How would you describe life in Napa or Sonoma? (Sacramento: sales, school)

[Catherine1985]

Sorry I've been blowing up this forum lately. I'm job hunting and some places I'm considering applying to are in areas I'm not super familiar with (AKA anywhere that isn't the South Bay or southern parts of the Peninsula/East Bay) and I'm trying to get impressions of places before I drive all across the bay to check them out.

Is Sonoma or Napa is a good fit for a younger couple or is it pretty sleepy and pricey? We can be homebodies, but we'd be brand new so living somewhere where meeting other people isn't a struggle is important. We love festivals, farmers market, talking our dogs for walks, all that. The areas we gravitate to have a Pleasanton/San Ramon feel, but can't go where you can't find work...

The job is in Sonoma and I'd be open to a commute, hopefully less than 30-45 mins. I'd be open to the Petaluma - San Rafael stretch too, but again don't know much about them. To be honest the only times I've been up there was to go wine tasting.

[BodegaHead]

Boring & pricey but good scenery.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I think either Napa or Sonoma would suit you well if you just need festivals, farmer's markets and taking dogs for walks. It's a nice area with lots of those types of activities.

I used to sell books, and I'd go to library sales all over, when I lived in Davis. And whenever I'd go to a library sale in Napa, I'd think it would be nice to live there.

Honestly, I've only ever gone wine tasting in Sonoma, too. But, I did a little driving around Napa downtown when I'd go to the library sale, and I really liked it. There's a quaint downtown area with older buildings. Other than tourists, the traffic shouldn't be as god-awful as the bay area, either. And you could always do trips to SF.

Since I left Santa Clara a year and a half ago, I have grown to love living where traffic is not a nightmare.

[clongirl]

Petaluma is a GREAT town, imo! If it weren't so far away from the Bay Area I'd move there. There are a lot of bars/restaurants and cool shops so I don't think it's boring at all.

[tifoso]

Originally Posted by Catherine1985

Sorry I've been blowing up this forum lately. I'm job hunting and some places I'm considering applying to are in areas I'm not super familiar with (AKA anywhere that isn't the South Bay or southern parts of the Peninsula/East Bay) and I'm trying to get impressions of places before I drive all across the bay to check them out.

Is Sonoma or Napa is a good fit for a younger couple or is it pretty sleepy and pricey? We can be homebodies, but we'd be brand new so living somewhere where meeting other people isn't a struggle is important. We love festivals, farmers market, talking our dogs for walks, all that. The areas we gravitate to have a Pleasanton/San Ramon feel, but can't go where you can't find work...

The job is in Sonoma and I'd be open to a commute, hopefully less than 30-45 mins. I'd be open to the Petaluma - San Rafael stretch too, but again don't know much about them. To be honest the only times I've been up there was to go wine tasting.

I'm a part-time Napa resident and love it there. The activities you enjoy are right in the Napa wheelhouse. And while the average age in the North Bay is generally a bit older than other parts of the Bay Area, Napa is younger (according to C-D) than either Petaluma or Sonoma. So I'd be shocked if you couldn't find a few amici simpatici.

That said, the job is in Sonoma and traffic between there and Napa can be troublesome. And depending on where you look, you may be able to find less expensive accommodation in Sonoma County than in Napa County (ymmv). Sonoma itself is expensive and like Napa is heavily dependent on tourism. A previous poster suggested Petaluma and I'd wholeheartedly second that. Great town. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Catherine1985]

Thanks for the replies. I've all but given up hope on the rest of the Bay Area at this point. I can't seem to land a job even if my life depended on it any areas that know and feel comfortable with. Maybe it's for the best as some of the places I've interviewed have rents so high they might give me a heart attack before I even started.

It's nice to hear that the North Bay might not be as "sleepy" and isolated as I thought. How would a commute from Sonoma to somewhere like San Rafael be, say if my husband worked in SF and we split the difference?

Too bad no one has invented a teleportation device to save on all the gas I've been using to tour towns wherever I see job ads. At this point my next option is Sacramento. Thinking about moving somewhere I know almost nothing about is terrifying. Cheers to anyone that has done it and had it not be a nightmare.

And I'm assuming amici simpatici means friendly people or something like that?

[jade408]

Sacramento area has more jobs. Midtown is pretty decent. I'd look there for wider job and living options.

[2sleepy]

I think you should move to Sacramento, you said you are a veterinarian and IMO there is a shortage of good ones in Sac, and you have the benefit of being close to UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for consults =)

[zdg]

We live in Santa Rosa (only because our daughter's school is here) or we'd be living in Sonoma (town).

Regarding Sonoma:
Sleepy? Very. No nightlife to speak of at all, but during the day it's amazing. Excellent, world class food. Super nice people. Weather is unbeatable. Yeah, it's pretty expensive, but that's the price you pay for living in a place where you can sit outside and enjoy outstanding local food year round basically. It's cool and rainy for a few months in the winter, but from April to October, there is no nicer place on Earth.

If you need lots of bars and nightlife, you definitely want Petaluma instead (I have never been to San Rafael at night, so I have no idea about that). If you're driving from San Rafael to Sonoma in rush hour, you're probably looking at 40-60 minutes I would assume and the traffic on the 101 sucks during rush.

We're in our 30s/40s with a 12 year old daughter and we wouldn't rather live anywhere else; but we're intentionally boring and prefer sitting on our deck listening to music and enjoying the markets and events on weekend days than going out at night so take that for what it's worth.

[tifoso]

Originally Posted by Catherine1985

And I'm assuming amici simpatici means friendly people or something like that?

Literally, "nice friends." Best wishes for an ultimately successful ending to your odyssey :-)