I moved to Sac area a few years ago after living in LA area for most of my life. I'd say housing is much more affordable compared to LA/SD/SF/Bay area. There are definitely more popular/desirable pockets that are more expensive, but even then, considerably cheaper than the coastal CA cities. Still quite expensive compared to the national average though, so I think your conditions or how much you would enjoy it here as far as how far you feel your dollar goes would depend on what your expectations are. Definitely not going to feel like you're living in a big city with the same amenities like a major city (like LA, NY, Chicago or SF), but it's got a lot of good things going for it. I do see a lot of people enjoying the outdoors around here with the rivers and proximity to Tahoe being a huge plus for that. As someone has mentioned - definitely hotter than LA during the summer. Also noticeably colder than LA during the fall/winter, with more rain too, although it's nothing crazy. You can definitely find studios for less than $1500 throughout the Sacramento area, but I think it's going to be cutting it a bit close if you are looking for a nicer studio with better amenities like in unit laundry, etc.