Question For You Sacramento Area Folks

[Zennie 0]

Just out of curiosity, and this is strictly a hypothetical question, if one's wife were to, hypothetically, get a job offer in Sacramento, would you recommend pulling up the stakes from... oh, let's say, hypothetically, Houston, Texas... and moving out to Cal-i-for-ny-ay?
Would one take a huge hit standard-of-living wise? Would it be easy for a computer geek to find a decent paying job? Is there sane housing anywhere within, oh, 800 miles of the city?
And most important ... DROPZONES.... I, er, one would need to have good dropzones in the area!
Any tips would be gratefully, and hypothetically, appreciated.
"Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[skybytch 273]

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Would one take a huge hit standard-of-living wise?

Depends on your standards! Sacramento is very close to a lot of fun recreational stuff - Reno and Tahoe and the Sierras are about 2-3 hours away (gambling, skiing, air races, hiking, camping, backpacking, etc), SF is about 1-2 hours the other direction (great city to wander around in, cultural type stuff too), the delta is an active water playland with miles and miles of H20 to play in (boating, water skiing, jet skiing, etc). Not sure how food, fuel, utility and housing prices would compare to Houston. Lots of fruits and nuts though!

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Is there sane housing anywhere within, oh, 800 miles of the city?

Depends on what you call sane! My b/f is in Stockton, about an hour south of Sac.; he's paying almost $700/month rent for a one bedroom apartment in a decent part of town. He has friends who are currently buying a house there for around $150k.

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DROPZONES....

Lodi is a short drive south, Davis is a short drive north, Monterey Bay is a longer drive south, Byron is a short drive west, Tahoe is a longer drive east... and those are just the ones that routinely fly bigger aircraft; there are also some smaller Cessna DZ's sprinkled throughout the area.
Being a California native I'd have to say - WTF are you waiting for?!?!?!?
pull and flare,
lisa
--
life's a bitch.. and so am I

[LittleJumper 0]

"Would it be easy for a computer geek to find a decent paying job? "
Well, they layed off a lot of dot commers out in Santa Clara, but computer tech is always needed. Or....you could perhaps get back into practicing?? Come join us again in the legal world...and you could check out jobs at the state level too.
Housing is more affordable in Sacto. not sure the numbers though.
I know you took a trip out here recently...and you really enjoyed it. Sacto is a great place too. And MANY dropzones nearby as was mentioned.
Good luck in your decision.
What you "think" you cannot do ...you CAN if you "think" about it

[Zennie 0]

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Or....you could perhaps get back into practicing?? Come join us again in the legal world...

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!
Well, I couldn't practice even if I wanted to. I'm licensed in Indiana. But I have actually been toying with finidng something that would merge my legal and tech backgrounds. So maybe managing an IT section at a law firm or something.
Ya my wife & I were out in San Fran. a couple months back. We liked it a lot but the cost of living was astronomical. My wife got a call out of the blue from a potential employer and we figured "What the heck?"
It would have to be pretty sweet though, nice as California is. We have a house, her family & some very close friends here, so we'd be giving up a lot. But we figured we should at least gather as much info as we can and make an informed decision (if she gets an offer).
"Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[LittleJumper 0]

"merge my legal and tech backgrounds. So maybe managing an IT section at a law firm or something"
That's always needed...I know my office needs a little TLC... or ITC ; ) We have computers that wont talk to each other anymore...i need someone to "manage" our computer system because I certainly dont have time! Plus, i hate doing that stuff. Good somebody likes it
What you "think" you cannot do ...you CAN if you "think" about it

[lummy 4]

UH HELLO!!! What am I? CHopped Liver?
Seruiously Zennie, the Bay area got hit REALLY hard in IT. I was out of work for 4 months and know people who've been out for 9 months or more. Companies are being PITA's and reqwuiring EXACT experience for their market. I have seen quite a few postings for for Legal tech support that would only accept resumes with law experience.Sac is a different animal and is cheaper to live. Davis, (which is actually to the west) is about half n hour out of Old Sac. Lodi is south and about half n hour (weren't you commenting on the poser from Lodi?). You could always LIVE in Davis, your wife can commute to Sac and you come this way to SF
If you are serious, try www.dice.com and do a seach in the 916 area code for your job title.
Terri's suggestion is a decent one. However, I work for University of California and there's talk of a hiring freeze to help with the 12 billion deficit. Seems some frickin Texan's took advantage of the power market :)
Anything I can do to help, just ask
Gary

[Zennie 0]

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Lodi is south and about half n hour (weren't you commenting on the poser from Lodi?).

Uh huh. Ya know, I kinda have the hots for him so maybe I'll have to move out there.
Seriously though, if Liz does get a decent offer I'll be calling both of you. Thanks for all your help, both now & when we made our trip. "Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[lummy 4]

Yerah, I kinda though I saw some drool in your post :)

[skydiventom 0]

Hey, I drove from Reno just to have the extreme pleasure of jumping in Lodi. Now, I'm back HOME in BEAUTIFUL DANA POINT and jump'n in Elsinore. Gosh, I miss Kathy.... oh, and there's that Bill guy in Lodi as well... ;-)
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

[Sebazz1 2]

*** Lodi is a short drive south, Davis is a short drive north, Monterey Bay is a longer drive south, Byron is a short drive west ****
All Twin Turbine Aircraft at these DZ's..........
And the annual Kathy Dause Boogy at Lodi..........
So fun.
Around Sacramento housing isn't too bad yet, but if you get closer to San Francisco it's not worth the $.
Come to Cali.............
Seb.

[bill2 0]

If you and your wife get jobs, I say move out here. Sometimes the People's Republic of CA gets too PC, but there are loads of things to do here, if you want you can scuba dive in the morning and be up in the Sierras to ski that same day (assuming you don't mind driving that much in a day). I don't know if you ride motorcycles, but CA has some of the best roads in the world for that. Housing in Sac is definitely cheaper there than in the bay area. And as has been mentioned before, lots of drop zones to choose from.

[Sebazz1 2]

You should know that corporate law firms are in abundance here in the Silicon Valley (I happen to writing this post from one)(And yeah if you can help it stay away from law but it is a job). You can still find work in San Jose (Silicon Valley) area if you have IT and law experience. Housing is tough to find though. If you would like the names of some firms around here contact me at my home e-mail - bss2056@pacbell.net.

[Aviatrr 0]

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Lodi is a short drive south, Davis is a short drive north, Monterey Bay is a longer drive south, Byron is a short drive west, Tahoe is a longer drive east...

Lodi and Byron ROCK!!! Awesome freeflyers at both places, and both are kick ass DZ's! Definitely attend the KDFC boogie at Lodi if you move out there..
Mike