Looking at Roseland, (San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Petaluma: fit in, homes, safe area)

[waltbreen]

Hi, my partner and I, both originally from San Francisco but currently in Guerneville in an unheated cottage ("rough it", my ass; but the price was right), are now looking at places near Rohnert Part, where she works. The commute from G-ville is at the outer limits of her desired commute radius (25 miles), but ideally, we'd like to cut that down. I'm a semi-retired teacher, do some work at home, have an okay retirement income. We both kind of like small towns, but don't want to drive miles to each amenity. How does Roseland fit into all this? What about Sebastopol? I know, Petaluma and Santa Rosa are nearby, too, but having lived right in the center of gang territories in San Francisco and Portland, OR, I'm getting too old for this ****. (Hint, if you *must* live in gang territory, arrange to be well over 6', male, don't look nervous, and walk a dog. Surprisingly, the dog need not a pitbull; I had a Shih-Dzu/Scotty mix, and you'd be surprised how many people melt at a cute dog. Got me out of several tense situations.)

That said, I'm getting older and could use a smaller town atmosphere, but I'd consider Santa Rosa/Petaluma if just once I can manage not to move into gang Territory.

Thanks for any and all comments.

[CyanideThistles]

Roseland isn't really a town, it's just a neighborhood in Santa Rosa. It has the worst public school system and is one of the most crime-heavy parts of SR, and it is a rather lower income area.

However, I grew up around it much of my life and I like some things about it. But it doesn't sound like your kind of place. There's lot of good Mexican restaurants in southwest Santa Rosa (where Roseland is), seeing as it is a majority Hispanic area, and some other good restaurants (Vietnamese, etc.) and a southeast Asian supermarket near Sebastopol Ave and Dutton Ave which I like. It's right next to Lola's, which is a Mexican grocery store, which is one of the two Lola's in Santa Rosa so far. Also, they build newer homes in southwest SR/Roseland. For example, they built a lot of new, nice homes for cheap right next to Elsie Allen High, which has the poorest test scores in Sonoma County and reputation for gangs and just other nonsense, you know... But some of the kids that go there are really chill, and I have no problem with that.

If you're looking for a safe area with higher quality of living, then Roseland, southwest Santa Rosa, and most of the westside of Santa Rosa does not sound like your kind of community..

[zx636]

Don't do it.

Pick a nicer neighborhood... Sebastopol is miles ahead of the Roseland area. Or move to Rincon Valley.