First off, 1300 for a 1br in Midtown is crazy, unless you really want one of those fancy developments with granite countertops. I paid 650, started renting years ago, though, but The last one that went on the market in my building was for 700 in March. There are 2br apartments for 900 in my area (27th and I). I was a little bit on the edge of Midtown, but was near places like Red Rabbit, and it's was easy to walk pretty much as far as 15th and R. It's not bad, and the stumble home was fun.
Second, I have street-parked with my girlfriends Janky-old Honda that has no door locks and my piece of shit Saturn that is easy to break in to, with stuff in the car overnight, and we've had zero problems. Unless I'm incredibly lucky, the crime rate in Midtown is overstated by paranoid people who take things like minorities standing on the street corner as a bad sign (which was from an actual Nextdoor post). My tiny girlfriend has walked home at 3:00 on her own and had no problems. We've been drunk, stumbling, playing music from my phone, down J Street, at 2:30, and had no problems. We've even hung out on the street near our apartment, all day and night, drinking, and had no problems. There's a park full of homeless across the street, and the worst thing they've done is be around, which isn't a problem at all. Crime in midtown and downtown happens, but we've even been huge targets over the years and had exactly zero problems. Ever. I've had more problems riding my bike on the trail to work... I was attacked by a dog once on the trail. That's the worst thing that has ever happened. Seriously, midtown and downtown are not what they were even five years ago. As a long-time Sacramento person, this town has never been cleaner. Don't be paranoid. There's going to be a string of suburbanites chiming in about how scary midtown and downtown are... and I'll just sit here and laugh, because it's not scary. First floor apartment, even, with janky windows you can open from the outside. Never, ever had a problem. Someone is going to chime in with a "well, I knew this one person who knew a person who..." story in a moment, and then follow it up with "midtown is full of crime and you should be afraid." If you've never lived outside of a suburban tract development, it might seem scary.
Third, just so you know, public transit in the area is garbage, stymied by NIMBY's in East Sacramento and suburbanites who consider the car to be the ultimate form of transportation. Don't count on it, you're going to need a car down here. There is a light rail, but it functions entirely for commuters. There are busses, but they don't really work as transport around the city... just for commuters. Lyft and Uber are really cheap, though!
Fourth, don't live in the fab forties unless you are a WASPy rich person who hates fun.
Fifth, parking is baddish past 7:30pm. Work around those hours and you'll be fine. I hardly ever had to park more then a block away.
Sixth, the best deals in midtown are from walking around and looking for signs. Those landlords don't post on the internet. They know it will get filled from people just walking around. Walk around and find your deal!
Seventh, midtown and downtown are about as good as it gets in this town. Have as much fun as you can possibly have, but don't expect a big-city vibe. It's a town, through and through, and anyone who wants to deny that is living in a fantasy. Midtown/downtown are relatively walkable, but you're still going to need a car for most errands. The most unsafe time to be on the street is during commute hours, when tired and annoyed state workers are driving home and blasting through stop signs. I'd rather walk the streets at 2:15 with the drunk wannabe-cowboys than the commuting state workers tearing through stop signs and blocking the box.
Eighth, good luck, and stick it out for the long term. In the years I've lived in midtown, it's only become better and better. There's a ton of investment coming in right now, a lot of old buildings that used to be empty are getting filled with businesses, and the city government is working hard at repairing the blight that has fucked things up for so long. The next generation wants to live in urban spaces, and it's reflecting in the character of Sacramento. I've since left the area, because I was tired of fighting the rampant NIMBYism and suburbanites, but I do kind of miss it because in the few years I was down there it was rapidly improving. You might be getting in at a good time, like someone who bought a house with a garage in the Mission of SF in the early 2000s. I have a feeling midtown is going to be "the place to be" in a few years, if the trends keep up.