Why move to North Natomas?

I first laid eyes on North Natomas in 2002.  So we’re a decade in 95835 now.  Sent by my employer, K Hovnanian (Forecast Homes), for due diligence reports for a new community opening in Regency Park.  I quickly fell in love with what my real-estate broker grandmother called “the rice fields”.  I know ever nook and cranny.  The history, the politics, the schools, the boundaries, the flood threat, everything.  I’m gone from real estate now after 20 great years.  I’ve raised my children here. Purchased real estate here both for myself and for countless others.  I’ve leased homes.  Experienced the trials and tribulations that were brought by the greatest economic recession we’ve seen in 30 years.  Yet still we stay.  Still we love it here.  Today an old friend called.  Her Folsom-based agent had a lot of questions, that only I could answer.  What homes are allowed to use ” The Club”.  What school district are you in?  And most importantly, why do you live in North Natomas?  There are many newbies here.  Outsiders don’t know the ‘why’s”.  There’s a lot to consider when moving here.  But for a macro view of 95835, here are my favorite reasons:

1. North Natomas is close to everything.  8 minutes from downtown and cradled by  3 major highways.  Highway 80, Highway 99 and Highway 5.  It’s a very short car ride to the airport.  And close to the river for my fishing husband.  Sacramento has grown, and so have our commute times.  Simply put, less time in the car means more time with family.  Reduced fuel costs and a smaller carbon footprint are exponential bonuses.

2. North Natomas homes are big, new and cheap.  We purchased our last and present home in 2008.  It had been foreclosed and barely lived in.  With two teenagers and a little one entering kindergarten, we needed S-P-A-C-E.  I needed a home office.  Everyone needed privacy.  Plus, I came from new home sales.  My tastes were very particular.  We’re not ‘handy’ people.  I didn’t want to be saddled with renovations and repairs.  My champagne taste, laundry list of must-haves, and requirements that only carpet, paint and landscaping be on the ‘to-do’ list led us right back here every time.  Where else could you get a huge house, 4 bedrooms, modern floor plans with vaulted ceilings, energy efficiency and granite counter-tops  for under $100 a square foot?

3.  North Natomas -Everything is new.  Take a drive through.  Look around.  We are decidedly middle class, unpretentious, welcoming and fresh!  The streets are new.  The stores are new.  The library is new.  The fire station is new.  The schools are new.  Well, we have managed to grow a few trees in the last decade, but you get my meaning.  We have a Target.  We have a Marshalls.  We have some great restaurants.  Things are aging very very well.  Yes, we have a few retail vacancies.  Everybody has vacancies.  But the people here really care about the neighborhood.  Lawns are mowed.  Flowers are planted.  Paint is fresh and we still sparkle!

4.  North Natomas people are great.  We volunteer at our children’s schools.  We keep an eye out for our neighbors.  We swim together at the club.  Run into each other at the grocery store.  See each other at soccer practice.  And frequent each other’s businesses.  We’re a mixing pot of colors, and cultures and family statuses.  And we all know each other.  North Natomas has this great small-town feel.  That sense of community is priceless.

5.  North Natomas Schools.  My son attended Inderkum High School, my older daughter, Natomas Charter- Performing and Fine Arts, my little one, H Allen Hight then the GATE program at Witter Ranch on the West side of Highway 99/5.   Yes, the schools are struggling.  They are underfunded, and programs have been cut.  Test scores vary.  But we  always find solutions.  There is no apathy here.  Our community is involved!  Parents volunteer when staffing falls short.  Local businesses donate when funds are low. Principals and teaching staff, work harder and longer.  We have tapped into programs to fill the gaps.  We find a way.

6.  North Natomas Resident Angelique Ashby.  Sacramento City Council-Member and Vice Mayor Angelique Ashby calls North Natomas home.   You won’t find a harder working or more dedicated representative for your community EVER.  I’m pretty sure this woman doesn’t sleep.  And she is everything wonderful -not only about the politics of our town but our accessibility to the services that help us.  Recently named as 5th Assembly District’s Woman of the Year, she makes sure to keep our little corner of the universe at the top of everyone’s list.

7.  The Club at Natomas Park.  There I said it.  Don’t get me wrong, our first home here was in Regency Park.  Regency Park itself (the master plan is named after the park), is still one of my favorites.  There’s no hassle to pull your garbage cans in.  They don’t cite you when your teenagers park on the street.  Many friends live in very close proximity to me, in the neighborhoods of Creekside and Regency Park.  But The Club itself, seems to be the glue that holds us all together.  That big spanish-style building on the corner of Club Center Drive and Natomas Blvd. is The Club at Natomas Park.  If you live in the master plan NPMA, Natomas Park Master Association, and you pay homeowners dues, you have access to “The Club”.  There are three pools, a lagoon pool, a heated lap pool and a kiddie pool.  There’s a full workout facility.  A lodge where neighbors can gather.  And the newly built Cove Cafe near the lower lagoon pool.  The facility is always very clean and well-groomed.  The staff are warm and accomodating.  They hold special events, holiday parties, Friday night Happy Hours in the summer with live bands, community meetings, swim lessons, Yoga classes, the list goes on.  Plus, as members of NPMA, we have access to Paladin Private Security, keeping us safe.  Everything is free or very low cost, (The Cove food), including the workout facility.  We pay under $100/month for all that! A bargain, you just can’t beat in today’s economy.

I can expand for hours on just about every topic here.  North Natomas has a lot to offer, and that’s why we stay.  Before evey home purchase, we do the usual.  We shop everywhere.  I was raised in Placer County.  I grew up in Granite Bay.  I’ve owned homes in Roseville.  Lived in Folsom.   All of my grandparents were from Folsom and Granite Bay.  We crusied the lake every summer.  I still love it there.  But, after comparing everything we still come back.  We enjoy our manicured lawns, our sparkling blue swimming pools and our weekend mani/pedi’s.  But North Natomas has a blissfully unpretentious quality.  It’s comfortable, warm and very affordable.  And it’s home.

If you are a real estate agent, you can have my logo sign riders as well.  And all electronic versions of my logo for your use.  I have professional logos in small, medium, and large sizes.  I can order you a car decal for a nominal fee.

Please contact Casey Pickard.  (916) 759-7880.