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While it seems Santa Cruz is no longer in the running for you, just to be sure: this isn't the place you're looking for. Extreme issues with homelessness and crime. Not safe for kids. Low performing public schools. Wacky left-of-left politics. The weather is also consistently cooler and cloudier than what you prefer.
Most of the Bay Area is very far left. You may consider the inland East Bay, near the 680 from about Walnut Creek down to Pleasanton. Generally warmer and sunnier, and the politics, while strongly left, are somewhat more moderate than other parts of the Bay Area.
So, in many ways Marin County checks your boxes. However, since you've mentioned your center-left disposition and dislike of extreme politics more than once, I think it's important to mention that Marin is very left-of-left. It's an echo chamber with little tolerance or even awareness of other perspectives. As just one small example, during the summer 2020 protests the county voted to defund the police. Now I don't believe cutting law enforcement budget is going to cause a sudden spike in crime, yet it speaks to a mindset that the police are the problem and a zero-sum "us vs them" mentality that is counterproductive. Don't take my word for it, do your own research. It may be that you're perfectly fine with the political environment.
Walnut Creek in terms of community itself looks amazing in user uploaded Google photos. However it is not on the ocean. I want a community like that with homes on the water.
Gee, you found two quotes from persons with extreme points of view to support your narrative …. Kudos. Do you really believe they, by virtue of being quoted in an article, represent a subsumption of character of a ¼ million county residents?
The article has a paywall, so I didn’t read past the first couple paragraphs before the fade out. That said, the opening paragraph quotes that the “defunding” enacted was a reduction of $1.7 million () out of a $619 MILLION DOLLAR BALANCED BUDGET.
OH.
That would be .003 or 3/10ths of 1% of the county LE budget. Some “defunding”, eh?
And the article equating that amount to “ … the cost of eight uniformed officers …” is, well hilariously disingenuous. Why? Because the minuscule reduction is from the ENTIRE BUDGET … not just from a “uniformed officer” expense line item.
So? So give the readers here a break.
Expressing your POV of Marin, politics in general, yadda yadda is your fair game here. Pretending that you’ve zeroed in on some epiphany of “left of left” based on a false reading of “defund the police”, well, just begs for rebuttal.
The discussion here isn’t about “moderate voices of reason” with regard to “defunding the police.” (Which hasn’t happened in Marin or anywhere in the north BA.)
And if you do want to understand the realities behind the defund the police concept(s), you should read about the history of the issue. It has several philosophical segmentations, from nut-case extreme - to some very erudite and experienced proposals developed by highly credible forces within law enforcement itself.
The only left of left I've experienced while living in the Bay Area was in Berkeley, and even then it wasn't pervasive.
Who gave people the idea that left of left people control the government in this country? The people who ruined San Francisco are not left of left, they are elite corporatists, old line money and connections. Enough said.
The Bay Area is very diverse economically, politically, culturally and socially.
If the OP chooses Belvedere-Tiburon, which is probably his best bet, he will not find left of left people there, and in any case they're not going to be problematic for him or his family.
I may not agree with her politically (at least not totally) but I support the right of citizens to prevent their bucolic suburbs from being destroyed by developers. Mill Valley is a unique place and it ought to stay that way. IMO.
Same goes with Fairfax and other towns in Marin County.
I lived in the San Geronimo Valley 25 years ago when a vicious battle went on, and compromises were finally made, but it took years.
Edit: I looked at the photograph in the article. Hell no to condos going in there. Developers don't care about someone else's quality of life, only their bank account.
It's easy (and popular!) to focus on developers. But what about the young families, single moms, teachers, etc. that don't have a place to live because housing doesn't get built. It's ironic that Ms Kirsch gets to live in a house that an evil developer built while enjoying out sized increase in value by blocking others from the essential human right to housing. Housing policies protecting the bucolic setting are rooted in deep and persisting racism, which is why Marin County is the most racially segregated county in the Bay Area. It's why BART doesn't extend up north, and it's why there is so little multi-family housing. I realize this isn't the legacy that Ms Kirsch is intending to protect, but the reality is that she's directly extending the effects.
Every suburb and city and place is special for one reason or another. San Francisco and other cities seek to protect the historic nature of neighborhoods. Marin and other suburbs seek to protect views of nature. Individually, at the hyperlocal level, it all makes sense. But zoom out and it's a form of Tragedy of the Commons, where each individual community believes it benefits from excluding outsiders, yet the combined effect is highly negative for society as a whole.
In any case, with the passage of recent laws and the release of new RHNA numbers (which now have enforcement teeth), things are likely to change in the years ahead. Cities are being forced to upzone, such as a recent agenda item for Tiburon. Relevant to this thread, perhaps this is something else OP should be aware of, as housing density is likely to increase.
It's easy (and popular!) to focus on developers. But what about the young families, single moms, teachers, etc. that don't have a place to live because housing doesn't get built. It's ironic that Ms Kirsch gets to live in a house that an evil developer built while enjoying out sized increase in value by blocking others from the essential human right to housing. Housing policies protecting the bucolic setting are rooted in deep and persisting racism, which is why Marin County is the most racially segregated county in the Bay Area. It's why BART doesn't extend up north, and it's why there is so little multi-family housing. I realize this isn't the legacy that Ms Kirsch is intending to protect, but the reality is that she's directly extending the effects.
Every suburb and city and place is special for one reason or another. San Francisco and other cities seek to protect the historic nature of neighborhoods. Marin and other suburbs seek to protect views of nature. Individually, at the hyperlocal level, it all makes sense. But zoom out and it's a form of Tragedy of the Commons, where each individual community believes it benefits from excluding outsiders, yet the combined effect is highly negative for society as a whole.
