Petaluma (Santa Rosa, Redding, Napa: apartments, to rent, condos)

[WannaBNorCal]

Random, but serious question:
Why am I only finding at max 3 places to rent there???
Most seem to be in Rohonert (SP?) Park, and I heard the crime there is high?
I'm fnding more in Santa Rosa too, isn't SR the last 'major' city, before one hits the Boonies toward the border of CA and OR?

Any input would be helpful--thanks!

[ImRandy]

No, I wouldn't consider Santa Rosa the last "major" city. Redding is also has over 100,000.

[Macrina]

Originally Posted by ImRandy

No, I wouldn't consider Santa Rosa the last "major" city. Redding is also has over 100,000.

But Redding is basically northernmost Valley; Santa Rosa is considered more a coastal city, though it is about 30-40 minutes from the coast, in the coastal corridor.

BTW, I lived in Santa Rosa for many years & loved it There's a night/day climate difference in the two cities...trust me. Feel free to send a DM if you want more info about Santa Rosa or the surrounding area. And....not all of Rohnert Park is crime-ridden....at least that used to be the case.

[caligirl1082]

Decent housing is hard to find anywhere in Petaluma/Santa Rosa area, unless you want to pay close to $2,000, and there's hardly ever any decent housing available. I'm crammed into a tiny little place, and have been looking for something bigger for months and have had no luck (looking for a 2 bed house under $1400).
Rohnert Park isn't a bad place to live - I have a lot of friends there and I've never heard of them having a problem with crime. Petaluma is very cute and is still a major cow town - there's the "Sonoma Aroma" that gets pretty bad certain times of the year (but you get used to it).
SR is one of the last major cities, but there's still lots of good size towns up north not that far away - Healdsburg & Windsor are cute towns and not totally small.
Santa Rosa isn't bad - that's where I live. Rent is a little bit cheaper then Petaluma, and I personally like the town better then Rohnert Park - Roh Po has a bunch of condos and apartments, and the houses are not as nice as some of the neighborhoods in SR. If you do look for places in SR stay away from the West side of the freeway (Roseland area) that area is SUPER ghetto. You're pretty much safe anywhere in Petaluma, though the West side is my favorite - cute victorians and walking distance to downtown.

[Macrina]

Originally Posted by caligirl1082

Decent housing is hard to find anywhere in Petaluma/Santa Rosa area, unless you want to pay close to $2,000, and there's hardly ever any decent housing available. I'm crammed into a tiny little place, and have been looking for something bigger for months and have had no luck (looking for a 2 bed house under $1400).
Rohnert Park isn't a bad place to live - I have a lot of friends there and I've never heard of them having a problem with crime. Petaluma is very cute and is still a major cow town - there's the "Sonoma Aroma" that gets pretty bad certain times of the year (but you get used to it).
SR is one of the last major cities, but there's still lots of good size towns up north not that far away - Healdsburg & Windsor are cute towns and not totally small.
Santa Rosa isn't bad - that's where I live. Rent is a little bit cheaper then Petaluma, and I personally like the town better then Rohnert Park - Roh Po has a bunch of condos and apartments, and the houses are not as nice as some of the neighborhoods in SR. If you do look for places in SR stay away from the West side of the freeway (Roseland area) that area is SUPER ghetto. You're pretty much safe anywhere in Petaluma, though the West side is my favorite - cute victorians and walking distance to downtown.

Sorry to hear that rents have gone that high in SR, but not really surprised. Is the downtown area still thriving in terms of shops, amenities? (Sorry, this might be hijacking the thread..perhaps you can DM me the answer, CaliGirl) It IS such a great place to live, IMHO that is part of what drives up the market.

