Seeking Sun ... How about Petaluma? (San Francisco, Sacramento: apartment, rent, loft)

[modjadje]

Hi all,
I will appreciate input re. the 'sun index' (smile) of Petaluma vs. SF. I know SF get those nasty fogs in summer ... and i am a South African expat, 22 years in the States, but still needing way more sun than what i have been getting in the PNW (Eugene, in particular). And no, i don't want to move to Arizona ... my support network of friends are in Sacramento, So. Oregon, Eugene, and Portland.

I am a 64-year old single woman artist, who loves to go to the ocean. Would love to meet Mr Right, so no communities of primarily retired couples, please. The max rent that i can afford is $900. I have my own car but would like to go to SF using public transport, to visit museums etc.

From reading on this forum, I've dropped Napa from my list. I like what i read about Petaluma having a college ... I am not a real city person, so am trying for the smaller towns, and not as far north as Santa Rosa.

Any advice for me, please? I thank you in advance.
Dee

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by modjadje

Hi all,
I will appreciate input re. the 'sun index' (smile) of Petaluma vs. SF. I know SF get those nasty fogs in summer ... and i am a South African expat, 22 years in the States, but still needing way more sun than what i have been getting in the PNW (Eugene, in particular). And no, i don't want to move to Arizona ... my support network of friends are in Sacramento, So. Oregon, Eugene, and Portland.

I am a 64-year old single woman artist, who loves to go to the ocean. Would love to meet Mr Right, so no communities of primarily retired couples, please. The max rent that i can afford is $900. I have my own car but would like to go to SF using public transport, to visit museums etc.

From reading on this forum, I've dropped Napa from my list. I like what i read about Petaluma having a college ... I am not a real city person, so am trying for the smaller towns, and not as far north as Santa Rosa.

Any advice for me, please? I thank you in advance.
Dee

Petaluma is definitely warmer and sunnier than San Francisco. Interestingly enough, it also gets a few more days of rain than SF as the rainfall increases significantly as you go north of the Golden Gate. It does get colder at night there in winter.

I don't know if you could get your own apartment there for $900 a month, maybe a studio.

I'm not sure if there is a bus to San Francisco from there or not.

Tyger

[happ]

I think you would like Petaluma for it's warm summer days & mild winters. Actually Marin county\ San Rafael\ San Anselmo\ Novato are also quite nice during summer [little wind or fog & much warmer than San Francisco].

[modjadje]

Tyger and happ,
Thank you for your input ...
happ, as I read your post and see San Rafael, San Anselmo and Novato also suggested, I wonder whether there is a factor re. travel to SF city that I should consider ... would the Golden Gate Bridge be the best access from all of them? Is there perhaps another bridge I should favor because of cheaper toll and not as much congestion re getting to North Bay area?

Yes, I realized that I probably will have to downsize to a studio ... if there is a loft for my bed, that is OK with me but not otherwise. I need a spot to do my painting, with good light, so will be focusing on units with good natural light. Oh, it's a bit scary ... but i have moved by myself before, driving a U-Haul truck with my little 2000 RAV towed behind on a trailer ... and will just have to muster the energy again. Cannot survive another winter emotionally here in Eugene. Just me ... even the 1,000 LUX sunlamp and megadoses of Vit D didn't work well enough.

Looking forward to more input, please ...
Dee

[happ]

From Petaluma & Marin county the only viable route to San Francisco is over the Golden Gate bridge. Marin county is not very economical but there are many artists in the area. You can also take the ferry from Sausalito to San Francisco.

[Stacy From Cali]

There is a bus into San Fran from Petaluma. It's the Golden Gate Transit 80 line. Personally though I would rather drive, even with the $6.00 toll over the bridge. The bus takes forever.

[modjadje]

so the weather in these 3 towns/areas are about the same, with it being warmer, little fog ... right up my alley

So how do they compare re safety and expensiveness? I was going to write 'affordability' but thought the other adjective is more descriptive ... chuckle.

happy to hear from you ...

Dee

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by happ

I think you would like Petaluma for it's warm summer days & mild winters. Actually Marin county\ San Rafael\ San Anselmo\ Novato are also quite nice during summer [little wind or fog & much warmer than San Francisco].

Though the weather is almost always nicde in Marin county it can get warm.I remember, many years ago we had a room air conditioner in NOvato..One summer we had about a week of really warm weather for that area. We never knew how many friends we had, the air conditioner brought them to our house in the early evenings..

and yes, you will need to use the Golden Gate Bridge to get into Marin County and Petaluma.

Nita

[SonomaCo]

Petaluma is definitely less expensive, and is a great town to live in. If I were going to SF, I'd go in on the commute buses that Golden Gate Transit runs, because they are much quicker than the mid-day buses. They don't stop and pick people up once they leave Petaluma. I wouldn't drive unless it was mid-day, because the traffic is awful during the commute hours. Parking is expensive in SF and there is the bridge toll.

[grapico]

Petaluma AND Sebastopol are both cool towns...

I would drive in though... The bus is what 7-8 both ways???

I am going to be commuting from there as well and gonna be better to drive in...maybe I am wrong though...might be better to park in petaluma and take the bus??? Or would it be cheaper to drive and park...? I am moving out to Sonoma in August...