68 replies to this topic

[aprilfool71]

I've noticed a lot of EDH bashing from Folsom residents who I assume have never lived in EDH. I've been to both Folsom and EDH but never lived in either place. I must say as a visitor from the Modesto area EDH is like a little paradise. Folsom has a much different feel and is also a nice town, but in a much different way. Both have their negatives. But what I like about EDH is that it is a very clean and beautiful place with scenic views that can't be rivaled by Folsom.

During my visits I didn't see any redneck trailer trash, cranksters, and gang bangers like I do on a daily basis in my current town of Turlock. I want to move my family to EDH to escape that. The new EDH town center is beautiful and has great shopping and restaurants. The schools are top rated, although I'm sure Folsom has great schools too. Also we don't go out often so when we do it's nice to have an upscale place to go to other than Applebee's or Chili's.

Negatives we have discovered about EDH that concern us greatly is the asbestos problem and the abundance of rattlesnakes. HOA and Mello Roos are no big deal because we can just buy a home in an EDH neighborhood without that.

Exactly how bad is the asbestos problem and is anyone actually getting sick?

Also, my wife and I both have a fear of snakes, so the prospect of finding snakes in our yard or house freaks us out, most especially because we have small children.

Perhaps based on this we are better of living in nearby Folsom? Or perhaps people are making way too big a deal about asbestos and rattlesnakes based on fear and their dislike of people from EDH? It's hard to know... EDH seems like a wonderful place to live with very friendly people based on an outsiders prospective.

[EDH Jen]

Let EDH Jen handle this one...
First of all, I was born in Sacramento, but have lived in El Dorado County (Shingle Springs, Coloma, El Dorado Hills) since 1973. My whole family is here, as well, so I pretty much consider myself a native.
I have a 10 year old daughter at Silva Valley Elementary and a 16 year old son at Oak Ridge High School, and I couldn't be happier with the schols. They're fabulous.

Here's where I turn on you a bit - the only thing I don't like about El Dorado Hills is the HUGE population of 'Bay Area Transplants' that A) drive like complete idiots and B) just like to go to work everyday, come home, and never say hello back if you happen to catch them outside of their house (gathering mail, bringing in their trash cans, etc). What I do love are the families that would never think about driving past you on their way to Costo and asking if you need anything, or if they can go ahead and drive the kids to school since we're leaving our driveways at the same time. I'm fortunate to have a few of those.

We did not cash out our equity in Burlingame/Fremont/etc. and buy a house in Serrano, a couple of mercedes', a Hummer, a boat, and a team of housekeepers that show up every week. But we're now one of the few people on our street who are not in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure, but are surrounded by empty homes on the market for dirt cheap.

So if you're a nice family -welcome to Serrano! If not, you may want to look at Folsom...

[Darthvader]

Let EDH Jen handle this one...
First of all, I was born in Sacramento, but have lived in El Dorado County (Shingle Springs, Coloma, El Dorado Hills) since 1973. My whole family is here, as well, so I pretty much consider myself a native.
I have a 10 year old daughter at Silva Valley Elementary and a 16 year old son at Oak Ridge High School, and I couldn't be happier with the schols. They're fabulous.

Here's where I turn on you a bit - the only thing I don't like about El Dorado Hills is the HUGE population of 'Bay Area Transplants' that A) drive like complete idiots and B) just like to go to work everyday, come home, and never say hello back if you happen to catch them outside of their house (gathering mail, bringing in their trash cans, etc). What I do love are the families that would never think about driving past you on their way to Costo and asking if you need anything, or if they can go ahead and drive the kids to school since we're leaving our driveways at the same time. I'm fortunate to have a few of those.

We did not cash out our equity in Burlingame/Fremont/etc. and buy a house in Serrano, a couple of mercedes', a Hummer, a boat, and a team of housekeepers that show up every week. But we're now one of the few people on our street who are not in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure, but are surrounded by empty homes on the market for dirt cheap.

So if you're a nice family -welcome to Serrano! If not, you may want to look at Folsom...

Oh I see...so nice snobby families can be welcomed to the all glorious Serrano and the rest can move to Folsom? Besides, I'd hardly say Serrano is a complete representation of EDH so you basically didn't even answer her questions.

