Testimonials

The following interview was conducted with local Winchester Country Club residents, Rick and Karen Neal during the summer of 2004. Permission has been granted by the Neals to reprint this interview.

Download a PDF of this interview by clicking here.

WCC: How did you first learn about Winchester Country Club?

RICK: We told a local realtor that we wanted to live in an upscale private country club community. She said, “Winchester Country Club!” As soon as we drove in, I thought, “This is it!”

KAREN: We then flew up for our second visit, and just happened to be here on the day that our site became available. We wanted room for a pool and something that was “child friendly”. We got all that and a fabulous view to boot!

WCC: You visited twice before you decided to buy? KAREN: Well, Rick played a couple of rounds of golf first (Laughing).

RICK: It reminded me of playing Pebble Beach. Usually you’re so focused on golf that you’re not aware of the geography. But here, I didn’t even focus on my game. I was just mesmerized by the beauty of everything. The first time we visited, we knew this was where we wanted to be.

WCC: Were you living in the Bay Area, before you moved to Winchester Country Club?

RICK: I was in Danville, and Karen was in Sherman Oaks.

WCC: Did you have any concerns about leaving the Bay Area or Southern California?

KAREN: Although I was a producer for television shows in Los Angeles, I knew that Sacramento is somewhat a cosmopolitan city, and anything you need, is there. We’re close enough to all the conveniences and yet are just slightly away from it all.

RICK: With my business, as long as I’m in the west and near an airport, I can pretty much live anywhere. I’ve got a small airplane and can fly out of the Auburn Airport.

WCC: You wanted a private community with country club and a golf course?

RICK: I think that bringing up a child in a country club community with the support system is phenomenal. We have everything from tennis to swimming, and of course, golf. I just think that these are wonderful games to grow up with, and learn lessons in life from.

WCC: What else have you discovered raising children here?

KAREN: That everyone who lives here seems to have an intact family. Also, there are two awardwinning California Distinguished schools nearby in Meadow Vista, so we’re thrilled about that.

WCC: It sounds as if you’ve found wonderful ways to connect with other families already.

KAREN: Yes! There’s a group called, “Mountain Moms & Dads”, where families from the surrounding areas get together. We’ve met some really great people.

WCC: Some people have the impression that you give up a lot moving to a small town environment, including conveniences, and making connections, but it sounds like you’ve got it covered.

RICK: Actually, one of the factors that really convinced me to come take a look at the area came from a person I hired who was living in Dallas at the time. He was raised in Meadow Vista and told me that it was the greatest place in the world to grow up in. His comments really motivated me to come here and look around.

KAREN: The local kids attend Colfax High School and they talk about what a close community they live in. They like that the city is close by, but they have this wonderful sheltered feeling. They get the best of both worlds.

WCC: Did you look anywhere else before choosing Winchester Country Club?

RICK: Originally, I was more interested in the 50 corridor, so I made a visit to Serrano. It wasn’t really built up much at that time, but I could see what the future would hold. Because of congestion along 50, we started exploring the 80 side, and found that the traffic was better.

WCC: As you know, Winchester Country Club only has a total of 409 home sites. That’s why we promote “Treetops, not Rooftops”.

RICK: Also, that area (along 50), seems like there will be tens of thousands of homes out there and it’s going to get very congested, very quickly. WCC: What else particularly impressed you about Winchester Country Club?

RICK: The beauty of the land and the fabulous golf course was pretty impressive. The other thing for me was the accessibility to the airport. An added benefit is no stoplight to the freeway. I mean, there’s only one stop sign! (Laughing) WCC: Were you interested in building your house when you started looking, or were you planning on purchasing a home already built?

RICK: We were okay with building. Karen was a TV producer and used to running big projects, so we knew she could handle it. Although it was a large undertaking, we love the personalization in this house.

WCC: When you look back on it, would you do it again?

RICK: Absolutely yes! If the Pinnacle Collection had been available then, we would have definitely been interested in them too, so it’s hard to say which way we would have gone.

WCC: If you had to sum up the whole experience, what would you say about living here?

RICK: It feels like going on vacation to come home.

KAREN: When we’re driving home and I reach the off ramp, my daughter says, “Katie’s house!” and she knows that this is home. It really is just an oasis here, and I feel privileged to live here. The community is wonderful. There are great people here that love Katie, and love kids in general. Which is a good thing…since we’re expecting twins!

WCC: Congratulations! We hear that a lot from residents. They love kids and families, and weren’t interested in moving into a senior development or retirement community.

KAREN: Absolutely! We always joke that we’ll just keep having kids to lower the demographics! WCC: A lot of our future plans are done with the children in mind.

RICK: We learned prior to purchasing, that there were already over 20 children under the age of 16 in the community. Plus, we found that a large number of our non-resident members also have children.

KAREN: Plus, we wouldn’t have moved here if we couldn’t move into the community and send our children to the local school, down the street. We just weren’t interested in sending them to a private school, so the location and quality of the local schools were very important to us.

RICK: We also weren’t interested in pretentious community for our family. We didn’t want to raise our children where everything is about status. That was a key factor in moving here. People at Winchester Country Club and Meadow Vista are fantastic. Winchester Country Club is private and prestigious, but not pretentious. We love it here!