[TWork]

I've lived/worked in and around the Sacramento area for the last 15 years or so. I think whether you'll like the area will definitely depend on what you like to do. As has been said, Sacramento doesn't have the personality of a city like SF, NY, Portland or Chicago. But, its not a bad place to live. We usually get two or three weeks of un-godly hot weather in the summer, but its not too bad. I have never known it to be particularly humid as was mentioned earlier. Despite not having the personality of some other cities, its a large enough area that there's plenty of resources for hobbies (e.g., there are a fair number of stores, etc, such that you don't always have to mail order or drive a great distance to get to things). "Sacramento" is a relatively large area and encompases a number of towns. Where you'll look to actually live will depend greatly on where specifically you'll be working.

As for things to do, there are a number larger shopping malls in the area (Arden, K-street, Galleria), there's some culture (B-street theatre and that other theatre under the tent, can't recall the name). Its very close to Thunderhill -- a great little road track, and Sonoma isn't too far either. Its also near Folsom Lake and the American river -- so good if you either like to boat or go white water rafting. There's a great bike trail that goes from the downtown area all the way up to Granite Bay which is like 30 miles one-way. There's also some of the best mountain biking in the world within a 30 min to 2 1/2 hour drive. In the winter, Tahoe is close for skiing. And, we're relatively close to the Bay Area.

All in all, its not a bad place to be. I'm sure there are more sought after locations, but its a far, far, far cry from Fresno. In general, its probably less of a festive 'hot spot' like the San Diego area.

T.