45 replies to this topic

[Steve Heard]

From Davis to Folsom, Elk Grove to North Highlands, Movoto.com looked at data for 18 Sacramento suburbs, and it should come as no surprise that Folsom ranks as best.

Folsom scores high in everything from safety, to schools, relatively short 25 minute commute time, and quality of life.

 

In addition, says Movoto, "unique to Folsom are things like the Folsom Lake State Recreation area, a vast park for hiking, biking, fishing, swimming, and even horseback riding, and the postcard-worthy historical district, dotted with museums, restaurants and shops."

 

Folsom's desirability is also reflected in housing pricing and availability. Looking at Folsom homes for sale today, there are 121 on the market, about 40 less than last year at this time, and the average home sold is going for $203 per square foot, the highest in the region.  

See below for the full list:

 

1. Folsom

2. Davis
3. Roseville
4. Fair Oaks
5. Granite Bay
6. Elk Grove
7. Rocklin (tie)
7. West Sacramento (tie)
9. La Riviera
10. Carmichael

 

What do you think? Well-deserved? Over-stated? Will it all change with the build-out of the south area?

 

 

[Dave Burrell]

How did Roseville beat out Granite Bay?

[Rich_T]

<< Folsom scores high in everything from safety, to schools, relatively short 25 minute commute time, and quality of life. >>

 

I don't automatically assume that Folsom is first and foremost a suburb of Sacramento; I consider Folsom to be its own hub.  As such, the "relatively short commute time" is not necessarily relevant.  Even though many people do commute to Sacramento, many do not.  But I understand that this article was from the perspective of looking at cities close to Sacramento.  Perhaps they only included Sac County, because EDH would otherwise make the Top 10 list.

 

And sorry if I offend anyone with this, but in this kind of report "safety" and "good schools" are always code for (or at least synonymous with) "not many blacks and Latinos live there".  They might as well just come out and say that for once.  Also, there are many "professional" people here, in the tech industry etc., which help with the "safety" and "good schools".

 

I've lived here for almost 20 years now, and I actually don't see myself living here forever, but we'll see.  It worked for raising my daughter, but she's moved on, and I can think of other places in the world that are more interesting for empty nesters.  But it's been a good run.

 

All in all, I'd say the #1 ranking is warranted, and in answer to Steve's question, I think the desirability is going down ever so slightly with each passing year, as development keeps happening (sprawl and density both), and things start getting a little too crowded.  But Folsom may well remain #1 in the area for overall desirability.  Of course, what matters most is not an analysis at the city level, but at the neighborhood level.

[Steve Heard]

And sorry if I offend anyone with this, but in this kind of report "safety" and "good schools" are always code for (or at least synonymous with) "not many blacks and Latinos live there".  They might as well just come out and say that for once. 

 

I try to be wary of coded language, and am somewhat sensitive to it. In this case, I tout schools and safety because we have high school scores, high graduation rates, high college admissions, and low crime. 

 

Some might correlate that to the lack of minorities, but I more think it has more to do with good parenting, good involvement, community pride and a good police department.

[Rich_T]

 

I try to be wary of coded language, and am somewhat sensitive to it. In this case, I tout schools and safety because we have high school scores, high graduation rates, high college admissions, and low crime. 

 

Some might correlate that to the lack of minorities, but I more think it has more to do with good parenting, good involvement, community pride and a good police department.

 

Steve, I actually thought you were directly citing the report when you used the words "safety" and "(good) schools".  To me, that's always a way of communicating the racial makeup of a given area, even when that wasn't the intent.  "High school scores, high graduation rates, high college admissions, and low crime":  all those things you mention are ALWAYS correlated with the relative scarcity of blacks and Latinos (not "minorities", since those same things are correlated with a larger presence of ethnic Asians).  I'm not trying to harp on it, it's just the way it is.  That's why North Highlands is not #1 on the list, and Folsom is.  Swap the populations, and suddenly the good schools and low crime would be in North Highlands, and vice versa.

 

But let's not dwell on this, and let's get back to the main topic.  It was just one small point I was making among others.

[Steve Heard]

 

Steve, I actually thought you were directly citing the report when you used the words "safety" and "(good) schools".  To me, that's always a way of communicating the racial makeup of a given area, even when that wasn't the intent.  "High school scores, high graduation rates, high college admissions, and low crime":  all those things you mention are ALWAYS correlated with the relative scarcity of blacks and Latinos (not "minorities", since those same things are correlated with a larger presence of ethnic Asians).  I'm not trying to harp on it, it's just the way it is.  That's why North Highlands is not #1 on the list, and Folsom is.  Swap the populations, and suddenly the good schools and low crime would be in North Highlands, and vice versa.