[polycat]

Quite honestly, both cities are pretty great. I love being in the foothills, and having access to the abundant shopping. But I also like that both cities have quite a few "small town" activites: on Sutter Street in Folsom, and at the new Town Center in EDH.

If you're interested in the area, come find a neighborhood and house that you fall in love with without worrying about which side of the line you're on. Both offer great schools and good people... and if you're missing something from one in the other, you're really only 5-10 minutes away from visiting it.

What type of industry are you in? Do you have job prospects up here?

[aprilfool71]

Glad to hear about the schools... that's a big plus. The schools here in Stanislaus County are some of the worst in California. But I think Folsom schools rate just about as high as EDH. What I'm looking for are pluses and negatives to both. How is Folsom better than EDH and vice versa. As an outsider scenery and views are a big draw to EDH as well as the smaller town country vibe and beautiful new town center.

I like friendly people and we want to live in a family town so if EDH has that all the better. What about Folsom? Does it have a quiet family vibe?

What about the asbestos hype? Is it really as big a problem as some say it is?

We've looked at homes in Serrano and it is a beautiful place, but honestly we can't see how paying HOA fees and mello roos is worth it to live there when you don't even get a club house, pool, and gym out of it. EDH has very low crime rates so it's not like we'd be any safer living in a gated community. It would actually be more of a pain getting in and out and when you have guests, not to mention all the restrictions placed on you as a homeowner. Also, schools outside of Serrano are ranked just as high. So we really can't see the point paying monthly dues just to live there. I'd rather pay the $217 a month for a sports membership at Serrano country club and live somewhere else. That's a much better deal.

What other areas outside of Serrano are nice in EDH that don't have HOA and Mello Roos?

What about nice areas in Folsom? Are there any master planned communities there with a community club house with pool, tennis courts, and facilities?


I'd have to disagree with you about the anti-bay area sentiment. I grew up in Redwood City and my wife and I lived in Walnut Creek before moving to the valley. Actually she is originally from Romania. Just because someone is from the bay area doesn't mean they are a snob or rich. I am neither. I moved to the valley because I couldn't afford a house in the bay. There are a lot of great peeps in the bay, and all the growth in the valley and Sac area is due to us mostly bay area folks getting priced out of the market over there and moving out here, especially since so many employers have moved out to Sac and EDH.... oh and I don't think bay area people drive like idiots. If anything I've noticed that people in the valley drive crazier on Hwy 99 than people do on 101 or 280. In my visits to EDH and Folsom I haven't noticed any crazy drivers yet... but in my opinion there are crazy drivers everywhere. How do you know the idiot drivers are all bay area natives? Do they have a sticker on their car or something? Anyway I've lived all over California so, even though I'm a Bay Area native I just consider myself a Californian. I had no idea there was so much hate going around? Folsomites hate EDH'ers, and EDH'ers hate bay areans... bay areans hate LA'ers... crazy. Maybe that just comes from living in one place all your life?

As far as the foreclosures go I doubt any of those are from bay area peeps who cashed out their Burlingame equity and moved to EDH to get more bang for their buck. People with a lot of cash don't foreclose, people who spend money they don't have do regardless of where they are from. Most of the Burlingame/Fremont people you referred to probably paid cash for homes or put a significant down payment, and an even bigger percentage of them are retirees sitting on a big pile of cash. So they would have no reason to foreclose even if they were down 35% since they owe very little if anything on their homes. The foreclosures are do to cash poor people taking out 100% financing on ARM loans and gambled their homes would appreciate in value and then they'd refinance or sell in a few years before the loan payment doubled. These fiscally irresponsible people had no business buying homes to begin with, but because they were making so much money in a booming economy they figured they'd spend most of it on a house payment and then live off their credit cards. Banks were giving away easy credit by the truck loads. People had so much equity in their homes they were using it to buy Hummers and country club memberships even though they barely had any cash in the bank only their home equity lines of credit. They figured that their home values would just keep rising so they would just keep tapping and spending it. Then when the bubble burst all those cash poor people had no more equity and were now upside down, and probably out of work or making considerably less money. Thus you have massive foreclosures on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

Serrano isn't the only place with foreclosures. 60% of the homes on the market in LA are foreclosures. My town of Turlock is littered with foreclosures. Half of my neighborhoods is vacant. California as a whole has more foreclosures than any other state, but no place has more than the Central Valley. The East Bay has a lot of foreclosures, but affluent super rich areas on the Peninsula like Burlingame, Hillsborough, Atherton, Woodside, Menlo Park, etc., have very few in comparison. Their home values are still at their all time peak and have been unscathed by the market downturn because there are so many high paying jobs there as well as old money.

