Any Quiet Artist-Friendly Towns Near San Francisco? (Oakland, Santa Rosa: for rent, neighborhood)

[itscolduphere]

We own a small tech business (at-home but may expand to an office in the city) and it might make sense for us to relocate to the San Francisco area where many of our clients are and various conferences we attend on an annual basis. I'm also an artist so I am looking for space/peace to concentrate on that as well. I'm guessing Marin County is better to start looking at vs. Oakland and points east? Looking for a safe, upscale and quiet community with single-family rent around $3k, within easy driving range to downtown San Francisco. Preferably with lots of natural areas to enjoy the outdoors. (Not interested in quirky festivals/ car shows/ mingling, that type of thing). I am used to living in quiet urban areas so this would be a huge change for me! Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[Macrina]

Sebastopol, CA (in Sonoma County) is a little farther north from Marin, but doesn't have the extent of priciness you'd find in Marin. it's a lovely, quiet community and is only about 25 minutes from a very wonderful stretch of coastline. There's a certain amount of tourism, but not nearly as much as in other areas, and it's only 15 minutes from great shopping in Santa Rosa.

There's an artistic community present and a lovely small-town atmosphere. Several of my friends have lived there for years, and wouldn't be anywhere else.

It definitely qualifies for your Quiet Artist-Friendly Town category. Check it out!

[mayorhaggar]

South Marin could fit but is very expensive--maybe check out Bolinas. Northern Marin is a bit cheaper. You could also check out the Santa Cruz area though it's about 2 hours to SF, but it's a lot of hippie types in the woods. Anywhere near SF is pretty suburban and densely populated and expensive compared to areas the further out you go from the city. Marin is relatively underpopulated considering how close it is to SF, but it's still pretty developed and expensive and all those mountain roads make it take longer to get around.

[itscolduphere]

Originally Posted by itscolduphere

I am used to living in quiet urban areas so this would be a huge change for me! Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Sorry, I meant quiet RURAL areas!

Thanks for replies!

[18Montclair]

Bolinas.

But you might get lost trying to find it cause locals take down highway signs directing motorists to their town cause they dont like outsiders visiting.

[Macrina]

Originally Posted by itscolduphere

Sorry, I meant quiet RURAL areas!

Thanks for replies!

Still, check out Sonoma County, as it's very easy to "get rural" over there. Sebastopol has only about 8K in population and in 5 minutes one is in the country.

That you are looking for an artistic community is an over-riding reason for at least seeing what the area is like. Also, Forestville is not far away, and would qualify in the arts area.
Although Forestville would add about half an hour to the drive time to SF.

[ashlandbus]

You can check out Canyon... a tiny little enclave hidden in the redwood hills just east of Oakland. Most people don't even know it exists. I am not sure is anything ever comes up for rent tho and I don't know if I would call it 'upscale'?!

[itscolduphere]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Bolinas.

But you might get lost trying to find it cause locals take down highway signs directing motorists to their town cause they dont like outsiders visiting.

You weren't kidding! Looked it up on Wikipedia and that's what it said! Couldn't believe the number of poets and artists listed under "notable residents". This is intriguing...

[Stephen1110]

Originally Posted by itscolduphere

We own a small tech business (at-home but may expand to an office in the city).

"Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy told me that Oakland satisfies the company’s needs and then some"

"Joe Kennedy always says that Oakland is the only place his company could be because of its cultural vibe," Mayor Jean Quan said. "This is the place where he can find the kind of talent he needs to make his business possible.

“When you’re talking about a young company, a start-up, finance matters and Oakland has very reasonable costs by Bay Area standards,” he said. “We’re a music company. We like the character of the neighborhood with the Paramount and the Fox Theater nearby. That resonates with many of the employees at Pandora.”

IPO ignites 'Pandora effect' in Oakland | San Francisco Business Times

Originally Posted by itscolduphere

I'm also an artist so I am looking for space/peace to concentrate on that as well.

Ranked #11 in The Best American Cities for Artists and Designers.
The Best American Cities for Artists and Designers « The Jailbreak – Infotainment for Creatives


- Has the highest concentration of artists per capita

Oakland Vacations, Travel Guide and Trips ? Discover America

Originally Posted by itscolduphere

within easy driving range to downtown San Francisco.

Oakland is 8 miles from San Francisco

Driving - right across the bay bridge to San Francisco
Boating - Ferry across the bay to San Francisco
Bus - bus directly to San Francisco
B.A.R.T. - Heavy rail public transit option to San Francisco (fastest)

Originally Posted by itscolduphere

Preferably with lots of natural areas to enjoy the outdoors.

Lake Merritt - Largest Urban saltwater Lake in the nation; Oldest Wildlife Refuge in the nation
http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.144469...california.jpg


Lake Temescal - large lake in the hills of Oakland
http://baynature.org/articles/jul-sep-2003/reservoirs/captionimage_mainarticle (broken link)

Redwood Regional forest - forest in the hills of Oakland
http://sfbayaep.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/snapshot-2010-02-11-22-25-50.jpg (broken link)