I've lived near Sac all my life. The climate is dry, not humid for sure. Summers are hot (but not Vegas hot) and that's when we have the worst pollution. I pay attention to the AQI and when it's "unhealthy for sensitive groups" I try to stay indoors. We have that valley effect where the pollution is trapped and without the delta breeze on many summer days the pollution just sits, almost like the city lives in a big covered dust bowl. Strange, but true.
Most years we have two seasons. Summer and Winter. Winters can be rainy or dry, but most always cold. We have cold snaps every other year or so when it doesn't get above 32 (that's cold for me!) About once per decade it snows, but melts the same day. On most winter days a sweatshirt will do if you're just running errands and not spending a lot of time outdoors.
Traffic is bad in the commute directions. For example to travel 30 miles in a "heavy" commute will take about 70 minutes. Not fun, but not as bad as LA. If you can live/work in the opposite commute directions, that's best. Or better yet, buy a house in the same city you work in. We moved just 30 miles last year from the north side of Sac county to the south side because my husband changed jobs.
As for size...gosh, I had to look that up. The city has over 467K people but when you include the surrounding areas it contains about 2M. Crime...depends on where you live I suppose. Somebody vandalized my lawn about six months ago. I fired a gardener and hired a new one. So the old gardener is a likely suspect in my book. Or a high schooler that got my house confused with someone else's. Hardly what I would consider "crime" though. There are plenty of gangs and shootings and drugs. (meth is a big one) but it's all relative. You're going to find all this in many large cities.
There's also lots to do. Right now, with the twins, I'm more focused on family activities. We joined the Railroad Museum, a nice indoor activity on a cold winter day, or hot summer day. We go to the Zoo and "Fairy Tale Town". There are loads of parks, Sacramento is also known as "The City of Trees". Then there's sports (Sacramento Kings) and the AAA baseball team, RiverCats which is a family friendly event. Cal Expo is a huge events center that hosts loads of travling shows and things. And of course the State Fair every August. There are a few community colleges with things to do, I used to take PE classes with a friend for fun. The city of Davis is close by too. (my college alma mater) and it's a cute quaint college town with loads of unique opportunities, places to eat, fun events to attend, and the Mondavi Center, (if you're into theater, arts, speeches etc.)
Wherever you decide to move, I would google it, check out wiki etc.
Good luck!
Tara
Most years we have two seasons. Summer and Winter. Winters can be rainy or dry, but most always cold. We have cold snaps every other year or so when it doesn't get above 32 (that's cold for me!) About once per decade it snows, but melts the same day. On most winter days a sweatshirt will do if you're just running errands and not spending a lot of time outdoors.
Traffic is bad in the commute directions. For example to travel 30 miles in a "heavy" commute will take about 70 minutes. Not fun, but not as bad as LA. If you can live/work in the opposite commute directions, that's best. Or better yet, buy a house in the same city you work in. We moved just 30 miles last year from the north side of Sac county to the south side because my husband changed jobs.
As for size...gosh, I had to look that up. The city has over 467K people but when you include the surrounding areas it contains about 2M. Crime...depends on where you live I suppose. Somebody vandalized my lawn about six months ago. I fired a gardener and hired a new one. So the old gardener is a likely suspect in my book. Or a high schooler that got my house confused with someone else's. Hardly what I would consider "crime" though. There are plenty of gangs and shootings and drugs. (meth is a big one) but it's all relative. You're going to find all this in many large cities.
There's also lots to do. Right now, with the twins, I'm more focused on family activities. We joined the Railroad Museum, a nice indoor activity on a cold winter day, or hot summer day. We go to the Zoo and "Fairy Tale Town". There are loads of parks, Sacramento is also known as "The City of Trees". Then there's sports (Sacramento Kings) and the AAA baseball team, RiverCats which is a family friendly event. Cal Expo is a huge events center that hosts loads of travling shows and things. And of course the State Fair every August. There are a few community colleges with things to do, I used to take PE classes with a friend for fun. The city of Davis is close by too. (my college alma mater) and it's a cute quaint college town with loads of unique opportunities, places to eat, fun events to attend, and the Mondavi Center, (if you're into theater, arts, speeches etc.)
Wherever you decide to move, I would google it, check out wiki etc.
Good luck!
Tara