Tag: Lists

Sacramento named best city to be single

Real estate blog, movato.com/blog, recently named Sacramento as the best city to be single.

From the post…

So in coming up with the criteria for the best single cities in California, we had to narrow it down to what we thought were “typical” requirements for today’s single. This included:

  • A lower percent of the population that is married
  • Number of bars in the city
  • Number of romantic restaurants in the city
  • A lower cost of living
  • A lower percent of people who drive to work
  • A lower median age

So to sum up: Fewer married people + places to mingle + young people to mingle with + a price you can actually afford = the singles’ mecca – which was apparently Sacramento.

The folks at Movato did a good job explaining their methodology, give it a read.

Do you single folks out there agree?

Sacramento one of real estate blog’s “Nerdiest Cities”

Purports to be LARPers in Sacramento
Purports to be LARPers in Sacramento

You heard it first on Ransacked Media, but Sacramento has made another list, this time real estate blog Movoto’s 10 Nerdiest Cities in America. We also made their list of top cities for gamers, as well as their list of places where you might be eaten by a dragon. In fact you could say we are definitely on Movoto’s radar.

This is a real source of pride, personally. I don’t get out much, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised but I don’t think I would have pegged us for a very nerdy town. Maybe there are enough LARPers to account for what I assume was a zero in the “people per science museum” category?

P.S. We’ll forgive Isaac for not knowing what LARPing is. Anyone know where the attached photo was taken?

Forbes: Sacto one of most “miserable” cities

Just A Stub Left
Creative Commons License photo credit: Orin Zebest

Well, our fair city has made another publication’s list and as usual, it’s not good news. This time, we’re #5 on Forbes.com’s list of “America’s 20 Most Miserable Cities.” The big news is that California has 4 of the top 5 spots and 8 cities overall in the top 20.

How did they figure that? Forbes.com explains the methodology… Continue reading “Forbes: Sacto one of most “miserable” cities”

Sacramento ranks 6th in Halloween list

Trick-or-Treat Rankings from zillow.comZillow.com’s Trick-or-Treat Housing Index has Sacramento coming in at #6, ahead of Chicago and Boston.

There is a common belief that wealthy neighborhoods are the Holy Grail for harvesting the most Halloween candy. However, to provide a more holistic approach to trick-or-treating, the Zillow Trick-or-Treat Housing Index was calculated using four equally weighted data variables: Zillow Home Value Index, population density, Walk Score and local crime data from Relocation Essentials. Based on those variables, the Index represents cities that will provide the most candy, with the least walking and safety risks.

That’s decent news for Sacramento. We need decent news, right?

If you haven’t played around with walkscore.com, give it a shot. My house only received a 43 out of 100 and was deemed “Car Dependent” with 81% of Sacramento residents having a higher Walk Score.

What’s your Walk Score?

Sacramento demands water

On this rainy Tuesday, the Sacramento Business Journal reports that Sacramento is the “eighth-thirstiest city with at least 750,000 residents, worse than the fast-growing desert communities of Las Vegas and Tucson, Ariz., at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.” By the way, Sacramento ranks 12th (just behind Las Vegas and well ahead of Tucson) on the top 100 fastest growing cities in America list (couldn’t find the year, but haven’t these cities slowed down quite a bit? You know, in these tough economic times and all).

Sacramento-area’s average resident uses 250 gallons of water per day, and the annual rainfall is about 20 inches of rain per season. And much of the water from the two rivers is promised outside the Sacramento region.

I don’t know if I am more shocked by the 250 gallons a day statistic or irritated that the water from our two rivers is “promised” away.

Feeling Sacramento

The News & Review is having fun with their “You know you’re a Sacramentan when” discussion. First published way back on March 11, 2010 this article has been added to via Facebook and reader comments.

A few of my favorites…

  • 8. … you kind of like the service at Zelda’s.
  • 25. … you dismiss gossip that the Sacramento 6 Drive-In was torn down – again.
  • 36. … you’ve had a tree fall on your car or house.
  • 46. … you grumble about how boring Sacramento can be, but love it to death anyways.

Well done, guys.

I want to ride my bicycle, part deux

The Sacramento Business Journal reports that Sacramento ranks fourth in the U.S. and first in California for bicycle commuting among the 70 largest cities.

“I think the city has been good about making conditions better for cyclists,” he said, noting a number of changes the city made last year in midtown.

Several streets, including P, Q, 19th and 21st, went from three lanes to two with bike lanes. The city also converted a number of parking meters to bike racks.

Remind me where midtown is again?

At any rate, we are very fortunate to have the American River Parkway (great article here, btw) and other trails that help make bicycling easier and safer in Sacramento. I do think that employers can make it easier to commute by bicycle (many have already, I know) by providing secure bike lockers and storage areas for equipment. A lot of bicycle commuting has to do with the type of job you have, too.

What have your experiences been with bicycle commuting? When HeyMeg wrote about this topic in 2007, safety was a big concern. Still a major issue? Access to trails from outlying cities?

Haunted Sacramento: Your Guide to a Happy Halloween

halloween

Possible Halloween costumes: junior high P.E. teacher (wig, sweatshirt, and gym shorts found at local thrift store)
Possible Halloween costumes: junior high P.E. teacher (wig, sweatshirt, and gym shorts found at local thrift store)

A Sacramentan’s go-to Halloween guide featuring tips on ghost stories, jack-o-lanterns, costumes, ghostly haunts, and spirits.

Ghost Stories:
No Halloween party is complete without a haunted tale. If your theatrical skills are lacking, or you’ve long forgotten how the story of The Hook ends, I’ve got the answer for you! Professionally-narrated audio ghost stories are available for download from the Sacramento Public Library. Simply download your favorites and turn up the volume. You are no longer limited to the spooky CD of the door creaking or the smash hit “Monster Mash” played on repeat. These ghost stories are sure to send tingles down your spine.

Continue reading “Haunted Sacramento: Your Guide to a Happy Halloween”

Fresnans get defensive

Another list came out recently ranking America’s smartest cities and Sacramento came in at T35 with Oklahoma City.

Metro Area Population: 2,109,832 – Daily Beast IQ Score: 84

On paper, Sacramento has a lot going for it, intellectually. It’s the capital of California, a draw for the Golden State’s best and brightest. And it’s just 90 minutes east of the Bay Area, which almost topped this list. Yet Sacramento wound up with below-average scores for almost every one of our criteria.

We do have a lot going for us, you know, on paper. It’s hard to swallow our IQ score of 84 (the winner, Raleigh-Durham, had a score of 170!), but when you consider they included college education, presidential voting turnout AND nonfiction book sales in their study it starts to make sense. Two out of three ain’t bad, right?

Fresno finished last (IQ of 3!) and the Fresno Bee’s Mike Osegueda took issue with it.

Continue reading “Fresnans get defensive”

Take that Columbus!

Who doesn’t love a list? What about a list pertaining to Sacramento? Not you? Great, because here’s one that should have you scratching your head (especially if you’ve been to some of the cities that took us down. Riverside?).

Sacramento has the 32nd-largest economy in the nation, and the sixth-best in California, according to a new federal report … GMP measures the total output of goods and services within a given area in a given year.

Not bad for a “middle of the road community“, right?

Sacramento’s higher-than-average cost of living and modern-day record jobless rate, coupled with lower earning potential after graduation hurt the capital region on the top 20 list, according to the American Institute for Economic Research. But Sacramento fared much better than Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma City and Las Vegas, which suffers from a dismal number of college graduates and staggering low research funding.

Columbus you say? Owned. Seriously though, is there a connection to be made here?