Living in Sebastopol, CA. Good for kids? Friendly? Housing market? (San Francisco: middle-class, condo)

[lovelightjoy]

Hi Runningwild. I just wondered if you have made any final decisions on Sebastopol? It is a pretty wonderful spot that suits your needs for the most part, from what you have described.

I lived and worked there 38 years ago and just recently visited for the first time since then. It is truly a beautiful place. The horse ranch I worked on still exists, totally unchanged (except for new owners). I was half expecting to see a housing tract there in its place, but the beauty of the area has remained unspoiled. I also found a man I owed $25 dollars to and paid him back (I offered him interest, he declined, he said he was happy that I could just get it off my mind). 38 years, and the guy is still there and happy to be living there. That really tells you something. Sebastopol had a good vibe 38 years ago and still does by my estimate. I have a gut feeling that the place will really work out for you and your family. Good luck to you.

[RunningWild]

Thanks, Lovelightjoy. I appreciate your input. It is amazing how much positive information I have received about Sebastopol! It makes me feel more confident about this possibility. I haven't decided where to go yet. My husband will likely make the trip out, in order to check it out, prior to us going out there, maybe next year. We'll see what he thinks. I am looking at Mill Valley, Sebastopol, and San Rafael, in that order. It all depends on our business' growth. It will also depend on whether or not I go to law school. I actually would probably choose Sebastopol first, as it seems more my style, but the law school location is keeping me closer to San Francisco. I hate to give up the thought of Sebastopol, but I also really would hate the drive.

The only thing about Sebastopol that I wonder is that I really like green and trees. I don't really love being in open fields. I think Sebastopol has a bit of both, but most of the time, I am seeing rolling hills. In Mill Valley, I am seeing more houses amongst the redwoods, which I like. On the other hand, I love that I could have a bit of property in Sebastopol so that I could have a garden and some animals. It's a bit of a toss up for me! It would be nice to have everything! Oh well.

[lrmsd]

I am finding most of the replies to this thread a bit bizarre, so I will chime in....Sebastopol is only about an hour from SFO; it's not some isolated place...you should find plenty of ph otos and info online.

Have you checked
greatschools dot net for school reviews?
Sebastopol Chamber of commerce for general info and links?
google search for photos?

Re: schools, Sebastopol has 2 waldorf charter public schools, a creative arts charter school, and two separate school districts-Twin Hills and Gravenstein are, I believe, their names-but google them to be sure.

Beyond that, Santa Rosa is only 20 min. or less away, depending on the area and time of day you are travelling. SR has numerous charter schools, as well; you can google charter schools in Sonoma County and get a full list. I'm not sure if you have many in Utah, but charters are big in CA and provide many additional options beyond the neighborhood school or private schools.

Mill Valley is beautiful, has a slighty more sophisticated/cosmopolitan/yuppie vibe, but still has an earth/crunchy thing going on.

Sebastopol is, as mentioned, alot of rolling hills, but you are literally twenty minutes away from forests and hiking. Spring Lake/Annadale State Park in Santa Rosa, Armstrong Redwoods in Russian River area, and numerous others. It's not like Sebastopol is desert and has no trees! It's in N CA, in a coastal county! Also, Novato is MUCH more barren looking, though again you would drive twenty minutes to mill valley or towards pt. reyes for woods and hiking. [As an aside, I completely agree with your assessment that Novato lacks community feel-it's a nice place, but spread out and larger than sebastopol, anyway.]

When looking in sebastopol, also check out Forestville for housing choices; you can get more for your money and land, and some locations are basicallly the outskirts of sebastopol. Twin Hills district in Sebastopol accepts enrollment fromo adjacent counties, and of course cities/towns, too.
Charter schools in CA are open to any student in the state of CA, with some first preference given to a resident of said town-depends on the school.

You could also check out Petaluma-a historic river town that may be bigger than you are hoping for-but it's a cute place with many resources and a good vibe-just north of Novato.