[aprilfool71]

Quite honestly, both cities are pretty great. I love being in the foothills, and having access to the abundant shopping. But I also like that both cities have quite a few "small town" activites: on Sutter Street in Folsom, and at the new Town Center in EDH.

If you're interested in the area, come find a neighborhood and house that you fall in love with without worrying about which side of the line you're on. Both offer great schools and good people... and if you're missing something from one in the other, you're really only 5-10 minutes away from visiting it.

What type of industry are you in? Do you have job prospects up here?

Thanks for the great advice polycat... we spent last weekend looking at new homes in EDH and this weekend we are going to look at resale home in EDH and Folsom.

I am self employed as an authorized Hewlett Packard hardware dealer. So I can pretty much work from anywhere in Norcal as long as I have a laptop, Internet connection, and a cell phone. Hopefully if I move to the area I'll be able to pick up more accounts in Sacramento.

[rdeno]

I've been in EDH for 11 months (but not in Serrano) and I've never seen a snake or gotten sick from asbestos. I do love the turkey and deer walking through my yard. A few weeks ago I thought I saw a big dog in the yard but it had cat ears and a long cat tail... dare I say it was a mountain lion?
The views are incredible to me.
I have had trouble making friends. I just can't figure out what people do here. Where are they? I've taken up bike riding and go to the free concerts, but my teenager, husband and I usually end up wondering what to do with ourselves. Probably because we don't have friends and we are sort of city folk.

But I'm OK with bored because my life was crazy before and I just love it here in EDH!

[EDH Jen]

Glad to hear about the schools... that's a big plus. The schools here in Stanislaus County are some of the worst in California. But I think Folsom schools rate just about as high as EDH. What I'm looking for are pluses and negatives to both. How is Folsom better than EDH and vice versa. As an outsider scenery and views are a big draw to EDH as well as the smaller town country vibe and beautiful new town center.

I like friendly people and we want to live in a family town so if EDH has that all the better. What about Folsom? Does it have a quiet family vibe?

What about the asbestos hype? Is it really as big a problem as some say it is?

We've looked at homes in Serrano and it is a beautiful place, but honestly we can't see how paying HOA fees and mello roos is worth it to live there when you don't even get a club house, pool, and gym out of it. EDH has very low crime rates so it's not like we'd be any safer living in a gated community. It would actually be more of a pain getting in and out and when you have guests, not to mention all the restrictions placed on you as a homeowner. Also, schools outside of Serrano are ranked just as high. So we really can't see the point paying monthly dues just to live there. I'd rather pay the $217 a month for a sports membership at Serrano country club and live somewhere else. That's a much better deal.

What other areas outside of Serrano are nice in EDH that don't have HOA and Mello Roos?

What about nice areas in Folsom? Are there any master planned communities there with a community club house with pool, tennis courts, and facilities?
I'd have to disagree with you about the anti-bay area sentiment. I grew up in Redwood City and my wife and I lived in Walnut Creek before moving to the valley. Actually she is originally from Romania. Just because someone is from the bay area doesn't mean they are a snob or rich. I am neither. I moved to the valley because I couldn't afford a house in the bay. There are a lot of great peeps in the bay, and all the growth in the valley and Sac area is due to us mostly bay area folks getting priced out of the market over there and moving out here, especially since so many employers have moved out to Sac and EDH.... oh and I don't think bay area people drive like idiots. If anything I've noticed that people in the valley drive crazier on Hwy 99 than people do on 101 or 280. In my visits to EDH and Folsom I haven't noticed any crazy drivers yet... but in my opinion there are crazy drivers everywhere. How do you know the idiot drivers are all bay area natives? Do they have a sticker on their car or something? Anyway I've lived all over California so, even though I'm a Bay Area native I just consider myself a Californian. I had no idea there was so much hate going around? Folsomites hate EDH'ers, and EDH'ers hate bay areans... bay areans hate LA'ers... crazy. Maybe that just comes from living in one place all your life?

