Best place to live and raise kids in Marin - Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Larkspur, Mill Valley, or Sausalito? (San Francisco: for sale)

[nsoman]

I'd welcome your thoughts and advice. My wife Anna and I recently moved from Seattle to San Francisco and then quickly on to Sausalito with our two sons (Boone, 3.5 years and Ben, 3 months).

We've love to stick around Sausalito - we like the proximity to water and the salty/artsy vibe - but as of today we're not planning on it because the public K-12 school system doesn't seem as strong here as the rest of Marin. Please let me know if missing something here. And the rest of Marin feels pretty peaceful and excellent to us too.

Some other big considerations: Stuff to do, Weather, Commute to SF (short commute via bike and ferry would be ideal; bus or car can work) and price.

Our short list also includes Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Larkspur, or Mill Valley.

Assuming we can afford a workable place in any of the above, where would you recommend we spend the next 10+ years?

Thanks,

Nick

[PixelatedTherapy]

Any of those will do. However, if you want better access to public transport, expand your search to San Rafael.

[Ruth4Truth]

Mill Valley and Larkspur are great for kids, IMO. Have you visited, and walked around those towns? Mill Valley has a redwood park in the residential section that kids play freely in, like their own backyard. There's commuter bus service to SF.
Larkspur has the advantage of a ferry service to SF, and is also nestled in the redwoods. Schools? I assume they're good, but can't say firsthand. You're very fortunate to be able to afford those places; IMO idyllic places to grow up.

[G Grasshopper]

Greenbrae would not leap to my mind as a kid-friendly place, although I have not lived there. Mill Valley has a reputation for kids' activities and programs. I believe the schools are good all around. Diversity? Not so much. Mill Valley is the shortest commute, unless you live on a little winding road up the mountain. Then it will take a long time to get to 101. These places are all close to Sausalito, so exploring them would be your best strategy here. Find out which place suits your family.

[Chuck5000]

Crucial to minimize your commute, for while Marin offers great lifestyle benefits in every other way, it is mostly a pretty bad place to commute to SF - unless you live very close to the ferry. That would be my choice: 10 minute max drive to the ferry, and SF jobs a short walk. That means financial district only, and puts a lot of 4th and King area jobs an additional 15 minutes away.

GG Transit buses are pretty OK, but they are not fast. Driving is very bad, unless you can arrive at the office at 10:30 or 11 and leave at 3pm. There will soon be a form of rail transit in Marin, but it will not be any faster than the current buses, just a nicer ride. And it won't yet connect to the ferry directly. Roads in the more rural parts of Marin leading to freeways get very backed up at rush hour; it's not just the freeway ride and toll that slow things down. So on the map many commutes look OK, but they are not OK in reality.

Marin is best for non-workers (hey, how about Belevedere or Mill Valley with a $5m view home....) and people who work in Marin, or who work in SF right near the ferry terminal or right near a GG Transit bus stop. For everyone else, it's hard to get below 75-90 minutes commute each way, twice a day.

Just run the numbers on commute times and you'll see. You can go to Golden Gate Transit's website to check ferry and bus times.

You are right about Sausalito schools....however commuting from there is great. Can you afford private school? Then consider it. You may want to consider Tiburon (also has a ferry) as well if you are in that price bracket. Tiburon has good public schools.

If you have to have access to the job markets in San Mateo or Santa Clara counties, Marin is atrocious, do not do it.

Most people from the Bay Area in tech who want to leave want to relocate to Seattle these days, maybe Austin is 2nd.

[ssmaster]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

Crucial to minimize your commute, for while Marin offers great lifestyle benefits in every other way, it is mostly a pretty bad place to commute to SF - unless you live very close to the ferry. That would be my choice: 10 minute max drive to the ferry, and SF jobs a short walk. That means financial district only, and puts a lot of 4th and King area jobs an additional 15 minutes away.

GG Transit buses are pretty OK, but they are not fast. Driving is very bad, unless you can arrive at the office at 10:30 or 11 and leave at 3pm. There will soon be a form of rail transit in Marin, but it will not be any faster than the current buses, just a nicer ride. And it won't yet connect to the ferry directly. Roads in the more rural parts of Marin leading to freeways get very backed up at rush hour; it's not just the freeway ride and toll that slow things down. So on the map many commutes look OK, but they are not OK in reality.

Marin is best for non-workers (hey, how about Belevedere or Mill Valley with a $5m view home....) and people who work in Marin, or who work in SF right near the ferry terminal or right near a GG Transit bus stop. For everyone else, it's hard to get below 75-90 minutes commute each way, twice a day.

Just run the numbers on commute times and you'll see. You can go to Golden Gate Transit's website to check ferry and bus times.

You are right about Sausalito schools....however commuting from there is great. Can you afford private school? Then consider it. You may want to consider Tiburon (also has a ferry) as well if you are in that price bracket. Tiburon has good public schools.

If you have to have access to the job markets in San Mateo or Santa Clara counties, Marin is atrocious, do not do it.

Most people from the Bay Area in tech who want to leave want to relocate to Seattle these days, maybe Austin is 2nd.

As the average price of the single family family homes for sale in Sausalito is >$2.5 million. If you can afford to buy and love the area I would consider private school

[RMESMH]

Mill Valley. I have a bit of a bias though...multiple households within my family live there, and I used to live there. I also have family in Ross, Tiburon, Novato, and Corte Madera, but I prefer Mill Valley.

[raider21]

you are a very lucky fellow. For 95% of us , Marin is just a dream. Good luck, Im sure you'll be fine wherever you go but i agree with the Mill Valley choice