Love children moving to Petaluma, are we going to hate it??!

[Steelhead69]

Well I grew up in Santa Cruz and have lived in Petaluma for the last decade or so, so a bit of perspective.

Petaluma is not a Santa Cruz vibe but they are similar in some ways. There is a cute downtown in Petaluma and nice older houses on the West-Side. There is no “beach” or sea-cliffs in Petaluma though, no real place to hangout like in SC. Both were cute unknown areas back before the dot-com boom and then were discovered and the money poured in. Housing prices skyrocketed and then ebbed and now they are both on the rise again. 20 years ago Petaluma was a true cow-town, considered podunk hick-town with some artists and eccentrics. A vein of this still exists there, which keeps things less-gentrified. The City Council continues to try and cram people into town, low-income housing and so forth…and so things change.

If you have the money the nicer, older, cuter homes are on the Westside, West of 101…but really West of the Petaluma River. If there is any snobbery this is where you will find it. There are pockets of people that moved there with money that seek social status, not necessarily because they find it a nice place to live. They want a “Marin” but don’t have the Marin money per se. Moms who wear gigantic sunglasses in yoga pants and drink mochachinos at the playground while talking on their latest iPhone and ignoring their children and the Mexican families. There are a LOT of nice people there though too, mostly the older folks that are happy with their houses, surroundings and have been there a while. Note that all through these nice older neighborhoods are small, cheap apartment complexes that can be dodgy. Learn your surroundings.

Eastside (East of 101), is suburban sprawl. I live there in one of the cookie-cutter suburban shoeboxes from the 60’s and as I am a blue-collar type of guy, actually prefer it, but wish I had a bigger yard. Not much, if any, snobbery here but you will find remnants of the “old” Sonoma County. 4x4 trucks, fishing boats (salt water), professional sports fans, country folks (white and brown), and regular folks trying to get by. The area closer to the freeway (on both sides) can be rough. Not dangerous per se. There are 3-4 major apartment complexes on the East Side which can be easily avoided with some research. Reports say these generate much of the crime/gangs/drugs in the area. Eastside houses are more boring, from the 60’s though the 80’s mostly and the trees are less mature and less overall character. The houses can be found more affordable here too though, still somewhat within reach of us upper-lower, lower-middle class types.

BTW, I commute down past SF and have for the past 12 years, a commute to Sonoma would be a dream for me. YMMV.

[kellbellemarie]

THank you so much for your response steelhead. Everything you said seems pretty spot on wih what we've experienced.

I will post an update when I get onto an actual computer. City-data On the iPhone sucks.

[Registrarln]

Hi, Kellbellmarie, did you ever make the move to Petaluma? I love living here. I'm on the west, rural side so my neighbors are mostly 4-legged. As with any town, there are wonderful areas, and pockets of bad spots But all in all I think it's very safe.

Rohnert Park has lots of apts/condos since there is a University there, but right across from the U and the west side is a very nice section. The East side now has a casino so....bad elements moving in. Santa Rosa...too suburban for me. And again, like any other town, the more people, the more crime.

I don't find people snobby at all. Higher income areas like Napa, Sonoma, Marin...are always going to have certain sort of folks. Lower income areas...Roseland in Santa Rosa, for example, are more prone to crime. Personally, I find most the people quite nice and friendly.

Having had a child in high school a while back, I'm personally not a fan of any of the schools out here. But if I had to pick some, Montgomery, Maria Carillo and Analy are probably the better ones.

$350k won't get you too far out here. Seems like starting homes in decent are areas at starting more in the $500s and $600s. Yes, it is outrageously expensive out here. I would strongly recommend renting and spending your time checking out all the different areas before you decide to buy.

Best of luck to you and your family.