 

But let's not dwell on this, and let's get back to the main topic.  It was just one small point I was making among others.

 

This is a good topic, but maybe for another thread.

 

A good example might be Detroit. Detroit has a high African American population, has low school scores and graduation rates, and high crime. Many folks would draw the conclusion that the poor school performance and high crime must be a result of the presence of the black population.

 

What they fail to take into account, however, is that Detroit wasn't like that until they lost the auto industry. Now, Detroit has high unemployment (over 16%, compared to Folsom's 3%), and high poverty rate, 67% (I don't know what Folsom.  When people are working they tend to commit fewer crimes, have more hope and higher expectations for their kids.

 

You mention the Asian population as not having a similar effect. It depends on where you go. The Central Valley has its share of Asian poverty, crime and gangs.  Here in America, Koreans tend to do well in society, performing well in schools. In Japan, where they are basically second-class citizens, they do poorly.

 

I believe there is a stronger correlation between poverty and crime than race and crime, although both exist.

[Rich_T]

Definitely a better topic for another thread, not this one, so I'll hold off on venturing any theories for the correlations, including the correlation between poverty and race.  All I know for sure is that no majority-black or majority-Latino area is ever among the ones mentioned in such "best place to live" lists, or whenever "best schools" and "safest neighborhoods" are ranked.  Make of that what you will. 

 

As for "Asians", that word is an unfortunate broad brush that covers a wide variety of peoples, from India to Japan to China to Korea to Southeast Asia to the Philippines.  In America, each group has arrived with unique slices of those source populations, and each has its own type of culture, with varying propensities for success, crime, etc.  Generally in the US it's the ethnic Southeast Asians who are the poor ones, and the others who are well represented in the professional class.  If I were Asian-American, I'd probably want to just be called "American", but sometimes when talking about society, it's necessary to refer to different ethnic/racial groups to describe what's going on in aggregate.

[Steve Heard]

Definitely a better topic for another thread, not this one, so I'll hold off on venturing any theories for the correlations, including the correlation between poverty and race.  All I know for sure is that no majority-black or majority-Latino area is ever among the ones mentioned in such "best place to live" lists, or whenever "best schools" and "safest neighborhoods" are ranked.  Make of that what you will. 

 

 

Well, Oakland was named 'Most Exciting City' in the Country. Much of the excitement, however, comes from getting chased by robbers.

[Rich_T]

 

Well, Oakland was named 'Most Exciting City' in the Country. Much of the excitement, however, comes from getting chased by robbers.

 

:-)

 

It also goes to show that these proclamations and rankings should not be taken too seriously. 

[fouroheight68]

My wife and I love Folsom. We moved here last year from Elk Grove (yuck). Everyone here is so much friendlier, traffic is so much lighter, and just less dense overall. We moved here for the outdoor activities (trails, lake, parks), but with a baby coming this year we were also thinking about the great schools. I think what makes Folsom so great is it a self contained community. In Elk Grove we drove out of town for EVERYTHING. Costco, mall, good restaurants, hiking, biking, running, etc. We always found ourselves driving to Folsom for these things so we took the plunge and moved here. I think what makes Folsom so great is the great job base. People who live in Folsom work in the area too, so they tend to stick around. I work on a project in downtown Sacramento, but my office is in Roseville only 10 minutes from my house. My wife's office is not far either, in Rancho. 

[Carl G]

Self-contained is the best part of Folsom.  I rarely leave Folsom for anything of need; it tends to be for family and church.  What I cannot get locally, I can get on Amazon.

 

The schools are good, but they could be better.  I think one of the things that makes them great is the high parent involvement.  Growing up I did well in school not so much because of the school, but rather because my parents demanded it.

 

Because of the CA weather, the amount of available outdoor activities, friendly neighbors, decent kids sports, etc., Folsom will be attractive for some time.

[Dave Burrell]

Self-contained is the best part of Folsom.  I rarely leave Folsom for anything of need; it tends to be for family and church.  What I cannot get locally, I can get on Amazon.

 

 

Ditto here, I rarely leave Folsom. Haven't been to Roseville in a several years now, not missing anything because we have it all right here in Folsom and I use Amazon almost weekly. 

[nomad]

 

This is a good topic, but maybe for another thread.

 

A good example might be Detroit. Detroit has a high African American population, has low school scores and graduation rates, and high crime. Many folks would draw the conclusion that the poor school performance and high crime must be a result of the presence of the black population.