As far as the foreclosures go I doubt any of those are from bay area peeps who cashed out their Burlingame equity and moved to EDH to get more bang for their buck. People with a lot of cash don't foreclose, people who spend money they don't have do regardless of where they are from. Most of the Burlingame/Fremont people you referred to probably paid cash for homes or put a significant down payment, and an even bigger percentage of them are retirees sitting on a big pile of cash. So they would have no reason to foreclose even if they were down 35% since they owe very little if anything on their homes. The foreclosures are do to cash poor people taking out 100% financing on ARM loans and gambled their homes would appreciate in value and then they'd refinance or sell in a few years before the loan payment doubled. These fiscally irresponsible people had no business buying homes to begin with, but because they were making so much money in a booming economy they figured they'd spend most of it on a house payment and then live off their credit cards. Banks were giving away easy credit by the truck loads. People had so much equity in their homes they were using it to buy Hummers and country club memberships even though they barely had any cash in the bank only their home equity lines of credit. They figured that their home values would just keep rising so they would just keep tapping and spending it. Then when the bubble burst all those cash poor people had no more equity and were now upside down, and probably out of work or making considerably less money. Thus you have massive foreclosures on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

Serrano isn't the only place with foreclosures. 60% of the homes on the market in LA are foreclosures. My town of Turlock is littered with foreclosures. Half of my neighborhoods is vacant. California as a whole has more foreclosures than any other state, but no place has more than the Central Valley. The East Bay has a lot of foreclosures, but affluent super rich areas on the Peninsula like Burlingame, Hillsborough, Atherton, Woodside, Menlo Park, etc., have very few in comparison. Their home values are still at their all time peak and have been unscathed by the market downturn because there are so many high paying jobs there as well as old money.

First of all, you would have to live in my neighborhood to now so much more than I do.
Do a little research before you post.
As for the drivers, I need only refer to my insurer (again, I have lived here all my lfe) as to the people who have bashed into my paid-in-full for vehicles, and then all of a sudden don't speak Engish.....I rest my case.
Secondly, do a little reseach on the homes in foreclose in Serrano....BAY AREA TRASH.......Not those of us invested in our community.

BTW, both me my SO and I (yes, we're not married....OH, THE HORROR!!) both work in IT, and have been with our respective employers 10+ years and are raising 2 beautiful kids) eithier within 4 miles/and/or work from home.
You can conjecture all you want, but I have grown up here and live here, and probably know a bit more than you.

[Silverado]

Welcome to the boards Aprilfool. I live in Folsom and work in EDH, so let me throw in my two cents. Folsom and EDH are both great places... I think it depends on what you're looking for which will decide where you end up. EDH is more of a bedroom community, secluded, private, out of the way, while Folsom is more your bona fide city. Folsom has Walmart, Costco, Winco, BestBuy, etc, which makes it a convenient place to live. EDH shops and does much of its business in Folsom, at the expense of driving 15 minutes driving each way. I live basically in the center of Folsom, and with 2 kids find it to be of tremendous value. Nothing is more than a 5 minute drive, be it shopping, karate, or the freeway. EDH is a beautiful community with a relaxed feel. Ultimately its up to you. What are you looking for?

[aprilfool71]

First of all, you would have to live in my neighborhood to now so much more than I do.
Do a little research before you post.
As for the drivers, I need only refer to my insurer (again, I have lived here all my lfe) as to the people who have bashed into my paid-in-full for vehicles, and then all of a sudden don't speak Engish.....I rest my case.
Secondly, do a little reseach on the homes in foreclose in Serrano....BAY AREA TRASH.......Not those of us invested in our community.

BTW, both me my SO and I (yes, we're not married....OH, THE HORROR!!) both work in IT, and have been with our respective employers 10+ years and are raising 2 beautiful kids) eithier within 4 miles/and/or work from home.
You can conjecture all you want, but I have grown up here and live here, and probably know a bit more than you.

