Is Marin worth it? (airport, design, suburbs)

[Mr. Fantastic]

You pay for what you get!

[lrmsd]

wow-i lived in sfo and would move to sonoma or marin in a heartbeat, over any of the other bay areas....i currently do live in so cal, but it's not really my thing-it's interesting you say many from so cal move to marin-i think it's b/c marin is very liveable-not water activities, but bike and hike trails, proximity to amenities/the city, plus, i mean, the restaurants and food markets in marin are comparable to sfo!
The east, south bay and peninsula-well, i could easily do without visiting them ever. i know oakland and berkeley have their charms and resources, but i could never get past leaving sfo just for them-and i did try it quite often....

lamorinda, etc are fine communities-but IMO yes, marin is more than worth it. And real estate values there remain constant.

However, if real estate is your main reason for living in these areas, what can I say?
I dont think you choose either locale for it's affordable real estate-you may even want to rent. If you love the amenities, beauty, and lifestyle of marin, live there...if you want mor ehouse for your money, choose lamorinda. i know this post is old-but wanted to comment.

[lmk1707]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

wow-i lived in sfo

I realize this is nit-picky of me, but just as some people can't stand the phrase "San Fran," I can't stand "SFO." How come you call it by its airport designation? Is that frequently done in some part of the country? Do you refer to "LAX" or "ORD" when talking about LA or Chicago? Not being sarcastic, totally curious.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by lmk1707

I realize this is nit-picky of me, but just as some people can't stand the phrase "San Fran," I can't stand "SFO." How come you call it by its airport designation? Is that frequently done in some part of the country? Do you refer to "LAX" or "ORD" when talking about LA or Chicago? Not being sarcastic, totally curious.

I totally agree- I have the same pet peeve. Nobody lives at "SFO" and anyone from the SF/Bay Area would never use this term.

[OrangeCoriander]

Interesting. My thought was maybe it came from where points of presence for data centers were or physical locations of network gear or server installations, because those are often referred to by airport codes (even though they have nothing to do with airports). I was fully ready to place the blame on Silicon Valley.

[imcurious]

I would vote for Marin, hands down! Access to the City - Marin is beautiful! Not a fan of the East Bay suburbs or landscape. But that's just me.

[ecvMatt]

Originally Posted by ambient

Marin is great....if you're a multi-millionaire. Otherwise, don't bother because there isn't much there for you.

B.S. I live in Marin and am dirt poor. I have lived in other parts of the Bay Area, Sacramento, the North Coast(Humboldt) as well as out of state. In California, I wouldn't choose any other place to live. I work with and for the "millionaires," generally really nice people. This place is great, if you aren't an aforementioned millionaire, it will take a little while to find a place that suits your needs and is affordable, but it can be done. It is not just for the rich, although there are plenty here.

[sliverbox]

I used to work in Marin. I never really cared for it. Yes- its a very wealthy city full of a lot of what I would call "old" money. I have never liked affluent neighborhoods because they feel stuffy and fake.

[batransplant]

This is why I love living in Marin. Yesterday I woke up and had coffee on my deck looking out to Richardson Bay, SF Bay, Downtown SF, Belvedere and Sausalito. Oh and when I turn my head to the right I have a dead center view of Mt. Tam. Then my family drove 5 min to a mellow waterfront Farmers Market in the newly redeveloped Marin Country Mart where we had fresh veggie juices, and my daughter danced to live music, rode a pony and pet some bunnies and a lamb. There were tons of other families hanging out there with kids my daughters age too, which is pretty cool. The weather was perfect.

After that we decided to get some fresh cheese and oysters so we drove 30 min through west Marin on a gorgeous drive to Tomales bay. Stopped at Cowgirl Creamery, picked up some cheese, and headed to Hog Island Oyster Co. for a picnic w/ some chilled wine and oysters. Then we decided to take our daughter to a calm beach so we drove 10 min north to Dillon Beach where we walked for a couple miles collecting seashells, playing at the shore and examining rock formations, caves, and tide pools w/ starfish and little crabs. (this is very exciting to a 21/2 yo)

While heading home, we drove by open pastures, little farms and saw horses, llamas, sheep, lamb, goat, pigs, and cows along the way. Got back home in 45 min. with zero traffic in either direction I might add in time for dinner, and the view of the glittering SF skyline from my living room windows.

I think I made the right choice for where to settle in the bay area. There is so much to do and see here. It will take years to do everything Marin, and adjacent Sonoma, Napa and San Francisco have to offer. The best of the bay area is all within 15-30 min of my house.

Marin rocks!

[legal_eagle]

I lived in Marin for 4 years as a single dad. Marin is not really my cup of tea, although I know a lot of people love it. I found it to be very boring and oddly snobbish and somewhat backwards at the same time. Many parts have a rural/ramshackle feel to them--although Marinites claim that this constitutes "charm." For example, while the three blocks of downtown San Anselmo are nice, the residential areas have narrow streets with a weird mish-mash of houses that look like they've been sort of thrown together over time. It gets even worse in Fairfax. If you go out to San Geronimo/Woodacre it feels like you're in the Appalachians. For "fun" there are small joints here and there where cover bands play music from the 70's. I also thought that a lot of the parents were very checked out when it came to keeping tabs on their kids. Teenagers, even in "good" areas like San Anselmo, tend to roam about freely and couch surf a lot, with their parents not hearing from them for days. So expect a lot of push back from your kids if you think parents should actually know where their children are at 3:00 a.m.

If you like self-congratulation, preciousness, and warmed-over hippie ethos, you'll probably like Marin.