Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-11-2009, 10:40 PM
 
Location: 38°14′45″N 122°37′53″W
4,156 posts, read 10,993,365 times
Reputation: 3439

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by swedishmommy View Post
Thanks! I appreciate all the replies. Is there any area in Petaluma to particularly avoid? I've been looking at greatschools.net and it seems like a lot of the schools are really good, and other have quite poor ratings. I'm sure it must be the district they are in. And if you know of any GREAT realtors in the area, I wouldn't mind to know their names. Thanks!
As for greatschools.net I know that some of the reviews are pretty out of date, so they may be a bit off, but their ratings are in line with what most parents seem to think around here.

For elementary school search, use the zipcode 94952 (which is the West side of Petaluma)
the "letter and number streets" that someone else mentioned is that zipcode.
Grant Elementary
and McNear Elementary are the two best elementary schools on this side of town.
Grant is more hardcore test score specific while McNear is a bit more relaxed. Cherry Valley is a newer charter/public school on a year round school schedule.
I've heard GREAT things about Meadow and Liberty..but that's pretty much all I know.
I have one child going into McNear this Fall as a 1st grader, currently he's a kindergartener at Spring Hill Montessori which is a private preschool with an elementary school campus as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-13-2009, 10:09 AM
 
1 posts, read 2,905 times
Reputation: 10
Nice swedish community in Santa Rosa.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-13-2009, 12:27 PM
 
2,106 posts, read 5,777,367 times
Reputation: 1510
I drive through Santa Rosa every 2 weeks and have friends there. It has nice parts, a pretty neat little old downtown, and then it has its generic, Wal-Mart parts. I'm a native Tennesseean, and honestly, much of Santa Rosa looks like Urban Nashville. Nothing very remarkable about it. The best part about it is that you would be close to decent wine country.

But... the commute to and from SF from Santa Rosa is a killer. I only drive there on weekends, and even then it takes over an hour to get to there from the East Bay. Now double that with weekday traffic. You have to go through Marin, which is an absolute nightmare. I used to have a job out there and quit because I couldn't stand the traffic.

Thus as mentioned often on this site- rent first. There's no reason to buy immediately in an area you don't know much about. It won't bring you any additional security. So rent, check it out, see what would be an area that would work best.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-14-2009, 09:42 PM
 
106 posts, read 580,476 times
Reputation: 61
Default Sonoma town an option as well

If you are commuting to Oakland, even just once a week, I'd suggest that even Santa Rosa would be too far, and Windsor most certainly. Petaluma would be a closer drive to the east bay--and I suggest Sonoma (town) as well, I'm surprised no one has yet suggested it. For $675,000, you can buy a nice home in most any place in Sonoma County....(though only "thanks" to the housing downturn--five years ago, maybe not!)

I share the much-criticized poster's concerns about the Santa Rosa school system--if you do end up there, select schools with care, gangs are very menacing in some schools in Santa Rosa (sorry, but it's the truth!) Also in truth, even Petaluma and Sonoma have those influences (this a fact of life in urban/suburban California these days, it's hard to avoid unless you can afford the multi-million dollar neighborhoods.) But it would be much less severe than in Santa Rosa. Napa (town) would be a marginally closer commute as well, but it too shares many of the problems of Santa Rosa.

As other posters have pointed out, Marin County does provide you some options--you can commute via the Richmond-San Rafael bridge--but housing gets even more pricey. As for schools in Marin, most anything south of and excluding San Rafael schools are considered crackerjack--but 675k may not get you much of a house.