Wow... you have a major attitude problem! I don't think I said anything that was personal in nature for you to be so rude. On the other hand you did. What exactly did I say about how I know so much more than you about EDH or Serrano? The whole point of me being on here is that I don't know much about EDH and I'm looking for advice on why I would want to move there.

I simply commented how I don't like HOA and Mello Roos and I have done enough research to know there is low crime and good schools in both Folsom and EDH. That is easy enough to find online. I have done a lot of research about the economy and about the real estate crisis thank you very much. I am an active investor so you can say it is my hobby to stay informed on these subjects on a daily basis. My whole point is that foreclosures are not a result of "bay area trash" but rather it is a systemic crisis statewide more so in the valley, foothills, and SoCal than on the SF peninsula. So perhaps you should do more research yourself? You obviously have entirely missed my point. My point in response to you is that the foreclosures in the valley including EDH are not from cash rich Bay Areans. They are from cash poor people period who spent money they didn't have and overextended themselves.... regardless of where they came from.

I'd really like to see your facts and evidence to support your theory that all the foreclosures in Serrano are limited to Bay Area Trash. You can't have it both ways. First you said they came here from places like Burlingame with tons of cash after selling their million dollar homes. If they have so much cash how and why would they be foreclosing? Again people that foreclose are cash poor.

If all EDH'ers have a nasty locals only anti-bay area attitude perhaps it is not somewhere I want to live. Perhaps Folsom would be better, but I'm guessing your the exception to the rule. The only positive thing I can say about Modesto and Turlock is that they are friendly and welcoming to people from all over the state, country, and world. It is quite a diverse place like it or hate it.

Oh and I don't drive a Hummer, Mercedes, or BMW. I drive a Chrysler. As far as the drivers who have crashed into you, you are saying they were bay area yuppies that moved to EDH and didn't speak any English? Are you sure they weren't from Mexico? I'd really like to know what makes you any different than someone who moved to Serrano from the Bay Area other than the fact you are a native? You have a high tech job, you probably drive a nice car, you live in a nice home. What is the difference? You just think you are better than them because they are not from the area and they are invading your turf. You obviously have a chip on your shoulder or some insecurity about it since you brought it up in the first place without thinking for a second that I could have been a bay area native myself.

You didn't even answer most of my original questions so you have been less than helpful.

I don't really see how your personal life, how long you've worked for your employer, how many kids you have, and whether or not you are married to your significant other has anything to do with me seeking advice about relocating to EDH? Too much information! Honestly who really cares... this is California and I'm from San Francisco. If you were living with a "domestic partner" with twelve adopted multi racial kids I wouldn't have a problem with it... to quote you "oh the horror!"

What exactly am I conjecturing about as you say? I am a bay area native so yes of course I took offense to your bay area trash comment. If you don't like people being critical of you perhaps you should refrain from bashing groups of people and stereotyping them as all being the same. The fact of the matter is that the bay area has some great places to live and there are some great people there as well as a lot of culture. I just couldn't afford to stay there, and I do love what EDH has to offer, your comments aside. I have lived in RC, SF, WC, SJ, LA, and the valley, so I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to California. On the other hand you have lived in the EDH area your whole life so I can see how you would be a hater of outsiders, since of course EDH has grown from 6000 to 35,000 people in ten years time. Imagine if every city, town, state, and country had this attitude? Perhaps if locals were so concerned about it they should have gotten more involved in local politics to prevent the growth from happening in the first place. But hey, then you wouldn't have your precious Serrano and the nice new Town Center and of course the business park with all the new high paying jobs to support your economy and lifestyle.

Thankfully I've been getting some very positive and helpful comments on Folsom and EDH from other people that are relevant to the topic.

All I'm getting from you is hate and nasty comments so I'd appreciate it if you stay out of my forum post request if you can not be polite and helpful.