Another fabulous little town is Healdsburg. It is small town with a bit of european wine country charm. Great historic plaza, smaller than sonoma city and VERY commmunity feel, with awesome restaurants and shops. It's just north of Santa Rosa; I hear schools are excellent, as well. It's a throw back to the 50s in terms of friendliness, but progressive in terms of lifestyle, attitude and amenities.

As far as your being half japanese and looking Latino, this is not a concern whatsoever in sonoma county. For the most part, the Bay Area as a whole is relaxed and comfortable in that regard, in my experience. Noone will look twice or think twice about it, or even consider it.

I'm sure when you visit you will decide which spot is best for you, but do search the Chamber of Commerce and School District websites for any town you are looking at. The entire area is beautiful, and you might want to rent first anyway, before buying-giving yourself plenty of time to look around and choose the best option/spot for yourself.

Given the choice, this would be my order of preference (and I have children):
Sebastopol/surrounds/forestville area
Healdsburg
Some areas of Santa Rosa
Mill Valley
Petaluma

I would avoid:
San Rafael
Novato
Many areas of Santa Rosa

Also, a BIG thing to keep in mind is living 'in' the redwoods limits your sun and garden growing, as well as just basic daylight! big time. And that is often depressing for people, believe it or not. It's overcast and rainy much of the winter, so having some daylight is key. That said, Camp Meeker and Occidental, near Sebastopol, do have housing in the trees. They are more rural with the plusses and minuses of that, but just mentioning. Mill Valley has fires in summer and sometimes evacuations, downed trees and wires, etc. These are the downside of being 'in' the redwoods, vs. driving ten or twenty minutes to a park or hike to enjoy them.

Good luck.

[RunningWild]

Thank you, Irmsd, for your most insightful post! I appreciate it! It is very informative and helpful.

[RunningWild]

Irmsd, just out of curiosity, what is your general feeling about San Rafael? Why would you stay away from that area? Any info is helpful. Thanks!

[lrmsd]

San Rafael is a place that has grown in traffic and crime in the last few decades. There are great areas, and it's a very cool small city in many ways...but compared to the other areas you mentioned, I would not consider it due to traffic, cost of real estate (you won't get as much for your money), relative size (ie,mill valley may be pricey as well, but it's downtown is walkable and it's a small town comparably, with great schools and a community feel). San Rafael schools are not great, nor are Novato's or Sausalito's. I am sure some who live there and love it, will chime in and say their child's school is great. But if you live out of area and have a choice among locations, based on your stated desires, I would opt out of Novato San Rafael. They are too big with too much day to day traffic. I just don't know why you'd bother w/san rafael if you want a smaller more neighborly feel and good schools and land with room to garden.

If you are really set on exploring san rafael, look in the seminary area and terra linda (?) area...and search these threads for more info. There are numerous great private schools in that area, as well. But for good neighborhood schools, Mill Valley in Marin, and oh my gosh, ,I cannot believe I forgot to mention Fairfax! it's just west and north of Novato. It's a very earthy small town-slightly more hippie feel than mill valley. And just west of Fairfax would be Lagunitas, where you will find homes in and around the redwoods with more land. Prices in Fairfax are on par with Sebastopol, I believe, and slightly lower on average than Mill Valley.

Lagunitas is gorgeous, and their public school district is perhaps the most progressive in the nation, consisting of 3 elementary schools: one open classroom, a waldorf inspired, and a montessori. There is a small town just outside of Novato-called Nicasio- with an award winning k-8 one room school house-check their website; housing and land will be expensive due to smaller inventory and desireability.

Also, speaking of Sebastopol, Graton is a town just outside of it, and has some large lots and good gardening [the forest changes the soil composition, as well, making growing more limited, besides the sunlight]. The outskirts of Petaluma, and an area there called Penngrove, have numerous homes with animals and small ranches, as well as just people who want a lama or two or some goats-LOL. So you can check there.....

