are coming from the Bay, this place can seem more reasonably priced in comparison. But if you are comparing it to anywhere other than the Bay, it's not at all a bargain.
I went to undergrad in Davis. So I have a soft spot for this area and was vaguely familiar with Vacaville before moving here but only as a place to drive through. But I've been living here for 3 years now. And we are getting ready to move. So I thought I'd do a review.
Pluses:
1. Vacaville is growing, while we've lived here we've had new stores and business open up, and it's nice. That said, if you want decent Chinese or Japanese food you are out of luck. You'll need to go to Davis for that. You'll have to go to Winters for good steak (but it's really good!) and to the Bay or Napa or Sacramento for just about anything more upscale in terms of shopping or restaurants or entertainment. But you'll get a good deal on some Restoration Hardware furniture.
2. People are genuinely nice here. I've met a lot of very nice people here. There is an Air Force base here so there are a large number of service people who rent. They are young, polite and down to earth. Even the cops are nice, which is just plain odd.
3. Safe. A combination of factors make this place one of the safest places I've lived. We had some furniture delivered that was not what it was advertised to be. It took UPS two weeks to get their act together and pick it up for a refund and it sat on my landing the entire time. Never had a person steal a package or anything at all. I'm an air head and the one time I left my wallet somewhere it was returned to me in the mail (the cards were gone and so was the cash but my pictures and wallet were returned to me).
Cons:
1. There is very little to do. Period. Once you've gotten over outlet shopping and explored the good Latin food you are stuck with an old movie theater with insufficient bathrooms and horrible concessions. This place is dead after 9pm and even before there is very little to do. And we are NOT outgoing people. Both introverted homebodies and even we complain about the lack of things to do. We pretty much go to Concord, Berkeley, Napa, or Sac to 'do' stuff. And that means a 40 minute (minimum) to get to those places.
2. Weather. It's hot 4 months of the year. Like really hot over 100 degrees. This is not a huge negative for me and I genuinely think that as Vacaville grows it's going to get better. Why? When I was at Davis 24 years ago, there was no shade. Now there are huge trees everywhere and in the summer it's actually livable. Vacaville has also planted a lot of trees and they are a work in progress and will start to address some of the hotness of the weather as they grow. I know, that's a strange thing to say, but it's true. Since it's a dry heat shade makes an enormous difference.
3. Cost of Living. By any objective standard that is not warped by Bay Area prices this place is expensive. Granted I was excited that I could get breakfast for two for less than $50 (not possible in the Bay) but it still costs you $35. Rent, while cheap for the Bay, is very expensive for a place where you have to drive 40 minutes to do anything other than shop for groceries and eat tacos. Groceries cost the same as in the Bay. And so do many other things other than housing.
Final con: Cults. Now, people call them churches. But... nope. They are mega churches with cult like insular mentality that has people homeschooling their kids to ignorance, making them fear anything secular, and marrying very young to avoid getting pregnant (or as a consequence of getting pregnant as they are taught only abstinence only). I've been a church going woman of faith. These folks take it to a scary patriarchal extreme. Their women and girls grow their hair out, wear only modest (high collar, long sleeve, long skirt) dresses (not pants), have no jobs or education outside the home (the church as a day care onsite). And it's scary. And yes, it goes hand in hand with their patriarchal politics. It's insidious and you don't notice it at first. But once you do, you can't ignore it. And yes, they do proselytize and try to coerce you to join them.