hippiechick wrote: 
I'm halfway between downtown Sac and Lake Tahoe. Spring and Autumn are great, but short. Winter is OK, but count on LOTS of rain. Summers can be very hot and dry, so best to live in the Sierra Foothills (e.g., Auburn) and have access to a pool. If not, there are rivers and lakes (reservoirs).

CA is expensive, no matter how you slice it. Gas alone is the highest in the nation, I think, due to the special CA-only mixtures that were legislated years ago.

The music scene is terrific if one likes concert-going and doesn't mind hopping in the car. The first couple of years here we saw more acts—and in more intimate venues—than we would never have seen otherwise.

The skiing is awesome, as is the ability to head for Marin County (Point Reyes National Seashore), Napa, and/or Carmel/Big Sur anytime we feel like it. Of course, major jazz (and other acts) regularly show up at Yoshi's in Oakland (and SF). There's never a lack of things to do, money being no object.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
And Lake Tahoe is good for skiing AND summertime hiking etc.. - not THAT far away.

 hippiechick wrote: 
Sacramento proper, or an outlying town? And how bad could it be, it's 90 miles from San Francisco! And a couple hours from great skiing.

It might not be the best place in California but damn it's close to a lot of the best places. Napa Valley wine country, the Delta (Sacramento River) for water fun and fishing, the bay, The World Champion San Francisco Giants! The Oakland A's, not that far from Paradise... Yosemite, the giant Sequoias...

 hippiechick wrote: 
It's hot in the summer. It has some nice neighborhoods. It has a great bar and restaurant scene. And it's fairly cheap for norcal. A couple hours from sierra resorts or the pacific ocean. 

Does anyone here live near Sacramento? Is it a nice place to live? What is your weather like? Is it relatively cheap or expensive? Does it have a music/bar scene?

So, my cousin Emily is going to be playing in San Francisco and Sacramento:

2/25 Pirate Cat Radio 89.3FM http://www.piratecatradio.com/
2/26/2011 "I Keep Hearing Voices" w/vocalists Laurie Amat and Bob Marsh
2/27/2011 Simm Series w/pianist Motoko Honda, Musician's Union Hall
For info: http://www.bayimprovisers.com/calendar.asp
...and Sacramento, CA:
2/28/2011 Nebraska Mondays w/Motoko Honda Luna's Cafe

And Venice:

Adam Rudolph's Go: Organic Orchestra
Sunday, March 6, 2011, 7:30pm, the Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Avenue
Venice, CA http://www.electriclodge.org/upcoming_shows.cfm

 Rod wrote: 

Cool!! Excellent, thanks very much Rod. We were discussing whether fish can live in the CO2 rich environment or not over at the eruptions blog.

 dmax wrote: 

Nice Av!

 Rod wrote: 
Oh, there are fish there in the boiling waters, all pink and delicious. If you're smart you toss in some garlic and a bay leaf, wait about a half hour, and then scoop out a big bowlful.

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote: 

I had to google it, but yes, there are fish in the lake. I want to go there now.
http://www.fishingworks.com/lakes/california/shasta/reading-peak/cold-boiling-lake/

Actually Rod, here's a question you or one of the other Californians might know the answer to.

Are there any fish in cold boiling lake near Bumpass Hell, Mt. Lassen?

 Rod wrote: 
be nice to see you guys somewhere!

 Rod wrote: 
If y'all go, and you want to, you can introduce yourselves to my cousin Emily!

Yay. I'm glad I posted it here.

 Antigone wrote: 
Thanks for posting this. Jim Connolly is an amazing Jazz bass player. He is very well known in music circles in these parts. I didn't even know he played banjo. We just saw him last Thursday at a little place on State Street, playing bass with Chris Judge, an equally amazing Jazz guitarist. They blew me away!

Mellie, maybe we'll see you there!

 Antigone wrote: 
and I am!!!!! i hope i get the opportunity to check this out.

 Antigone wrote: 

Not too far away for me (hour and a half - although google says 2hrs and forget if there's traffic), but still too far on a work night .  Perhaps they'll take some video to promote themselves and we could see it here (or somewhere).

 Antigone wrote: 
Muddy Waters is a great place! That's where I held my book event when I was in town.

Copied from my cousin Emily's FB page:

If you're in beautiful Santa Barbara (California/USA) Thurs. Feb. 10th, please come by The Muddy Waters Cafe (508 E. Haley St.) cirac 8pm for an opening set of banjo music by Jim Connolly followed by the trio of Los Angeles improvisers Emily Hay (flute/vocals), Motoko Honda (keyboards), and Brad Dutz (percussion)

We saw Cirque Berzerk at the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY this past summer. It is a fantastic show that you should see if you live in the LA area, or will be visiting there during January.

 Alexandra wrote: 
Do you want me to go up there and wake them up?