Film or Video Jobs in Marin / Sonoma? (Napa: apartments, rent)

[Nomadtv]

My Wife and I are moving to Kenwood in april to help my godfather out. rent is relatively cheap but we dont want to stay there forever. We Love the area, but are worried about Jobs, Housing and commutes.

Jobs:

HER: in hotel work as a concierge, is Japanese with a thick accent but extremly friendly hard working reliable ect. Ive read that there is a bit of potential racism in Sonoma county, will she have a harder time getting a Job? Seems that there are alot of high end hotels and the like there Correct? She would prefer to stay in SR/sonoma/possibly Napa...

ME: Cinematographer and Videographer/Gaffer occasional photograher. I have a good deal of equipment (one ton truck with lights, camera equipment ect) Can I make a living as a freelance camera guy without having to constantly drive into the city? I suspect theres a bit of wedding work (not my first choice but it can be fun and if it pays the bills...) around wine country, but are there any other markets for me? I do alot of lighting for corporate work here in Seattle as well as Image magnification for Conferences, I also get a fair amount of music videos, low budget features and documentary work. Anyone familiar with this industry and how it relates north of the GG or even for SF in general?

Housing:

First several months will be at $600 a month to share a nice 2 bedroom house with my godfather. after that well want our own place. Together we make around $50 to $60K or more a year depending on how well Ill be able to stay busy (see above). We live in a place about 1000Sq ft now and are comfortable. we have a dog, need a yard a place to park 3 vehicles (one is a huge 15' box truck) and want to stay away from apartments condos ect. we can probably afford $1200 to $1300 a month if we can avoid the SF commutes which would eat up our gas. can we find good places for this in the area?

Some have said that SR has areas of gangs and ghetto infestations, is this true? compared to seattle or SF? I never saw that when there but spent very little time in SR proper, always in kenwood. how bad is it really and where should we avoid?

and lastly
Commutes: I know I will often pick up clients in the city and have to make the drive. From SR is it doable? if I need to be in downtown at 8am when would I need to leave SR? should I do 101 all the way or would back roads be better? in seattle the wife routinely does about 30 minutes and sometimes 45. if she needs to get from kenwood to Napa, or marin, what kinds of times is she facing?

Any advise or knowledge would be huge as were more than a little nervouse, but we know we like the area and need to be in a warmer place. if we can find jobs, housing and wont have a really bad commute then it will work well.

Thanks so much, love this site and the community, has been a great help!