American Canyon - debating a move there (San Francisco, Santa Rosa: real estate, crime)

[RedShopper]

Schools are good... houses are better priced than Napa and Sonoma()

Is it worth considering moving there to commute to Sonoma or would south and west Santa Rosa close to Annadel Park be better.

Is AC safe? And are there good gyms and Whole Foods and running trails nearby... is there spillover crime from Vallejo?

[zitsky]

Google maps show the nearest Whole Foods is in Napa. I have/had an uncle who lived in AC but he was in a trailer park. Not sure about real estate.

[RedShopper]

I'm confused why the housing is not reflective of the nearby cities... it seems like everything in the Bay Area is priced fairly high per square foot if the schools are 8-10 rated and yet these aren't.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by RedShopper

Schools are good... houses are better priced than Napa and Sonoma()

Is it worth considering moving there to commute to Sonoma or would south and west Santa Rosa close to Annadel Park be better.

Is AC safe? And are there good gyms and Whole Foods and running trails nearby... is there spillover crime from Vallejo?

Try the commute first then you be the judge.

It's not a cake walk ... though I've seen worse.

YMMV.

[raider21]

Originally Posted by RedShopper

Schools are good... houses are better priced than Napa and Sonoma()

Is it worth considering moving there to commute to Sonoma or would south and west Santa Rosa close to Annadel Park be better.

Is AC safe? And are there good gyms and Whole Foods and running trails nearby... is there spillover crime from Vallejo?

you want East Santa Rosa, not West Santa Rosa. Drive east down Hwy 12 and it's 25-30 minute ride to Sonoma (the town i'm assuming you are talking about?) and probably the most beautiful commute in the world.

[RedShopper]

My husband insists on being closer to San Francisco and has ruled out Santa Rosa. Coming from Toronto the sticker shock isn't terrible but we have been living int the mid-west for the past three years. Commuting is definitely not a big issue as he rides and is looking forward to riding 8-10 months vs the 3-4 good months we have here and the commute beats any we've ever seen.
It's getting to a neighbourhood where we could find a large house for under a $1M that's safe for my kids and has good schools. So Vallejo is out as is Novato and maybe Benicia.
We keep coming back to Napa but the inventory is low and the schools aren't the greatest, though when we were there the town's vibe felt right.

[RedShopper]

His job is in Sonoma, yes!

[PixelatedTherapy]

American Canyon isn't a bad place to live at all, but I wouldn't be so quick to rule out Vallejo. There are several safe, relatively crime free neighborhoods in Vallejo that you can get at a fraction of the price elsewhere due to the stigma. Try Glen Cove, Vallejo Heights, Hiddenbrooke, Mare Island, and the Heritage District. These are all good areas, however the Heritage District suffers from a higher than average property crime rate, just so you know. But yeah, Vallejo is quite a bargain in the right areas.

[RedShopper]

I hear you that there are bargain areas in Vallejo though I suppose both of us want to be able to have some "Wow" factor if we're moving to California when telling our friends and family where we'll live! (lol superficial, I know) and Vallejo doesn't have that. Napa, Sonoma and Petaluma on the other hand ... wow! maybe even Santa Rosa! To put it in perspective we've worked really hard for the past 15 years and have made a lot of sacrifices while our peers and friends have been living the good life and we'd now like to reap the rewards of that hard work.

So to that end, I suppose I was wondering what people think when you say American Canyon or Fairfield?

[ketch89]

When someone hears American Canyon or Fairfield, they think no-name no-culture suburb where the main social event of the week is going to Costco. They're places people live because they can't afford anywhere else, and they want slightly better schools than Vallejo.