Moving from Minneapolis to Santa Rosa area-Help!

[NightTerrors]

I have lived in Santa Rosa my whole life and I can't recommend any schools. I don't even think the private schools are great. That being said, most of the schools are fine. This is not a "dangerous" city to live in. If you raise intelligent children then they should thrive anywhere in Santa Rosa. Rincon Valley is fine. It tends to be a little more expensive then the rest of the city. I do not recommend the apartments in RV. There are a few really slummy ones. But, you could rent/buy a house anywhere in RV and probably be happy.

[swedishmommy]

Josh, I just happened across your thread. My husband and I are moving (possibly moving...) to the area also, and we have three small kids...two of which will be in school (kindergarten and 2nd) in the fall. My husband will commute to Oakland once a week, and we're considering Petaluma and Sebastopol. Both seem to be "family friendly", but kind of expensive. Hell, we're living in in Nashville right now and EVERYTHING in Cali is expensive in comparison. So, good luck to you and your family. Just know that others are in your same position!

[Roccaluma]

I was an older teenager in Rincon valley. It was deserted and quiet at night we used to walk around high at three in the morning. It is an upscale place now. My friends house went from 180k when he bought it to as much as 650k in the last boom. People will pay alot more for the better schools there. It has a newer well run library. At the home prices now or a year from now it might have price appreciation of 50% or so in 5-10 years. This area has priced me out. I have seen people in that area working class live in garages to help make rent more affordable. Parking can be a big problem at times because some of your neighbors might be renting out rooms and crowd the street with as many as five cars per house. And I think you were Swedish, lots of good old volvos and 900 saabs, I presently drive an 240.

[Roccaluma]

If you like tie dye and aging hippies then Sebastopol might be for you. They have a serious liberal progressive granola health food atmosphere. They do not grow that much. I just moved from Petaluma, and it is a little more expensive than Santa Rosa because it is closer to Marin and SanFrancisco by about twenty miles. Not much shopping, to get to Best Buy, Costco, and Walmart requires a ten to twenty mile drive to Rohnert park or Santa Rosa

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by Roccaluma

If you like tie dye and aging hippies then Sebastopol might be for you. They have a serious liberal progressive granola health food atmosphere. They do not grow that much. I just moved from Petaluma, and it is a little more expensive than Santa Rosa because it is closer to Marin and SanFrancisco by about twenty miles. Not much shopping, to get to Best Buy, Costco, and Walmart requires a ten to twenty mile drive to Rohnert park or Santa Rosa

What the heck does this have to do with the OP?...ummm...nothing.

[mkdude_08]

Hi - about a year ago we did the opposite move (from the Bay Area to MPLS). I'm not familiar with the area in the Bay you're looking at, but can offer information on the Dublin, Pleasanton, and San Ramon areas if you ever need it

[Roccaluma]

I just thought that they were looking at the Santa Rosa area in general and might consider Sebastopol which is 10 miles away. I think someone else chimed in and wanted to know about the various cities in the Santa Rosa area. I think it was relevant. They could be into tiedye and granola and therefore Sebastopol would be a better city for them.