Community Colleges in Marin or Sonoma County (Los Angeles, San Francisco: school, earthquake)

[Stacy From Cali]

One thing to note about SRJC is that if you are moving from out of state it will cost you more, so that is something worth looking into (and I think it takes 2 years to get Cali residency instead of one).

The neighborhoods you are looking at vary widely in price, so perhaps that should be a consideration. Anything in Marin will cost more than it is worth simply for the status value. I am a huge fan of Sonoma/Napa counties though both for affordability and beauty. There is also a community college in Napa.

Petaluma, Sonoma and Cotati are cute towns. Napa and Rohnert Park are a bit more corporate-cookie cutter. I've lived in them all and I think I like Sonoma the best, but it would be a bit of a drive to SRJC depending where in Sonoma you lived (Kenwood/Glen Elen might be a better choice). There are cute and safe parts of Santa Rosa too.

[northbayeric]

I would stick to "the JC" (Santa Rosa Junior College) and avoid Sonoma State in favor of some place else for the four-year degree.

Beware of the parking situation at the JC. There is a fairly new parking garage next to it, but I would try walking or taking the Santa Rosa CityBus if you can (see http://www.srcity.org/citybus) .

[G Grasshopper]

Are you or a spouse going to be working in the area? Where you live may also depend on that. If, for example, you are working in Marin but living in Sonoma county, you will have a terrible commute. Basically, you would want to live close to where you work if you can. The transportation system in the North Bay is still basically the freeway, with some local additions such as busses, etc. I had a great experience with College of Marin, but as an adult, not a new college kid. I took two classes at Santa Rosa JC - a great experience, too. I have several friends whose kids started out at SRJC then moved to bigger universities after a couple of years. I have heard nothing but praise.

[radarville]

I noticed that college of Marin has two campus, one in Novato and one in Kentfield. Is there a difference? We are primarily looking in the Novato or Sonoma areas. We seem to like them both. Greenbrae looks nice, but a bit pricey. We also like the look of Atherton, but it also seems to be pricier. My husbands company is opening a new office in San Rafael. They currently have an office in Tiburon. Can anyone tell me where the malls and what kind of stores are around?

[Stacy From Cali]

Would your husband have to drive to San Rafael during rush hour? The commute from Sonoma County to San Rafael(down 101) is really awful...so you might want to confine your search to Marin.

My Mom does this drive every day and swears it's taking years off of her life. It often takes her 1.5 hours from Petaluma; a drive that takes about 20 minutes with no traffic.

[radarville]

Originally Posted by Stacy From Cali

Would your husband have to drive to San Rafael during rush hour? The commute from Sonoma County to San Rafael(down 101) is really awful...so you might want to confine your search to Marin.

My Mom does this drive every day and swears it's taking years off of her life. It often takes her 1.5 hours from Petaluma; a drive that takes about 20 minutes with no traffic.

Stacy from Cali,

My husband would have to drive to San Rafael during Rush Hour, if we choose to live in Sonoma. I keep hearing that the drive is a "nightmare". We also hear how charming Sonoma is. We might settle down in the Novato area. It is probably closer and not as much of a traffic problem. Would this be correct? Also I believe Marrin College would be convenient for my kids.

[radarville]

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

Are you or a spouse going to be working in the area? Where you live may also depend on that. If, for example, you are working in Marin but living in Sonoma county, you will have a terrible commute. Basically, you would want to live close to where you work if you can. The transportation system in the North Bay is still basically the freeway, with some local additions such as busses, etc. I had a great experience with College of Marin, but as an adult, not a new college kid. I took two classes at Santa Rosa JC - a great experience, too. I have several friends whose kids started out at SRJC then moved to bigger universities after a couple of years. I have heard nothing but praise.

G. Grasshopper

I noticed that college of Marin has two campus, one in Novato and one in Kentfield. Is there a difference? We are primarily looking in the Novato or Sonoma areas. We seem to like them both. Greenbrae looks nice, but a bit pricey. We also like the look of Atherton, but it also seems to be pricier. My husbands company is opening a new office in San Rafael. They currently have an office in Tiburon. Can anyone tell me where the malls and what kind of stores are around? We have a lot of malls and strips malls here. Bestbuys, Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart, Ross, Dillards, Macys, you name it, we have it!!