 

What they fail to take into account, however, is that Detroit wasn't like that until they lost the auto industry. Now, Detroit has high unemployment (over 16%, compared to Folsom's 3%), and high poverty rate, 67% (I don't know what Folsom.  When people are working they tend to commit fewer crimes, have more hope and higher expectations for their kids.

 

You mention the Asian population as not having a similar effect. It depends on where you go. The Central Valley has its share of Asian poverty, crime and gangs.  Here in America, Koreans tend to do well in society, performing well in schools. In Japan, where they are basically second-class citizens, they do poorly.

 

I believe there is a stronger correlation between poverty and crime than race and crime, although both exist.

 

Steve one thing you fail to account for in the fall of Detroit is the 50+ years of corrupt Democratic leadership of the city. From Coleman Young to that thug Kwame Kilpatrick they raped the city and mishandled funds and drove services to the ground all for their own personal gain. Add in the thieves at the UAW and you have a recipe for disaster no matter what the makeup of the population is or when the auto industry "left" which didn't happen overnight. 

[Rich_T]

I chose Folsom, almost 20 years ago, for several reasons:  it was a self-contained nice town, a "good place to raise kids", good proximity to the Bay Area and to the mountains, and of course the fact that I was able to transfer here with my company, vs. limited other options.  I chose Folsom over San Jose, suburban Chicago, Colorado, and a couple of other potential options.  This was a return to the United States for me, after 10 years living in Germany.  I am from the East Bay originally, so Folsom keeps me close to family (1.5 hours away).  The fact that Sacramento is nearby played zero role in my decision to move here, by the way.  I've come to appreciate aspects of Sacramento, but I've never really warmed up to it, and I certainly don't think that Folsom needs Sacramento.

 

The "self-contained" part has gotten even narrower over the years, as I now work from home.  I don't even need to leave the house during the workweek, but since I want to get out a little bit, Folsom now serves that function for me, i.e. it's my source of entertainment.  I am guessing that Folsom works well for people in my situation.  But as I mentioned in my original post, I'll probably be ready to shake things up at some point, and will eventually move on from this area.  I don't know when that will be, and it will depend on my financial/employment situation as well as family considerations.

[Steve Heard]

 

Steve one thing you fail to account for in the fall of Detroit is the 50+ years of corrupt Democratic leadership of the city. From Coleman Young to that thug Kwame Kilpatrick they raped the city and mishandled funds and drove services to the ground all for their own personal gain. Add in the thieves at the UAW and you have a recipe for disaster no matter what the makeup of the population is or when the auto industry "left" which didn't happen overnight. 

 

Absolutely fair assessment, though I think that corruption is corruption, regardless of party. My real point wasn't to examine the demise of Detroit in this thread, but to point out that ethnic make up of a city may not tell the story.

 

I chose Folsom, almost 20 years ago, for several reasons:  it was a self-contained nice town, a "good place to raise kids", good proximity to the Bay Area and to the mountains, and of course the fact that I was able to transfer here with my company, vs. limited other options.  I chose Folsom over San Jose, suburban Chicago, Colorado, and a couple of other potential options.  This was a return to the United States for me, after 10 years living in Germany.  I am from the East Bay originally, so Folsom keeps me close to family (1.5 hours away).  The fact that Sacramento is nearby played zero role in my decision to move here, by the way.  I've come to appreciate aspects of Sacramento, but I've never really warmed up to it, and I certainly don't think that Folsom needs Sacramento.

 

The "self-contained" part has gotten even narrower over the years, as I now work from home.  I don't even need to leave the house during the workweek, but since I want to get out a little bit, Folsom now serves that function for me, i.e. it's my source of entertainment.  I am guessing that Folsom works well for people in my situation.  But as I mentioned in my original post, I'll probably be ready to shake things up at some point, and will eventually move on from this area.  I don't know when that will be, and it will depend on my financial/employment situation as well as family considerations.

 

I vowed I'd never leave the San Francisco Peninsula. I could be in the city, visiting great restaurants, events, baseball games and jazz clubs in minutes. I could jump in the car any time and head out to the coast. I spent a lot of time on the coast.

 

The weather was great, and it wasn't too crowded.

 

Eventually, it did get crowded, and expensive, and I really couldn't afford buy a house in any decent area.

 

I had family in Sac, Elk Grove and a brother in law and sister in law in Folsom.

 

Looking at all they had to offer, I chose Folsom because I felt it was safe, clean, had good schools and plenty of out door recreation opportunities.

 

I still long for the coast, and may some day get back out there, but right now, I'm happy with my Folsom life.