Diamond Springs was settled in 1848 after local prospectors found that there was indeed gold in them there hills, and it proved to be one of the most lucrative gold mining spots in the county. Its legacy as a mining town, and as a Pony Express remount station, has earned it a spot on the California Historical Landmark Registry.
Diamond Springs is located in El Dorado County, California. This census-designated place is home to 11,037 people, spread out over its 16.64 square miles. The city of Placerville is just under two miles away, and there are several other small cities within a short distance. Diamond Springs is five miles from the city of El Dorado, and 36 miles from Sacramento.
Moving to Diamond Springs
There are approximately 5,000 housing units in Diamond Springs, and nearly 70% of these are detached singled houses. Around 27% of the total numbers of units are rentals. Among the places for rent are detached houses, apartment complexes of various sizes, as well as duplexes, townhouses, and mobile home accommodation.
If you're looking for standard one bedroom apartment or house rental in Diamond Springs, you can typically expect to find a place within three or four weeks. The larger apartment complexes here offer a range of rental apartment sizes but they tend not to include apartments with paid utilities. There is the occasional all-utilities-paid apartment on the market; but since they're as rare and precious as--ahem--diamond, they're often in high demand. So, you need to sit patiently in a state of cat-like readiness if you want one, and be prepared to pounce quickly when it turns up.
The majority of both rental and owner-occupied homes were built in the 1970s or later, but unsurprisingly for a region that's been settled for more than 150 years around 20% were built in the 1960s and earlier, with 150 properties or so being at least 80 years old. The most common types of rental accommodation in Diamond Springs are detached houses, but there are also several apartment complexes in the region, so you can find townhouses for rent on a regular basis, and the rental apartment availability is fairly reliable too.
The Diamond Springs climate is a little more excitable than the national average--summer temperatures can range from 50 to 95 degrees in the hottest months, and from 35 to 50 degrees at the height of winter--but still, it's not too extreme, especially for California, and the temperature gets low enough during winter that there's plenty of time to enjoy a bit of cold weather before you start to wish for sunshine again. Rainfall follows a typical pattern, with less than average in summer, and more than average in winter, which means that most people find the low humidity level to be quite comfortable during the summer months. In an average year residents of Diamond Springs will see around 22 inches of rain, and 250 sunny days.
Diamond Springs Neighborhoods
You could be forgiven for thinking that everything in Diamond Springs is called Diamond-something-or-other, because it's pretty close to being true. Half the neighborhoods in the area have the word diamond in their name, and most of them are also very small neighborhoods, located in the same general area. There's Diamond Meadows, Diamond Oaks, Diamond Place, Diamond Springs Estates, and Diamond Springs Heights, as well as one that's simply called Diamond.
Deer Park Estates: Deer Park Estates is a neighborhood in central Diamond Springs, which includes owner-occupied and rented houses and mobile homes. Most of the units here were built in the 1970s and 1980s, and a few were built more recently.
Diamond Springs Estates: Diamond Springs Estates is a small neighborhood to the east of Patterson Lake, comprised mainly of owner-occupied and rental houses and townhomes, mostly built in the 1970s and 1980s, with a few of both older and newer construction.
Apartment Communities in Diamond Springs
Diamond Springs Apartments: Diamond Springs Apartments are conveniently located close to the center of town, with apartments of one to three bedrooms, and up to one-and-a-half bathrooms.
Diamond Terrace Apartments: Diamond Terrace Apartments offers apartments of two, three, and four bedrooms, each of which has its own private balcony or patio. Residents have access to a picnic area and basketball court, and there's plenty of parking.
Living in Diamond Springs
Diamond Springs is relatively large in terms of area, especially when contrasted with its population. A large portion of the region is undeveloped, which means that depending on where you live, you may have to travel a short distance for grocery shopping or your standard retail therapy session. However, if you can't locate what you need in Diamond Springs, you don't have to go far to find more options--Placerville and El Dorado are both located nearby, which considerably expands your range for dining and entertainment as well as shopping. As well as this, Sacramento is less than an hour's drive away, if you need a bigger dose of city to keep you going.