Vacaville, CA

Vacaville sits in Solano County on Interstate 80, the last big stop before the Sacramento Valley opens up, with Fairfield to the southwest and Davis and Sacramento to the northeast. The Coast Range foothills rise on the north and west sides, and the city grew along the freeway and the old Merchant Street grid. Its twenty Houseberry neighborhoods fall into a few groups. Downtown Vacaville and Monte Vista hold the old center, with Victorian and craftsman houses and the oldest restaurants. Alamo, Creekside, Fairmont, Greentree, Southwood, Leisure Town and Nut Tree are the shopping corridors, where stores, outlets and homes share the same roads. Foxboro, Woodridge, Parkside and Southtown are the established suburban streets built around neighborhood parks. Brighton Landing, Roberts' Ranch, The Farm at Alamo Creek and Vanden Meadows are the newer villages on the east and southeast edge, still filling in. North Village and Browns Valley face the hills, and Lagoon Valley is mostly parkland. Homes run from old downtown cottages to single-story ranch houses to new two-story subdivisions with young trees. Outdoors is a real strength. A 4.4-mile creek path links several parks, the Browns Valley preserve climbs into oak and grass hills, and Lagoon Valley has a lake, a paved loop and a historic adobe from the early 1840s. Eating out has an older side and a newer one. Pietro's No. 1 has served Italian food downtown since 1957, Attalus Coffee roasts on Merchant Street, and Journey Coffee Co. Started on Alamo Drive. Blue Lagoon Brewing pours beers named for local landmarks, and Fentons Creamery at the Nut Tree pairs ice cream with a full menu. The Premium Outlets pull shoppers from well outside town. Day to day, nearly everything is a drive, and Interstate 80 carries commuters toward Sacramento and the Bay Area. City buses meet at the Transportation Center on Allison Drive, and the downtown farmers market runs Saturday mornings in Andrews Park. The compromise is traffic and sprawl. Because the city spreads across so many separate pockets, the quiet of one can sit close to the noise of another. Living in Vacaville means choosing a pocket, and the choice shapes the whole routine.