Your Impression of Santa Rosa (San Jose, San Francisco: transplants, new house, neighborhoods)

[CyanideThistles]

What's your impression of Santa Rosa? The city in Sonoma County, up in the North Bay, where it takes slightly less than 60 minutes to drive from here to San Francisco.

Santa Rosa just seems like a city nobody's heard of. Seriously. But sometimes that's a nice thing. We have a population of 165,000+ and we have cities like Rohnert Park, Petaluma, and Windsor in the proximity, all within Sonoma County.

I'm 18 years old (probably one of the younger people posting here) and lived here since the day I was born. My mom's from China and my dad's from Pennsylvania and just ended up here, while they were in their 20s. I grew up near Dutton Ave and West 3rd in southwest Santa Rosa. Even though I loved that area, and still do, it's definitely not the most favorable area. The schools aren't great and there is quite some crime, especially in Roseland and West 9th. It's a majority Hispanic area so there are a lot of good Mexican restaurants, and grocery stores. There's two Vietnamese restaurants there (maybe three?), like the one off of Stony Point, which I really like.

I also lived in Bennett Valley for a couple years and then moved back to southwest Santa Rosa, in the Roseland area but in an area with surprisingly nice homes. But my parents always commuted to schools across the city just because the schools right next to my house weren't so well, and they would feel that I'd "stick out" a lot in these schools, because I'm not Latino. So a lot of people have to commute a lot around the city just to send their kids to better schools, which is kind of unfortunate. But some kids can be easily influenced by their peers (like I was).

Then I moved to Rincon Valley since 2008, but in a crappy but livable area surrounded by Skyhawk and Fountaingrove (the wealthier areas), so it makes me feel like crap when driving by that area. So eventually I may move again to a better area.

I like Santa Rosa though, despite the weird stuff that happens. Downtown Santa Rosa definitely has that typical Northern California vibe to it. I've noticed there's kind of a lot of transplants, or people moving here, from Oakland and Richmond, especially in the downtown area, hanging nearby the JC (junior college) and Santa Rosa High. The weather is also great in Santa Rosa, as it can get cold but not too cold, but a nice refreshing cold when it rains and gets windy. The summers are mild but can get hot, but cool down by the night. It's not like SF where it's really cold for summertime, but it can get foggy sometimes here in the summer. The scenery in Sonoma County is definitely very scenic as well.

So yeah, long post.. but really, what do you think of Santa Rosa? If you've been here or lived here, that is... I think it's definitely a unique city and not like the rest of the Bay Area at all. There are totally different neighborhoods here. However, the schools are kinda falling apart and there is some drug-related activity but I don't think it's too bad out here. Some think West Santa Rosa is like a tame version of Richmond, but I don't really think so.

However when I went down to San Jose to see my relatives, who all lived in Santa Rosa for less than a decade, had one complaint of my hometown: Asian restaurants aren't really good, because there aren't too many authentic Asian restaurants (Asian population isn't really large out here). Out where they live, in Santa Clara, there's tons of Chinese and Korean restaurants and supermarkets, so that's an advantage to them. But they do miss Santa Rosa, but the scenic views. I had a friend visiting from Bakersfield and he commented on how green it is here, and the nearby mountains, compared to his dry hometown of Bakersfield.

[geoking66]

I've passed through it numerous times (family in Healdsburg). Seems kind of like a dumpy version of bland suburbia. Don't understand the appeal at all.

[sequoias]

I grew up in Santa Rosa, mainly in North and Northeast part of the city. I can say it's a great city to live in but cost of living in general is pretty high, of course. It does have sort of a bedroom city feel to it because lot of people commute to the bay area for work.

Downtown has lot of nice shops and a brick-built mall called Santa Rosa Plaza. There is no tall skyscrapers in the city core, though. The tallest is only about 8 stories tall or so. One of the interesting building is the black building that looks sort of an upside down paramid in a way. I forgot the name of the building. Also, a old church that was built by just ONE big tree which is in downtown as well.

My parents currently live in Windsor which is north of Santa Rosa and they like it there so far. I moved out of California in 2000 for an adventure out of state. I do want to return back someday in the future.

[Locutus of Board]

You looking for adventure in Iowa?

[sequoias]

Originally Posted by Locutus of Board

You looking for adventure in Iowa?

I moved to Washington state and lived there for 10 years and also lived in Utah for total of 8 months and currently live in Iowa for almost 2 years but will move back to the west in a few years. I already miss California.

I didn't come to Iowa to settle down, I came to live with my girlfriend that I met thru a friend and we fell in love. We both want to get out of Iowa someday.

[CyanideThistles]

Originally Posted by sequoias

My parents currently live in Windsor which is north of Santa Rosa and they like it there so far. I moved out of California in 2000 for an adventure out of state. I do want to return back someday in the future.

Windsor is okay I guess. I haven't been there in years actually, even though it's about 15 minutes away. No reason to be out there, but the times I've been there, it's really just a suburban community, sorta like SR but even more suburban. It actually has nice new houses in many parts, but Windsor has a bad reputation for poor schools and some really bad neighborhoods, despite it being such a small town.

[Locutus of Board]

If one has a job in Santa Rosa, is it worthwhile to maybe consider living in one of the towns South of the city (maybe even in Marin county), since that will put you closer to San Francisco (in case you want to go there on weekends or maybe even on a weekday), or is the added commuting hassle not worth it? Santa Rosa only has one expressway, right? How bad is the traffic on it?

[sequoias]

Originally Posted by CyanideThistles

Windsor is okay I guess. I haven't been there in years actually, even though it's about 15 minutes away. No reason to be out there, but the times I've been there, it's really just a suburban community, sorta like SR but even more suburban. It actually has nice new houses in many parts, but Windsor has a bad reputation for poor schools and some really bad neighborhoods, despite it being such a small town.

My parents live in a good area and they don't need schools because I'm grown up, lol. My mom commutes to work in Calistoga and rest of the bay area for her business and dad is retired. Not a big deal, pretty much.

[sequoias]

Originally Posted by Locutus of Board

If one has a job in Santa Rosa, is it worthwhile to maybe consider living in one of the towns South of the city (maybe even in Marin county), since that will put you closer to San Francisco (in case you want to go there on weekends or maybe even on a weekday), or is the added commuting hassle not worth it? Santa Rosa only has one expressway, right? How bad is the traffic on it?

Marin County is one of the most expensive place to live, so not feasible for many of the blue collar workers.

[tstieber]

I think Santa Rosa would be a great place to either grow up or retire. It's quiet but not dead, and it's very scenic.