In conclusion, I'd add Sonoma (town) to your list, along with Petaluma. Sonoma County really is a wonderful place to live, even with some very justifiable concerns, and with your budget it should turn out just fine. Best of luck in your search. Do let us know how it turns out!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-16-2009, 11:40 AM
 
402 posts, read 1,019,639 times
Reputation: 244
Realistically and overall, Santa Rosa is a pretty safe town. The areas that you would really want to stay away from are Apple Valley (where this is actual gang activity), possibly some areas around West 9th, and the lower south side. When I say southside, I am referring the area about 2 miles outside of town if you are heading north on the 101, on the left side of the freeway (can't remember the exit name, I believe it is DUTTON) - you would see the borders and a group of other stores in a stripmall outside of the exit I am thinking of. On the other side of the freeway, it is a little seedy.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-16-2009, 12:15 PM
 
402 posts, read 1,019,639 times
Reputation: 244
Quote:
Originally Posted by sliverbox View Post
I drive through Santa Rosa every 2 weeks and have friends there. It has nice parts, a pretty neat little old downtown, and then it has its generic, Wal-Mart parts. I'm a native Tennesseean, and honestly, much of Santa Rosa looks like Urban Nashville. Nothing very remarkable about it. The best part about it is that you would be close to decent wine country.

But... the commute to and from SF from Santa Rosa is a killer. I only drive there on weekends, and even then it takes over an hour to get to there from the East Bay. Now double that with weekday traffic. You have to go through Marin, which is an absolute nightmare. I used to have a job out there and quit because I couldn't stand the traffic.

Thus as mentioned often on this site- rent first. There's no reason to buy immediately in an area you don't know much about. It won't bring you any additional security. So rent, check it out, see what would be an area that would work best.
I agree with you on traffic, but it depends on your tolerance level too. If you are a morning person and can stand leaving at around 4:30, you can avoid it all together. The way back is a bigger problem, because a lot of people don't have a job like the one I had that only required me to be there 8 hours. I'd start at 5:30 and leave at 4:30 to get to Oak (45 min driving, 15 min walk to work).

Then, I'd leave work at 2 p.m. and it took about an hour to get home. If you have a job that wouldn't let you out until, say, 3, yes, then you are going to start to experience the nightmare!

I'll direct the rest to the author of this thread:

I used to do that exact same commute for about 2.5 years, 5 days a week. Here are some things to look for/tips for your husband:

(1) Leave very early, before 6 a.m. By doing that, you'll avoid the first wave of traffic, which comes immediately in Rohnert Park/Petaluma. If you leave anytime after that, it makes the commute much harder. Trust me on that one.

(2) The second wave comes around Navato, but is not really that bad. Again, to avoid this I'd suggest leaving about 5 a.m., or 4:30 if you can stomach it - it makes life so much easier.

(3) The third wave is on the 580 around Berkely I'd say. The drivers there are maniacs. They cut you off without signaling, they drive 85 mph, and some of them are not people you'd want to get upset at for doing it. I had several instances where people decided to move me out of the way by just merging into me. They had beat up cars so they had nothing too lose at all. Practice defensive driving.

(4) Not sure where he works, but by getting into Oakland before or around 6, he will be able to park on the street downtown in a residential area for free. Oakland is a rough town for sure, but I never had any problems with my car getting vanalized or broken into, and I never had any problems with people in the downtown area at all.

Now, on the way back, there are a couple different options:

(1) Take 580 W. and connect to 80 East towards Sacramento and take the highway 37 exit. Follow that until you get to Lakeville Highway. Then Lakeville to Petaluma to connect to the 101 North again. This drive would take about 1 hr. 15 minutes in non-peak commute time (leaving Oakland at 3 pm maybe), but there is considerabley less traffic.

I started to try this option when I got fed up with sitting in mile long car traffic. It was longer but a little more relaxing.

(2) Take 580 W., connect to 101 N. and then take the Nicasio valley exit (I believe that was the name, it's just after Marin but before Navato). You get a beautiful, winding view of the hills and mountains. It ends up dumping you off in Petaluma, where unfortunately you deal with traffic again as you fight to get out of Petaluma and back on the 101. But, sometimes this is worth it like on a Friday when you'd rather spend more time just driving and less time sitting in miles of traffic.

