Retiring to Healdsburg/ Sebastopol (Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park: wood floors, houses, living in)

[richreiter]

Hello, my wife and I are considering moving soon to the Sonoma county area, quite possible Healdsburg or Sebastopol based on what we've read, and visited (Only the actual town of Sonoma). We are active and enjoy outdoor activities but also lots of art and culture. Out price range for a home would be somewhere in the 600000 range. We know these areas are a bit pricey, but from searches we have found some acceptable houses in our range. Anyways, we just wanted to know a little about which places in Sonoma county would be best for us to retire to. Thanks for your feedback!

[Snort]

You might also consider Windsor, which is a great town just north of Healdsburg. A bit quieter and less touristy, but very nice despite its relative obscurity compared to Healdsburg.

[LaylaM]

We're active retirees moving from the Seattle suburbs to Windsor in about 10 days! We traveled to 11 cities in a 4 year period looking for our next adventure and knew we had found home in Sonoma County. You'll absolutely love it, but do know that the housing market is extremely tight with a very small inventory and often multiple bids - and this is anytime of year. Having said that, we found a very sweet, 1840 square foot, one-story home, completely remodeled, hard wood floors, etc. in the mid $600ks. We did have to make multiple trips and look at nearly 40 homes to find this gem.

If you're willing to do some extensive remodeling to update the kitchen and bathrooms, you'll find a bit more to choose from, but you'll need to sink some $ into the property.

I can tell you that Santa Rosa has been soaring in price in recent years and you're better off looking in the towns nearby. Sebastopol is also quite high and, in your price range, you'd be paying for larger parcels of land along with mediocre homes that need massive updating. Your best options will be Windsor (which is about 10 minutes south of Healdsburg), Rohnert Park (10 minutes south of SR), or Cotati which is adjacent to Rohnert Park. Healdsburg will not have much in your price range, but may be worth a look.

Please PM me if you have further questions. I'm happy to help! I also have an excellent realtor recommendation for you if you are in need. She's been absolutely amazing and she's hung in there with us for 2 years.

Good Luck in your search!

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by Snort

You might also consider Windsor, which is a great town just south of Healdsburg. A bit quieter and less touristy, but very nice despite its relative obscurity compared to Healdsburg.

Fixed it for you!

With that said, Healdsburg is fabulous if you can afford it. From your first post it could be a great fit. The town of Sonoma is nothing compared to Healdsburg.

[Snort]

Thanks! I should have said south. Was standing on my head the last time I was looking at them.
At any rate, I really like Windsor.

[richreiter]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

Fixed it for you!

With that said, Healdsburg is fabulous if you can afford it. From your first post it could be a great fit. The town of Sonoma is nothing compared to Healdsburg.

Well we really did enjoy our time in Sonoma, so sounds like healdsburg can only get better! Also, would you happen to know about the differences in climate throughout those two places and possibly Sebastopol as well. Thanks for your help!

[Snort]

Originally Posted by richreiter

Well we really did enjoy our time in Sonoma, so sounds like healdsburg can only get better! Also, would you happen to know about the differences in climate throughout those two places and possibly Sebastopol as well. Thanks for your help!

The weather websites will give you climate data for towns, but any differences in climate among Healdsburg, Sonoma, and Sebastopol are going to be very small, if at all.

[Quizillla]

I am 22 and am living in Arizona (much cheaper than Sonoma lol) but my parents are in Sonoma (retired) and I actually went to Sonoma State. That area of Northern Cali is BEAUTIFUL. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the little town of Sonoma... I miss it every-day. Beautiful weather, lots of nature, not far from the beach. The only con is it's EXPENSIVE. I'm starting to save now to move back after my masters

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by richreiter

Well we really did enjoy our time in Sonoma, so sounds like healdsburg can only get better! Also, would you happen to know about the differences in climate throughout those two places and possibly Sebastopol as well. Thanks for your help!

The differences are not huge, but noticeable. Healdsburg is the most "four seasonish" with warmer summers and cooler winters than the other two choices. All things considered, the climate between the three places is not a factor I would consider. Sebastopol is a bit more coastal with very moderate and somewhat foggy summers. Sonoma has a moderated climate due to the SF Bay influence. Personally it would be Healdsburg for climate and culture and access to outdoors stuff. I hope what I said helps

[richreiter]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

The differences are not huge, but noticeable. Healdsburg is the most "four seasonish" with warmer summers and cooler winters than the other two choices. All things considered, the climate between the three places is not a factor I would consider. Sebastopol is a bit more coastal with very moderate and somewhat foggy summers. Sonoma has a moderated climate due to the SF Bay influence. Personally it would be Healdsburg for climate and culture and access to outdoors stuff. I hope what I said helps

Yes thank you very much, we will be sure to take this into consideration. We are really leaning between healdsburg and Sebastopol and will be trying to make a trip out to those two places soon to really get a feel for them. They both sound wonderful, and it's good to know that climate is less of something we should really worry about. I'm sure anywhere will be considerably better than the hellhole called South Florida where we are lol!