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Old 08-13-2011, 03:15 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
25 posts, read 313,452 times
Reputation: 23

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My two kids and I are moving to northern California at the end of September. I'm trying to figure out the best place to live - where there are good schools (elementary and middle schools) for my kids. I would prefer to rent a small house with a yard but want to stay under $2,000/month so if that means renting a townhouse or apartment I'm open to that. Out of Rhonert Park, Petaluma and Santa Rosa - what are the pros and cons? The best schools? The safest neighborhoods? Thanks for your input!!
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Old 08-14-2011, 12:09 AM
 
Location: South Carolina
25 posts, read 313,452 times
Reputation: 23
*Rohnert Park* sorry....didn't catch that mistake before posting! Really interested in Rohnert Park - there seem to be some reasonable rentals listed...can anyone tell me the best area to live? Don't want to live in a bad part of town
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Old 08-14-2011, 01:50 AM
 
Location: The High Seas
7,373 posts, read 15,934,199 times
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Oh, Rohnert Park! Now I got ya!
I was never successful in finding a town there. I'd go with Petaluma and then Santa Rosa. I've heard there are some gang issues in S.R. and a search on this forum will turn up those posts.
Here is a good one for school performance:
California School Performance Maps
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Old 08-14-2011, 02:07 AM
 
Location: South Carolina
25 posts, read 313,452 times
Reputation: 23
Thanks for the info Snort!
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Old 08-14-2011, 10:19 PM
 
282 posts, read 615,464 times
Reputation: 389
I live in the are and will post the general lowdown on each for you.

Petaluma:PROS: Nice historic downtown, fairly safe, rolling hills, nice moderate climate(never really too hot), closer to SF, only 30-45 min. to GG bridge unless there is bad
traffic, commutable to Marin which has higher paying jobs & lots
to do, easy drive W.to Point Reyes coastline, easy drive E. to
Sonoma and the wine country, less people than SR, great creameries all around, Lagunitas brewery!

CONS: Highest rents, not too many good parks, conviently located
but not too exciting,traffic sucks pretty bad but not quite as
bas as SR, they are starting to develop more & more

Santa Rosa: PROS: High number of rentals, nice downtown
with Russian River Brewery & some nice resteraunts,
great parks such as Annadel,Spring lake,Sugarloaf,
Laguna de Santa Rosa,etc., easy drive to coast, easy
drive to redwoods & Russian river,Lake Sonoma,
decent jobs, good climate (can get hot in
summer,but only for bursts),wine country, good food
Great nature abounds outside city limits
1 hr. from SF traffic permitting

CONS: Traffic in town & on the 101 is a nightmare!!
Careful where you live, there are some really crappy
parts of town, mainly all on the South end & a few
bad neighborhoods(in your price range you will be
good, stay in Bennet valley,Rincon valley,Reibi valley,
Larkfield area and the areas out of city limits are nice)
Stores are busy, the #1 complaint I have with SR is
it's "Too big for it's briches", it otherwise has anything
you could want from a California small city near so
much nature. I love SR, but have thought about relocating
because of the overpopulation. Since you are renting I would live
outside of city limits or even in Sebastopol,Kenwood or Forestville.
Owning real estate outside of city limits here is almost twice as
expensive, but if you are renting & have $2,000 a month you should
be able to get something nice. If you have to live in town, I highly
recommend Bennet Valley, very nice area,safe,scenic,close to best parks.

Rhonert Park: PROS: ?, just kidding, but really RP isn't really a town, it is
just a Southern extention of SR. It is mainly very
tight packed suburban sprawl & garbage strip malls &
it houses Sonoma State University at the E. end.
If you have kids it has a bowling alley,mini golf,laser
tag, roller rink,etc. but I wouldn't recommend living
there, it is an easy drive from SR or Petaluma which
are both way nicer to live in.
CONS: Con unto it's self, it sucks, plus same traffic issues, it sucks


Also coming to CA from the East here are a few quick tips.
It costs a little more to live "in the country" here, in town is cheaper & busier generally
Some neighborhoods can look decent & be crap & have random STPs (Secret Tweeker Pads) & you might be the only one that can speak English on the S. end of Santa Rosa.
It doesn't rain for 4-6 months at all in the summer & then it rains a lot Nov.-April
Rhonert Park sucks & that's why it's cheap
Almost everybody smokes & grows "weed", haha, it's true, it's big up here
Liberal is the way of the walk (except the few random wealthy Republican folks,but even they get
drunk on wine all the time & some
grow weed because of the $$$ involved, they still hate Obama though,can't see how a "colored man" is running this show)
The freeway is busy & has a lot of construction/random BS so learn the backroads
Less is more here, you won't get a "huge" house for your $$$ & it's expensive but you're not
freezing your ass of in winter & there is no rain or humidity all summer long, so you
have to learn to appreciate the "quality of life", some Easterners never adapt

Last edited by BodegaHead; 08-14-2011 at 10:40 PM..
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Old 08-14-2011, 10:29 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
25 posts, read 313,452 times
Reputation: 23
Wow BodegaHead! Thanks for all the great information! I lived in Sonoma way back when (in high school) so I'm familiar with the area, but it's been 25 years so a lot has changed! I can't wait to get back to northern California to be closer to my family and friends.

I'm not afraid of commute time or traffic - right now I live in a tourist resort area and traffic half the year is a nightmare, the other half just a big pain in the arse...lol. I just want to pick a safe neighborhood close to parks and other recreation, and with access to a pool. And of course it MUST be in a good school zone.

I'm lucky in that I've got a job I can do from here in South Carolina or there in California. I've got resumes out as well to see what kind of response I get, but not in any huge crunch to find a job.
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Old 08-14-2011, 10:40 PM
 
282 posts, read 615,464 times
Reputation: 389
Oh so you're from here!
Then you know the lowdown then,haha. I'll leave those fun facts for others
wanting to move here then.

West Petaluma is great if you want to be closer to Marin & SF.
Bennett Valley is the nicest part of Santa Rosa & has great schools,scenery,safe neighborhoods & park access.

Last edited by BodegaHead; 08-14-2011 at 10:50 PM..
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Old 08-14-2011, 11:43 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
25 posts, read 313,452 times
Reputation: 23
LOL BodegaHead...yes, I lived there, but still need the input. It's a whole different ballgame when you're just a teenager...now I'm a divorced mom of two and have completely different priorities! I had heard Bennett Valley was a good place...I'll check out west Petaluma as well. Again, thanks for your help
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Old 08-16-2011, 12:54 PM
 
Location: Northern California
159 posts, read 488,652 times
Reputation: 87
Well I've lived in Santa Rosa and just only Santa Rosa in my 18 years. It's alright, but personally, I wanna get out of here. It's a decent place to raise kids though, I suppose. I think the Rincon Valley area is nice. A lot of people don't like Kawana Springs and Roseland, but personally I like those places. They look newer and are close to a lot of places to eat. However, the schools there aren't really nice, and a very large amount of students there are English-learners. The Rincon Valley schools are nice I suppose.

I kinda like Petaluma and Rohnert Park, but it seems like Rohnert Park's population is declining. Not many jobs out there for anybody, and that's lame because there's a lot of nice homes there.
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Old 08-16-2011, 02:43 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
25 posts, read 313,452 times
Reputation: 23
Thanks for the input CyanideThisles. I went to high school in Sonoma and I remember how much I wanted to leave! So I went into the Air Force....lol. I'm ready to raise my kids in the area I now love so much...I come back to visit my mom and brother and sister every year with my kids...
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