So, you can check Graton and Forestville, near Sebastopol, and add Fairfax to your list in addition to Mill Valley. Chamber of Commerce websites will be your friend.
Good Luck!

[GoldenStater]

I grew up in Sebastopol and my parents still live there. I would definitely recommend it as a great place to raise a family. The people there are very friendly and I have never experienced any snooty behavior. There is a wide range of people in the town from the ultra-liberal to the more conservative rancher and farmer types. The town is one of the only or few towns in the US to have a Green Party majority which may or may not appeal to you. There is even a sign when entering town that declares it a "Nuclear Free Zone" which is nice if a thermonuclear war ever breaks out. Although there is a definite hippy feel to the town, there are a lot of different more down to earth types as well. Not everyone there is wealthy and there isn't really a sense of exclusiveness.

The town has changed quite a bit in the last 10 years or so. It used to be known as a apple town with groves all over the region. Most of those groves have been replaced by vineyards. Personally I kind of miss the apple trees, but at least they still hold the Apple Blossom Festival every year which is one of the bigger happenings in the town.

As for the school system, I don't think there is any need to put your child in private school. Most people attend the local public schools for the most part. I went to junior high at Brook Haven which was a terrific and there is also Twin Hills and Gravenstein. Analy high school is a very good high school and Newsweek named it 184 on its list of 500 best high schools. I had a lot of great memories there.

http://sebastopol.towns.pressdemocra...e-of-the-best/

Overall I loved growing up in Sebastopol. At the time I thought it was a little boring, but looking back I realize how lucky I was to grow up there. Many of my friends and siblings feel the same way. If you are commuting to SF every day it might be a little rough. You are probably looking at a 1 hr drive minimum each way with traffic. Mill Valley is a very nice town as well, but there is a more of a yuppie/affluent vibe which comes with Marin County. San Rafael is an OK place as well, but it wouldn't be my first choice. You might check out Petaluma which has a lot of open space and is right off of 101, which will save you some commute time. If you like Mill Valley you might also check out nearby Larspur, which is nice and has a ferry station to take you into the city. Good luck!

[RunningWild]

Thank you, GoldenStater, for your information. I appreciate your input. I do hear a lot of great things about Sebastopol. I think if I don't attend law school, it will be my #1 place to check out further. I am glad to hear about the great schools. It is quite important to us. I've heard of Larspur, but haven't checked it out much. Thanks again for the info!

[RunningWild]

Does anybody have further details/information on Forestville, Healdsburg, Larkspur, Graton, Lagunitas or Fairfax? Looking for information on schools, community feel, type of people? Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

[thecooler]

Originally Posted by RunningWild

Does anybody have further details/information on Forestville, Healdsburg, Larkspur, Graton, Lagunitas or Fairfax? Looking for information on schools, community feel, type of people? Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

I'm not that familiar with all those towns, but:

Larkspur, is a really charming small town, often considered a twin city with Corte Madera. It has a cute downtown, but its very small, like 4 blocks. When I lived there I had neighbors who's husband worked in Modesto, but they lived in an apt in Larkspur specifically for the kids to go to Redwood High. It has a bit of snob factor, but its not as bad as neighboring Ross/Kentfield. Also note the flat parts of Larkspur will flood in big storms.

Fairfax I haven't spent as much time in, but it's bigger then Larkspur, and its a little more diverse in culture, it has upscale vegan restarants as well as funky dive bars and a famous little live music venue. Fairfax has more of laid back vibe then most of Marin. The primary disadvantage of living there, would be getting out of town to commute. The only way to get out is taking Sir Francis Drake Blvd, which can get really backed up during rush hour.

Healdsburg has a really charming town square, and as its the heart of Sonoma wine country its a great location if you like a slower pace of life and don't need or want to go to the city very often. It does have a pretty big snob factor, but my cousin who lives there is almost a hippy and she's friendly with almost everyone in town.