maybe Santa Rosa?

[bshula]

I just found this thread. I moved from Palo Alto to Forestville in 1997. I love Northern California and there is no place that I would rather be. Forestville has a wonderful grade school and high school. When the company that I worked for decided to relocate to Malaysia in 2002, I switched from hi tech to real estate. I cannot leave this place. It is beautiful. I chose the place that I live so that I did not need to cross Hwy 101 on my way to work. There are great areas on either side of the freeway but crossing it during rush hour is a real mess. I prefer West County as it is cooler and the area is populated by farmers, artists and winemakers. They not only make great neighbors but active parents. Sebasopol is a bit expensive but Forestville is a bit less.

[jokoko]

We have lived in Santa Rosa for 25 years and are ready to move on.
It is very crowded and traffic has become a nightmare. Hwy 101 is stop and go most of the time. There is major construction going on to widen hwy 101 but by the time that is done it won't change the traffic situation because of the many homes they are building.

Shopping is not the greatest. There are two malls. The main stores are JC Penneys, Gottshalks, Macy's (one in each mall) Mervyns and Sears. There is a large Costco that keeps expanding. The store is always very busy...even with another Costco located in Rohnert Park. Oh, Rohnert Park and Windsor and Sebastopol, neighboring towns do not have shopping malls. Other stores in the surrounding areas are Home Depot(3) Lowes, Walmart, K-mart and many other smaller stores. Oh, and I forgot there is a Kohls now in SR also.

Schools - I live in NW Santa Rosa and would not want my child to be in any of the nearby public schools. GreatSchools.net

Housing - too high for what you get. Every empty lot is being filled with small, close together homes. It reminds me of Europe, getting so crowded.

The area is beautiful. Weather is ok.The summers are nice but the winters can be dreary. Last year we had a mild winter but some winters it rains many days in a row. The rainiest months are December, January and February. Two or three years ago it rained every day in January. If you don't mind the rain it is no big deal. Of course rain is a trade off for the beauty.

Cost of living is very high. Gas prices are usually higher than other areas in California. Sales tax is 8%, water and sewer rates are very high and keep going up. Currently there is another proposal for an increase of 9% for water and sewer for the next two years.

Like most other places crime is a problem There are many gangs and gang related shootings. I would suggest to read the on line press democrat to keep up with what is happening in the area. There are many hispanics in the area. The school my kids went to is now mostly hispanic. The area we live in is also becoming very hispanic. I don't mind the hispanic people, many of them are wonderful, but I don't like it when it is becoming a majority.

There are a lot of good things about the area as well. Again it is beautiful. There are lots of activities and events for families. Sonoma county has a lot of touristy areas that we take advantage of even as we live here. Biking is a popular sport, good places to hike, beaches are relatively close by, lots of wineries, great backroads to travel. You are close to San Francisco and during the winter months skiing is about 4 hours away.

[CAtoGA]

We've been in Sebastopol for 11 years now. If I didn't already live here, you couldn't pay me enough to move my family here. There is ALWAYS traffic on the freeway - it doesn't matter what time of day, but watch out if you have to go to Santa Rosa during commute time. And heading through Sebastopol when the high school is getting out can be just as bad! I agree with another poster that Forestville is a quaint little town, but there is nothing there. You have to drive to Santa Rosa for any stores like Mervyn's. Target and Wal-Mart (can't stand going there) are both in Rohnert Park and from Forestville that can easily take 30-45 minutes. Don't go near the malls after about 4 p.m. That's when the crowd starts to look a bit dangerous.

I certainly agree that there are parts of Santa Rosa/Sonoma County area that are really great. But a family with young children is probably looking for different things than, say, a family with grown children who are on their own, or will be soon. I wouldn't put my children in any of the Santa Rosa schools. In fact, we moved one of ours out of her old school into a Charter because the school was getting bad.

I'm getting a bit wordy, aren't I? I could go on and on, but my best advice is to visit, and do LOADS of research before you pack up and move. Best of luck to everyone.

[prairie guy]

I am a former Sonoma County resident, now Midwesterner, but visit often. Above posts are wise--Santa Rosa and area is becoming more like any urban area in California, and living there is expensive and overpriced.