Thank you

[aprilfool71]

Welcome to the boards Aprilfool. I live in Folsom and work in EDH, so let me throw in my two cents. Folsom and EDH are both great places... I think it depends on what you're looking for which will decide where you end up. EDH is more of a bedroom community, secluded, private, out of the way, while Folsom is more your bona fide city. Folsom has Walmart, Costco, Winco, BestBuy, etc, which makes it a convenient place to live. EDH shops and does much of its business in Folsom, at the expense of driving 15 minutes driving each way. I live basically in the center of Folsom, and with 2 kids find it to be of tremendous value. Nothing is more than a 5 minute drive, be it shopping, karate, or the freeway. EDH is a beautiful community with a relaxed feel. Ultimately its up to you. What are you looking for?

Thanks for the great input! Well as far as what we are looking for, beautiful and quiet is at the top of our list so we are leaning towards EDH at this point. I lived my first 37+ years in cities, and now want to live the next 37+ years in a more rural country setting yet still close to shopping and restaurants.

[aprilfool71]

I've been in EDH for 11 months (but not in Serrano) and I've never seen a snake or gotten sick from asbestos. I do love the turkey and deer walking through my yard. A few weeks ago I thought I saw a big dog in the yard but it had cat ears and a long cat tail... dare I say it was a mountain lion?
The views are incredible to me.
I have had trouble making friends. I just can't figure out what people do here. Where are they? I've taken up bike riding and go to the free concerts, but my teenager, husband and I usually end up wondering what to do with ourselves. Probably because we don't have friends and we are sort of city folk.

But I'm OK with bored because my life was crazy before and I just love it here in EDH!

Good to know... from what I hear the fear of asbestos and snakes is overblown and exaggerated. As far as making friends, there must be some groups you can join based on your interests such as bike riding? Maybe there is a biking or hiking club? When we moved to Turlock we didn't know anybody. My wife joined a bunco club, a mom's club, a book club, a bible study group, etc. I made some friends through joining some golfing groups and getting active in the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary. We have more friends after a few years in Turlock than we did in the bay area where I grew up. It sucks to leave them, but we want a better quality of life for our young kids. Hopefully people in EDH are as friendly as the people we have met in Turlock. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

[john]

I think both areas are great places to live, honestly. I would venture to say EDH is a bit more upscale - larger homes, lots of gated communities, acreage on many homes... and it provides a much more "private" feel. Probably explains why some folks have a hard time getting to know the neighbors. Some people move to EDH for a little privacy. EDH has a wonderful downtown area, we drive up there all the time for the great movie theater. The views are amazing. I always enjoy just going for a drive up there.

Folsom is a great community. All the amenities you need, and lots of small town events like the rodeo, thursday night markets, christmas tree lighting... etc. Schools are excellent. Crime is low. Every neighborhood is different, but a lot of places in Folsom have tight neighborhoods with block parties, etc... you'll find many Folsomites on this board who have moved from the Bay Area and will rave about this town. Some other cities you won't find that as much.

I think your best bet is to get with a local realtor and they can explain your options. If you find some houses you like, look and see if any of the neighbors are out. Ask the neighbors what the vibe is there. Might answer a lot of questions. It really depends on what you want.

[palango]

I think both areas are great places to live, honestly. I would venture to say EDH is a bit more upscale - larger homes, lots of gated communities, acreage on many homes... and it provides a much more "private" feel. Probably explains why some folks have a hard time getting to know the neighbors. Some people move to EDH for a little privacy. EDH has a wonderful downtown area, we drive up there all the time for the great movie theater. The views are amazing. I always enjoy just going for a drive up there.

Folsom is a great community. All the amenities you need, and lots of small town events like the rodeo, thursday night markets, christmas tree lighting... etc. Schools are excellent. Crime is low. Every neighborhood is different, but a lot of places in Folsom have tight neighborhoods with block parties, etc... you'll find many Folsomites on this board who have moved from the Bay Area and will rave about this town. Some other cities you won't find that as much.

I think your best bet is to get with a local realtor and they can explain your options. If you find some houses you like, look and see if any of the neighbors are out. Ask the neighbors what the vibe is there. Might answer a lot of questions. It really depends on what you want.

I couldn't have summed it up better than above. I have lived both in Folsom and EDH and they are both great places with great schools, etc. While I was living in Serrano, I saw plenty of rattlers and killed two of them in my backyard. Rattlers tend to hang out in newer developments like Serrano, but the new Capital of Rattlers is in the Blackstone Community where they found 15 of them in one week during construction.