Vacaville

Vacaville is a relatively isolated metropolitan city halfway between Sacramento and San Francisco. It’s not known for much, except for the acres of outlet malls, its large biotechnology and pharmaceutical businesses and California State Prison (not the prettiest picture you can paint). Yet, within its residential quarters sits a modest, working-class community with the usual polished amenities that come with such.

Neighborhoods in Vacaville are typically saturated with adequate one-story homes with newly paved streets and lush green trees popping up everywhere. It is predominately a lower middle-class residential area, but still has a refined look to it. Almost as if it just received a makeover. If you’re looking for nicer homes, you’ll find a couple newly built, pristine neighborhoods stringed along the southern end of Vacaville. I suggest living here if the price is right. According to the US Census Bureau, median household incomes are listed at $57,000/year in the city, but jumps to $64,000 for single family residents. This includes the 95,000 people who currently live here. Moreover, the racial makeup of this metropolis is about 60% white, while the rest are mixed between hispanic, asian and African American residents.

People come from hundreds of miles away for Vacaville’s Premium Outlet mall and its low low prices. Firstly, there are a handful of neighborhood shopping centers sprinkled throughout the community. Most notable of these is Home Town Plaza, which adjoins Vacaville Commons Shopping Center and the widely popular Vacaville Premium Outlets. This large shopping area consists of a Walmart Supercenter, Target, a Trader Joe’s and about a dozen other boutique stores and chain restaurants. If you’re a golfer, you’ll appreciate Green Trees Golf Course and Cypress Lakes Golf Course. Both courses are highly regarded among golfing review sites. And finally, you can’t summarize Vacaville without mentioning the blemishing California State Prison Solano. The prison, which haunts many surprised out-of-towners, anchors the southern edge of the city. However, the prison is the top employer of Vacaville residents.

If you’re looking for entertainment and events, Vacaville feeds your craving. Vacaville Fiesta Days are the biggest attraction among locals and tourists alike. The event includes a parade and an electric car showcase. The city also hosts the Festival of Trees, which provides locals with an ice skating rink, a tree lighting ceremony and a small music festival. Residents will also be interested to know that the city has two unified public school districts and the popular Chapman University for higher education.

These are the images that are conjured up when Vacaville is brought up. Home to a military base, the town is filled with housing developments and has an almost Midwestern feel to it. People come from far and wide for the shopping, particularly the outlets, which seem to be the main draw here. It's also a great place to fuel up before hitting raft country or Tahoe, because the gas is so much cheaper.

The other perk is that you get Bay Area (ish) living for Sacramento prices. It's about as far out as you can get and still be considered "SF Bay" by Craigslist standards, but there is water nearby, it is only about an hour from the city (and closer to Oakland, Berkeley and some East Bay hikes) and you are that much closer to the Sierras for a fraction of the cost. It could be worth considering if you want to move to the Bay Area and location is not a huge inhibitor.