a question for California peeps.......

[RADsooner]

I may be moving to Calif because of work.......Sacramento specifically, how much is OU on out there? and other than housing how is the cost of living from Oklahoma?

[SoonerKnight]

A few games, Gas is expensive, cars are more expensive, and food cost a little more. It's the beginning of N. Cali. Lots of tree huggers in that part of Cali

[Lott's Bandana]

I lived there for many years, my daughters are both there. OU is often on the Fox network early because of the Big XII Game of the Week is played before the west coast games begin, so I saw OU almost as much as I do now, living in Norman.

Cost of living comparisons aren't even fair. Gas prices are a steady .40 to .60 cents higher per gallon, housing runs almost double the cost of Oklahoma. Those two things alone make talking about anything else almost a waste of time.

California emission laws make their automobiles' resale value much less than the rest of the country. Daily instead of weekly overtime labor laws gives the hourly wage earner a bit more power regarding their paycheck, but has probably hurt small business and made things more expensive.

On the other hand, Sacramento is eerily similar to Oklahoma City, in size, density, topography and demographic. An NBA team with a solid fan-base, but no college sports to really speak of.
You cannot find a better locale for proximity to some of the most incredible weekend road trips: Monterey, San Francisco, Reno/Tahoe, Napa, Yosemite...you'll never run out of places to go see and things to do.

If you can afford it.

[MiccoMacey]

On the other hand, Sacramento is eerily similar to Oklahoma City, in size, density, topography and demographic. An NBA team with a solid fan-base, but no college sports to really speak of.
You cannot find a better locale for proximity to some of the most incredible weekend road trips: Monterey, San Francisco, Reno/Tahoe, Napa, Yosemite...you'll never run out of places to go see and things to do.

If you can afford it.

Man, you're bringing back some fond memories. I used to live at Fort Ord, and drive the 3 1/2 hours to Sacramento about 2-3 times a month to see a girlfriend.

Great place with tons to do. Although I'm sure it's changed a lot since the mid to late 80's, I'm also sure it's improved a lot as well.

[cvsooner]

Sacramento is in the far northern end of California's Great Central Valley, as we call it out here. You're about an hour and a half east of San Francisco, and great skiing is an hour and a half to the east.

Quality of food, especially of fresh produce, is a bazillion times better than Oklahoma. The central valley, though, has a very strong midwestern vibe, due to the Dust Bowl. When Will Rogers talked about all the Okies came to California and raised the IQ in both places, he was talking about the central valley. Steinbeck's great 'Grapes of Wrath' is set in the central valley.

Sacramento is of course the state capital, and as such is an odd amalgam of much of what is great and what is strange about California. Fair amount of culture, if you like that sort of thing. Only one pro sports team, in the NBA. As noted by someone else, it really is a lot like Oklahoma City....only with big mountains on either side, and a couple of major rivers running through it. Lots of big old trees...very pretty in the spring and fall. Summer can be hot. Winters are a bit chilly but seldom downright cold. Fog in the winter is more common than snow. Sacramento does get about 15-20 inches of rain per year, if I remember right. (That's a lot for us.)

Gasoline prices are higher, clearly. However, in Sacramento there is pretty good public transport via light rail.

If you can find a cable provider who has Fox Sports Southwest on it, between that and ESPN360, you will see basically every OU game you want in the fall...except for the patsy pay-per-view games. Those are hard to come by. I usually wind up with Internet radio on those. But I have missed only a handful of games otherwise. Up yonder you'll find they watch Cal, Stanford and Fresno State. And USC is everywhere. UCLA, not so much.

Cost of living...wages are higher. I think it's a wash. Not as many rightwing evangelical X'ans out here...though it's a lot more prevalent than you might think.

Welcome to the Golden State!

[cccasooner2]

Plus you can get all the drugs you want on the Capitol grounds (be there early though). My wife and I once watched about 20 suits get their daily supply while sitting in our motorhome waiting for it to open.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

I may be moving to Calif because of work.......Sacramento specifically, how much is OU on out there? and other than housing how is the cost of living from Oklahoma?

I live in the Sacramento TV market. I watched every game last season except the PPV Utah State game. I can't recall but there may have been a game I had to watch on the computer via ESPN360, but the rest on the big screen. I have comcast cable, so I am not sure if its the same for dish.

I agree, gasoline is higher than in Oklahoma -- I've been paying around 3.85/gal lately.

Trips to San Francisco, Napa Valley, and Lake Tahoe are much cheaper when you live in Sac, as compared to Oklahoma.

State income tax is probably higher if you make six figures.