It is hard to suggest where to live without knowing where you'd work--with headache traffic you don't want to live more than a few miles from your job or you'll go insane. However, living close to work means you might get stuck in one of the many so-so to poor schools.

Of course, housing is more expensive in the more desireable (or less icky) school systems. Agree that Forestville is a great choice. Mark West Elem. district also a good choice, and I think you might look at Sebastopol, which has several small elem. districts feeding into the West Sonoma County High district. South of SR is Kenwood School, a quite small district that's a remnant from the pioneer days and is now very exclusive to buy into. North of SR are Healdsburg (schools much smaller and more manageable now that Windsor has its own school system) and even Cloverdale, which is a drive but at least has smaller schools. Research all of them carefully and be aware if elem. districts might get redistricted to less desireable junior/senior highs.

I disagree with CAto GA on one point; the Forestville schools would be worth the inconvenience of driving a little farther to shopping.

Sorry to be a downer, but the posters are right...this is an expensive area grappling with increasing urban-style problems (and not just in Santa Rosa.)

[CAtoGA]

Originally Posted by prairie guy

I disagree with CAto GA on one point; the Forestville schools would be worth the inconvenience of driving a little farther to shopping.

Sorry to be a downer, but the posters are right...this is an expensive area grappling with increasing urban-style problems (and not just in Santa Rosa.)

I will admit that I don't know a whole lot about Forestville schools. I've heard good things about them. The Apple Blossom District in Sebastopol is also good, but difficult to get into if you don't live in the district.

My main concern with Forestville, is with the price of gas these days, it could get very expensive to live out that way, especially if you work in some areas of Santa Rosa.

[prairie guy]

Point well taken, CAtoGA, Forestville area is a bear of a daily commute to much of the county--you'd really need to luck out and have your place of employment nearby. I do think that it's tolerable for weekly shopping trips, tho of course it all depends on your traffic tolerance.

Thanks for the Apple Blossom schools mention--I can't seem to ever remember the names of the Sebastopol area elem. districts...

[travelmutt]

I live here and unless you dont care how long it takes to get somewhere and the know how to avoid both the bad areas and angery disrespectfull cops you should be fine. Santa Rosa is alot like a mini San Jose.

[Rushgal]

i am from LA and live in Santa Rosa. The beaches in LA are way better if you like sandy stretches and like to get in the water. For an LA native, the water up here is too cold and the beaches are too rocky. So I call it all the coast here and the beach in LA. The coast here in NoCal is way better than the beaches in LA if you prefer uncrowded area, landscape scenery vs. body scenery, less superficial bull, etc. So, it's all about your own style, weather preference, and social scene style. I'd be happy if I could find a place right in between... maybe santa cruz? i don't know.

As for price... bring your mass fortune with you and do your employment search before you come here. secure it or be a rich, retired individual.

One more punch for LA: you have the beach, snow skiing, disneyland, national forests, death valley, day trips to tijuana or san diego, hollywood, malibu, magic mountain, fast paced drivers, cops who are never board, knotts berry farm, medieval times, irvine, topanga canyon, pomona dragstrip, fontana speedway, and much more just a stone's throw away.

Sonoma County, well... it's an effort to get to the slopes, but our industry is pretty. San Francisco is only an hour away, Reno is about 4 hours away, and people up here tend to enjoy "sunset walks on the beach and quiet times by a cozy fire" ... so to speak.

There are great schools here and in LA. Just do your research and weigh factors important to you. Just remember that money makes the world go round and it shows in most public school boards. And as we all know, money makes relatively fair people do very unfair things. Just look at gold mining history for a lesson in greed. If you can afford it, look into private schools.

I would go to LA first since your friend is there. If you don't like it, you can always move up here. Our pace is certainly a little slower, but living in LA would enhance your life experience for sure.

good luck and i'll check back from time to time to see what ya did.

[NatureYogi]

Very helpful post as I'm considering moving to Sonoma County from East Bay.

[OwlKaMyst]

Originally Posted by Rushgal

For an LA native, the water up here is too cold and the beaches are too rocky....

Not sure what beaches are too rocky, as almost all the beaches I have been to north of San Francisco has plenty of sand. Yes the water is cold, yes, a few spots are places you do not want to surf as there are rocks. But there are spots in So. Cal that surfers must avoid due to rocks as well.

Plenty of sandy beaches in the north.