Questions about Sebastopol (San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park: house prices, buy, preschools)

[marckell]

My wife and I are considering a move to Sebastopol. We have a
5-year-old and a 1-year-old. For us, the compelling reasons to
move include the "greeness" of the city, the public Waldorf
school, the proximity to larger cities (Santa Rosa, San Francisco),
and the weather. I work at home and house prices are not an
issue. We've only passed through the town a few times, so we're
not as familiar as we should be, but plan on a long-term visit
in the spring.

My questions:

- Does anyone have recent experience with the Waldorf school?
- How are the parks for kids?
- Where do you go for local groceries?
- What is the general weather in fall and winter? Can kids get
out all year?
- Is there a "family scene", like mothers meeting at a community
center or park?
- Are there public swimming pools nearby?
- If you live near town, is it possible to walk to most places?

And if you are or know of a young family in the area, I'd love to
trade e-mails to get your further opinion!

Thanks!
mk

[aween]

I am sorry that I can't offer much, but I do know that it's very foggy and cold
in Sebastopol. My friend lives there and she loves it.

[Roma]

I can't give you details either about Sebastopol. We were thinking at one time moving to Bodega Bay (next to Sebastopol). We would of had to do most of our shopping in Sebastopol.

You asked about groceries and I wanted to tell you that I know there is a Whole Foods Market in Sebastopol.

[sasha13]

Questions:

- Does anyone have recent experience with the Waldorf school?

There is a private one and a few charters but I don't believe any of the charters go up to high school. I have heard mostly good things about the Summerfield Waldorf (the private one.) The campus is gorgeous - the buildings actually beautiful, a rarity in a school and they run a farm as part of the school. It is quite expensive. Seems all the progressive folk are into Waldorf and the charter schools are very popular with waiting lists and a lottery. I'm not into Waldorf myself but the teenagers I've met from Summerfield seem quite well adjusted and aware.

Ah, I see now that you are asking about the public ones. I have heard good things about Sunridge, I think it's K-8. There are lots of Waldorf preschools but you need to sign up early (the fall before you want your child to enroll seems not too far in advance.)

- How are the parks for kids?

Good, I think. There are 3 main parks within walking distance of town center. One is attached to a regional park that has trains and a bit more wildness. Of course it's relative to where you are coming from

- Where do you go for local groceries?

Whole Foods, Andy's market, farmer's market on Sundays, Fiesta and Trader Joes (in Santa Rosa.) Each one has their own strength. Andy's is locally owned.

- What is the general weather in fall and winter? Can kids get
out all year?

Very mild. Sebastopol is not cold and foggy. A bit of rain in the winter but doesn't last long.

- Is there a "family scene", like mothers meeting at a community
center or park?

Yes, lots of that.

- Are there public swimming pools nearby? yes, right near town.
- If you live near town, is it possible to walk to most places?
Yes, that is the fabulous thing about Sebastopol. Everything is close enough and there is enough variety that you can walk downtown and buy most everything you need.

And if you are or know of a young family in the area, I'd love to
trade e-mails to get your further opinion!

Go to waccobb.net and post your request and I'm sure you will have some replies.

Good luck!

[CAtoGA]

Originally Posted by marckell

My questions:

- Does anyone have recent experience with the Waldorf school?
- How are the parks for kids?
- Where do you go for local groceries?
- What is the general weather in fall and winter? Can kids get
out all year?
- Is there a "family scene", like mothers meeting at a community
center or park?
- Are there public swimming pools nearby?
- If you live near town, is it possible to walk to most places?

And if you are or know of a young family in the area, I'd love to
trade e-mails to get your further opinion!

Thanks!
mk

Well, I am not at all familiar with any of the Waldorf schools in the area, so I can't help with that.

As far as parks go, if you live in town, there are a couple of nice parks for younger kids.

The grocery stores include the typical Safeway and Albertson's as well as locally owned Fiesta and Fircrest Markets. There is also a Whole Foods in town, and a very small Farmer's Market on Sundays during spring and summer.

The weather - fall is probably the best season, but we do get a fair amount of wind regularly. Kids can still get out in winter if they don't mind the chill and damp. Sebastopol doesn't get as much rain as some places, we just get it all in December through April. Spring and summer are generally foggy in the mornings. In summer it will usually clear up and heat up in the afternoon.

Since my kids are a bit older, I don't know about a "mothers" scene in town, but with this being Sebastopol, I'm sure there is something.

There is a public pool right near downtown - they offer lessons all summer, and a year round swimming program for the kids - the Sea Serpents.

If you live near downtown, you can walk to a lot of places - library, bank, grocery store, book store, coffee shop. There is no major shopping to be done in Sebastopol. For that you would need to go to Rohnert Park or Santa Rosa. Be forewarned though, traffic is getting worse every year! This is one of the things that is driving me to leave Sebastopol.

Over all, if you live "In town" you would find most things fairly convenient (again, there is a lot of traffic going through town, and the high school makes it worse). Unfortunately, you can't really find any decent "land" in town. You mentioned that cost is not an issue, to you may get lucky. We've lived in Sebastopol (but not "in" Sebastopol) for 11 years. As our kids have gotten older it's become less of our dream because it means driving everywhere. Because of our location, the kids can't walk to school, there's no park out here, and very few kids their age. Traffic on our road is such that they can't go out an ride their bikes. As I said, though, we are in the unicorporated area.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am more than happy to help out.