(3) Take 580 W to 101 N all the way to Santa Rosa. You will hit 4 waves here at the same places I listed for the drive TO Oakland, but unfortunately you'll also hit traffic from Rhonert Park going to Santa Rosa.

(4) Always bring extra toll money!!! The Richmond/San Rafael bridge costs $4 when you are going west bound over it (back to Santa Rosa), and then if you take 80 you have the Carneros bridge (again, not sure of the spelling). I know for sure on the Richmond bridge at least, if you forget and cannot pay the fine is automatically $36. You can't even contest it. This can add up real quick. I should know, I f'd up many times and spent or fogot to bring money.

(5) This is optional: Drive 80 mph. The police really don't ticket you unless you are driving wrecklessly; the speed isn't an issue. My cube mate used to drive even faster! Before you harken back to my "they drive 85 mph and are maniacs" comment, let me assure you, although I drove fast, I also drove safe. Always signaled, always double checked mirrors, etc.

If you are worried about tickets, the cops tend to hide on the 580 area just out of Berkeley and about 2 miles before the Richmond/San Rafael bridge. They do this because the traffic clears and people start flying through to get to the bridge. You'll see them hiding around the overpasses . . . . the only ticket I ever received was when I screwed up and drove in the diamond lane because I was stupid enough to leave at 7 a.m., and I just couldn't stand looking at the miles of un moving traffic ahead of me.


Now, if I did this 5 days a week for 2.5 years, I am sure your husband can hang for 1 day a week. Anyway, I hope these tips help. One day a week is really nothing to sweat about in any case.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-16-2009, 12:17 PM
 
402 posts, read 1,019,639 times
Reputation: 244
I meant to say in first paragraph "I'd leave at 2:00", not 4:30.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-18-2009, 01:07 AM
 
1 posts, read 2,705 times
Reputation: 13
Smile Windsors too far

Quote:
Originally Posted by swedishmommy View Post
My husband has an opportunity to be transferred to Oakland for work. Currently we live in Nashville, TN, so this will be a big move. We have three small children (6, 5, and 2), and I would like to move to a family friendly area within about an hour and a half from Oakland. He'll only have to commute once a week, so a longer commute is okay. We've talked to several people and they have mentioned Windsor and Santa Rosa. I'm concerned about gangs, crime, school systems, etc. Can anyone give me a few great family friendly areas to raise children? We should be able to afford a house around $675 or so.
I would suggest montclair/Piedmont as a great family friendly area and a more upscale neghborhood. Lots of moms groups and a safe area. I was a nanny for 12 years out there (also known as the oakland hills) Traffic would kill you living in Windsor(about 2 hours drive) I live in Hercules which is hurther out and a suburb. It's right on the bay and I love it here. Hercules is growing and building which is always a positive thing. Also it is a big commuter town where people can take the bus to the bart train and in the next couple years the ferry. Look at Hercules CA website.
I belong to Valley Bible church here in Hercules and we have a moms group here as well. It is really safe here.
Hope that helps
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2009, 08:20 PM
 
6 posts, read 26,221 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks for all of your replies! We're narrowing our search to possibly Sebastopol or parts of Petaluma. My husband will be commuting to the Oakland airport about once a week. Any tips/thoughts/concerns about a commute from those areas to the airport?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2009, 09:57 PM
 
Location: Mayacama Mtns in CA
14,520 posts, read 8,745,301 times
Reputation: 11356
Why not take Santa Rosa Airport Express? Sonoma County Airport Express Schedules & Fares
From Petaluma it takes an hour and a half and is at a reasonable price. Of course this is depending on where you settle and your DH's work situation.

Anyway, this is a good company; in business a long time and much better than the local competition. Just a thought for an alternative to spending all that time driving. It's quite a bit faster, IMHO, even during the commute than one driving solo in a car, as the diamond lanes can't be used by a single driver. Something to consider.

There are great areas in both Petaluma and Sebastopol... the latter adding 1/2 hr to 45 min. each way to the drive time, I think.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top