In any case, with the passage of recent laws and the release of new RHNA numbers (which now have enforcement teeth), things are likely to change in the years ahead. Cities are being forced to upzone, such as a recent agenda item for Tiburon. Relevant to this thread, perhaps this is something else OP should be aware of, as housing density is likely to increase.
Elitism is what keeps "the others" out, not racism. Single mothers would not be able to afford a condo in Mill Valley, unless they are high earners or independently wealthy. How many of those are there?
BART has never extended to Marin because of construction costs and likely, environmentalists blocking it. There was a battle for years about improving/widening the 101, and I believe (it's been years) putting ferry service up to Novato. I haven't kept up with that issue.
Anyway, I want to stay on topic. I still think Belvedere-Tiburon is the way to go for the OP. As long as he doesn't mind the long drive out the peninsula. It would add 15 minutes onto the drive to OAK.
Elitism is what keeps "the others" out, not racism. Single mothers would not be able to afford a condo in Mill Valley, unless they are high earners or independently wealthy. How many of those are there?
BART has never extended to Marin because of construction costs and likely, environmentalists blocking it. There was a battle for years about improving/widening the 101, and I believe (it's been years) putting ferry service up to Novato. I haven't kept up with that issue.
Anyway, I want to stay on topic. I still think Belvedere-Tiburon is the way to go for the OP. As long as he doesn't mind the long drive out the peninsula. It would add 15 minutes onto the drive to OAK.
Marin County got made fun of decades ago by the Right, for residents' interest in yoga and other silly critiques that were made of the area. It is not "left of left". It is not Seattle; far from it. And places like Belvedere have always been conservative. Tiburon was too, for much of my lifetime; I don't know if it's changed as generations have come and gone.
The OP should check the area out, and let us know what he finds. The natural beauty of the entire county can't be beat, IMO, and it's definitely upscale, as the OP prefers, though for the most part, it's modestly so, i.e. not about conspicuous consumption, flash, or anything like that. With the possible exception of the techie crowd I might add.
I must admit I was wrong on this one. I thought for sure Bernie would have won easily in the Marin 2020 Dem Primary like he did throughout Ca. But, he only got 26%, compared to Biden's 31%. Bloomberg next at 19%, Warren with 18%. Guess if you add up Bernie and Warren (both left-of-left), you get almost 50%.
The areas in Marin mentioned would work for you OP. I thought of myself as fiscal conservative, social liberal, until this last election. Hard to fit into that when there are so many left-of-left controlling the current clown in the WH. I almost voted for him until I saw 3 or so of his debates in the primary. Easy to tell he was a clown.
I don't think you'll find too many homes in Ross under $3M (here's one on Redfin). They exist, but you need to look at sales price to listing price on Redfin, as homes are typically bid way above the list price. I know they are in the Berkeley area.
All that said, while waterfront homes in NorCal have nice views, the ocean in NorCal sucks. It's great for surfing, and I do a little only in the summer, but I'll always prefer the warmer water in SoCal. You can barely go into the water up here in the Summer. without a wet suit. Even my kids don't really like it.
I'd focus on SoCal, but it's up to you. Not sure where you were looking, but plenty of places that a $3M budget could buy somewhat close to the beach, although prices have skyrocketed the last 2 years. A $1M home in 2019 is now close to $1.8M in the SD North County Beach areas. Closer to the beach will be closer to your $3M.
Best of luck. We lived in Tx (Dallas area for 4 years). Miss the people, but I miss people in SD and LA, but won't miss too many people from NorCal once we leave. Just too left-of-left leaning, and they're not tolerant at all in my area by Berkeley.
The only left of left I've experienced while living in the Bay Area was in Berkeley, and even then it wasn't pervasive.
Who gave people the idea that left of left people control the government in this country? The people who ruined San Francisco are not left of left, they are elite corporatists, old line money and connections. Enough said.
No True Scotsman... the vast majority of Bay Area residents self-identify as Left. The political spectrum is often more of a circular shape rather than linear, with both extremes finding common cause. If you're arguing that the Bay Area brand of Leftism isn't congruent with stated progressive values I don't disagree. Either way, it's a different version of Left than what's typically found elsewhere in the country. It's something to be aware of, even if OP is perfectly ok with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pathrunner
Elitism is what keeps "the others" out, not racism. Single mothers would not be able to afford a condo in Mill Valley, unless they are high earners or independently wealthy. How many of those are there?
BART has never extended to Marin because of construction costs and likely, environmentalists blocking it. There was a battle for years about improving/widening the 101, and I believe (it's been years) putting ferry service up to Novato. I haven't kept up with that issue.
No, really this stuff is rooted in a legacy of racism. Racially restricted CC&Rs, racially motivated zoning, redlining, and block busting. Affluent white single family neighborhoods are eerily similar to the redlining and racist zoning maps. Here's a history from UC Berkeley: https://belonging.berkeley.edu/rootsraceplace
From the above link, BART was resisted in Marin in part due to cost, and an ideological dispute about the feasibility of running trains on the GGB. But also concerns about growth ("Marin County successfully blocked infrastructure (including a BART line) and development proposals that they viewed as a threat to their property values and lifestyles") and fears of minorities from undesirable neighborhoods.
OP, I would also suggest considering the town of Mill Valley, in Marin Co. .....given your stated budget for a house ($ 3 million) I suggest making a trip out to Bay Area and see what you and your family thinks of Marin Co. Try to imagine what your life would be like on a day to day basis, living in one of the towns/cities in southern Marin Co. I would also suggest having another possible choice, decided on before hand, to check out during your trip to the Bay Area.....
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) out of a $619 MILLION DOLLAR BALANCED BUDGET. 
