Real Estate Ray's Blog

Why Elk Grove?

What makes Elk Grove, CA special and attractive as a place to live?  I thought I would ask some of our long term residents for their collective wisdom.  Here is what they had to say:

Elenice Gomez-When we first moved here 16 years ago, affordability and the schools were the deciding factors.  We also loved the way Elk Grove looked, how well maintained the medians/landscape were, how many parks we have, and how many friendly people there are in comparison to the Bay Area.  The location was also attractive, close to SF, to my Giants and to our old church family and to Lake Tahoe.  We selected a house in a neighborhood where the school API score was high and w/i our price range.

Randy Seevers, Executive Director at Runnin for Rhett-We love living in Elk Grove because of the people that live here.  Elk Grove is a melting pot of society...surrounded by so many different races, religions and backgrounds.  It's the REAL WORLD.  We chose our house because we were looking for a single story ranch style home, conducive to wheelchair access, for when Rhett was with us.  We love it here and don't plan to leave anytime soon. (Valley Hi Country Club Estates)

                                   Laguna Lake                                                          Stonelake Park and Clubhouse

Kathy Royer, Senior Direct Mail Specialist-Our family moved to Elk Grove 20 years ago after our house burned down in Southern California. It was a traumatic time in our lives and we were living in an apartment waiting for our house to be rebuilt.  We came to visit Elk Grove after my parents had moved here from San Ramon. They had bought a house on Benedict Way that was across the street from a lake. We loved their home and the area!  We started looking at model homes and found out that we could buy a home on the lake ,with a beautiful view , that was twice the size as our home in Southern California for about the same amount that we could sell our home for in Southern California.  It was not hard to make the decision to move and we have made life long friendships.  Every day we acknowledge how blessed we are!  (Laguna West, Lakeside)

                               Laguna West                                                                             Lakeside 

Lisa McKnight O'shea-We've been here 30 years and have seen major changes, especially population growth-from 11,000 in 1989 to now (2019 171,844).  We love our Laguna Lake neighborhood.  It was a great place to raise our girls and we're looking forward to enjoying it with our grandson as he gets older. 

Tina Lee-Vogt-My late husband and I moved to Elk Grove over 25 years ago.  We loved the diversity and the beautiful neighborhoods.  We grew up in the EGUSD and wanted our daughter to as well.  We love the schools and the CSD.  Wonderful place for families. (North Laguna)

Jack Chen-Couldn't afford to live in the Bay Area and we chose our home because it was one of the last ones for sale during the housing boom. (Laguna West, Lakeside)

             Heritage at Lakeside, 55+ Community                                             Cosumnes River Preserve

Geoffrey Jumper-We moved here over 25 years ago because it was nice and affordable (author's note-it still is).  We stayed because I wanted Emily to attend Elk Grove Schools.  We have been very happy here!!!  (Stonelake)

Nancy Friday Johnson-We moved here almost 22 years ago.  We looked for a solid month before we purchased our house.  On one "final" weekend, we had to choose between houses we liked in Rocklin, Natomas and Elk Grove. We chose Elk Grove (and our specific house) because the cost per square foot was exceptional, we liked how close it was to I-5, our corner lot, the parks, the overall diversity, the school district and we liked how it felt like a "community."  We have felt it was one of the better decisions that we have made!

My wife and I moved to Elk Grove in 2000 and we have really enjoyed being here.  I think my friends have captured the essence of what makes Elk Grove special.  We came here for many of the same reasons.  It has only been in our quest to find a retirement home that we have recognized how unique Elk Grove is and how many opportunities we have to enjoy unique experiences within a short distance.

If you would like to know more about Elk Grove or would like to tour the area, just let me know.  916-698-8414

Thank you, Jeff Dowler, CRS from Carlsbad, CA for this months ActiveRain challenge.  It was enjoyable to reach out to all my friends and get a sense for why they have all been here for so long.