[WannaBNorCal]

Originally Posted by caligirl1082

Decent housing is hard to find anywhere in Petaluma/Santa Rosa area, unless you want to pay close to $2,000, and there's hardly ever any decent housing available. I'm crammed into a tiny little place, and have been looking for something bigger for months and have had no luck (looking for a 2 bed house under $1400).
Rohnert Park isn't a bad place to live - I have a lot of friends there and I've never heard of them having a problem with crime. Petaluma is very cute and is still a major cow town - there's the "Sonoma Aroma" that gets pretty bad certain times of the year (but you get used to it).
SR is one of the last major cities, but there's still lots of good size towns up north not that far away - Healdsburg & Windsor are cute towns and not totally small.
Santa Rosa isn't bad - that's where I live. Rent is a little bit cheaper then Petaluma, and I personally like the town better then Rohnert Park - Roh Po has a bunch of condos and apartments, and the houses are not as nice as some of the neighborhoods in SR. If you do look for places in SR stay away from the West side of the freeway (Roseland area) that area is SUPER ghetto. You're pretty much safe anywhere in Petaluma, though the West side is my favorite - cute victorians and walking distance to downtown.

Thanks for the responses, especially re: ghetto...
I'm an OC native, born and raised, lived in Marin for 10 months, then fell in love with that "very cute major cow town" after only 3 weeks. I really liked the Starbucks, the atmosphere, the shops, but I may get sick of it after a while. Maybe I'll check out SR while I'm there.
I never got to downtown SR, is that anywhere near McDowell-where Mervyns shopping center is? Or is that still Petaluma?
Question for anyone--What is the next offramp after Petaluma Blvd. South?
Would that, then, be the city of SR?

[Macrina]

Ya, Petaluma Blvd North is still in Petaluma.... keep going North and it's pretty clearly marked which is the downtown exit. And downtown is on the East side of the freeway, but the old historic downtown is on the west side, and each side has it's own charm, IMHO.

Yikes! Not remembering details very well, but I've been North in WA for a few years now.

I *think* the next exit after PBN is one of the Cotati exits, possibly Railroad Ave...you'll be going North for a while after that before getting to SR.....

OK ~ now I'm homesick *wanders off with a sigh & a sniffle*

[caligirl1082]

SR's downtown is sort of thriving - I am biased towards Petaluma's downtown, I think it has more charm - but, SR is getting several new bars, Mary's Pizza just opened last week, there are several good restaurants, cute shops, and the Last Day Saloon has great bands almost every weekend. I live about 5 min. walk from SR downtown and my friends & I go out all the time.
McDowell/Mervyn's is still Petaluma - the south end.
After Petaluma Blvd S heading north is E Washington (last downtown exit) and then PVN (last Petaluma exit), then you'll hit Cotati, Rohnert Park, SR. SR is about 11 minutes north of Petaluma. Downtown is like 4 exits into SR, and yes, clearly marked. there's a bunch of freeway construction going on so it's a bit confusing - I've actually missed my exit several times! lol.

[austinodo]

The real nice restaurants ( that aren't marys pizza) are very close to you also. A quick drive is all it takes to reach the Napa Valley and the upper valley above the city.

[jdog707]

[quote=caligirl1082;1876408]Decent housing is hard to find anywhere in Petaluma/Santa Rosa area, unless you want to pay close to $2,000, and there's hardly ever any decent housing available. I'm crammed into a tiny little place, and have been looking for something bigger for months and have had no luck (looking for a 2 bed house under $1400).
Rohnert Park isn't a bad place to live - I have a lot of friends there and I've never heard of them having a problem with crime. Petaluma is very cute and is still a major cow town - there's the "Sonoma Aroma" that gets pretty bad certain times of the year (but you get used to it).
SR is one of the last major cities, but there's still lots of good size towns up north not that far away - Healdsburg & Windsor are cute towns and not totally small.
Santa Rosa isn't bad - that's where I live. Rent is a little bit cheaper then Petaluma, and I personally like the town better then Rohnert Park - Roh Po has a bunch of condos and apartments, and the houses are not as nice as some of the neighborhoods in SR. If you do look for places in SR stay away from the West side of the freeway (Roseland area) that area is SUPER ghetto. You're pretty much safe anywhere in Petaluma, though the West side is my favorite - cute victorians and walking distance to downtown.[/quot

Roseland isn't the only ghetto apple valley and west ninth are also extremely bad