[Stacy From Cali]

Both Marin and Sonoma counties have all the stores you mentioned above (except Dillards...which is owned by Macys now anyways). The closest shopping to most of Novato is off of Rowland Blvd (called Vintage Oaks Mall...but its not really a mall). It is anchored by Cost-Co, Target, and a Macy's furniture store but has a bunch of other stuff too (including a Marshalls and a Ross I believe).

San Rafael has the Northgate Shopping Center which has the real Macys...and is a mall. San Rafael also has a kick-butt downtown area which is a great place to go for food, shopping and coffee. There is lots of shopping in Corte Madera too (mostly more upscale stores). The Bay Area has everything...seriously...and Marin is where all the rich folks live so the shopping is great.

That being said in Novato you would only be a 40 minute drive from San Francisco, which has an internationally renowned shopping area on Market street Downtown.

For groceries there is the regular stores like Safeway, but Novato also has its own Trader Joes and they are currently building a Whole Foods there.

Sorry I can't help with Marin community college info except to note that the Novato campus is out at the end of Ignacio Blvd so it is pretty central to Novato and San Rafael.

[radarville]

Originally Posted by Stacy From Cali

Both Marin and Sonoma counties have all the stores you mentioned above (except Dillards...which is owned by Macys now anyways). The closest shopping to most of Novato is off of Rowland Blvd (called Vintage Oaks Mall...but its not really a mall). It is anchored by Cost-Co, Target, and a Macy's furniture store but has a bunch of other stuff too (including a Marshalls and a Ross I believe).

San Rafael has the Northgate Shopping Center which has the real Macys...and is a mall. San Rafael also has a kick-butt downtown area which is a great place to go for food, shopping and coffee. There is lots of shopping in Corte Madera too (mostly more upscale stores). The Bay Area has everything...seriously...and Marin is where all the rich folks live so the shopping is great.

That being said in Novato you would only be a 40 minute drive from San Francisco, which has an internationally renowned shopping area on Market street Downtown.

For groceries there is the regular stores like Safeway, but Novato also has its own Trader Joes and they are currently building a Whole Foods there.

Sorry I can't help with Marin community college info except to note that the Novato campus is out at the end of Ignacio Blvd so it is pretty central to Novato and San Rafael.

Thank Stacy from Cali,

You have been most helpful. This is information is great!! I am glad to hear about Trader Joes and Whole Foods, since my daughter and I are vegetarians. My husband and son are the "meat eaters". It's nice to know that there are regular stores to go to. I was under the impression that it was all just small speciality shops in downtown areas. This helps to create a better picture of the area.
Question - have you live through any "earthquakes". I know many states have their own issues. I lived in Florida and experienced several hurricanes. Lived in Colorado and saw a couple of tornadoes, but never an earthquake. I currently live in Arizona and have experience several dusts storms and living with these "scorpions", ugh!! What is your honest impression of Northern Calif. Would you live any other place?

[Stacy From Cali]

I've lived in Oregon, Michigan, California (both Bay Area and Los Angeles) and am currently in...sigh...Omaha Nebraska (and let me tell ya, as a fellow vegetarian, there is nothing to eat in Omaha)! I would give almost anything to be back in the Bay Area. I love it, and see it as my home.

I lived in California for a total of 13 years and only felt one earthquake (I was not here for the '89 Loma Prieta nor 94 Northridge quakes). It was a bit odd, but one nice thing about earth quakes is there is no tension/fear buildup beforehand like there is for hurricanes and tornados.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that the Bay Area has wonderful farmers markets. The ones in North Bay are in Novato, San Rafael, Petaluma, Sonoma, Napa and Santa Rosa. There is a great one in San Francisco on Saturdays at the Ferry Building.

Marin Farmers Market
Sonoma County and Surrounding Area Farm Markets (http://www.farmtrails.org/farm_markets.html - broken link)

Sonoma county also has a great program called Farm Trails (I love it!) where you can drive around to local farms and buy right from the source. They have a really great list (with map) accessable from the second website above.

Glad to be of help.