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Old 05-30-2007, 06:57 PM
 
4 posts, read 24,461 times
Reputation: 10

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We are looking for a nice place to raise our two young children. We are looking for an area with little to no crime, good schools, close to business as well as arts/theater/entertainment/restaurants, etc. We would love to surround ourselves with open-minded individuals and a place where my husband can train for triathlons so bike paths are important. We would like to find ourselves in a place surrounded by greenery, trees and close to water, either the ocean or a lake. How do you feel about Rohnert Park or Sebastopol or Petaluma areas (or perhaps other areas we haven't considered yet)?

We will be visiting this summer and would like to move by the end of the year.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Old 05-30-2007, 07:16 PM
 
Location: Dayton OH
5,769 posts, read 11,393,006 times
Reputation: 13587
Sonoma County is probably one of the nicest places to live in CA or anywhere in the US. Great back roads for bike riding, great scenery in all directions, doesn't get much better. Mild weather all year, many nice towns including those you mentioned. Course you have already looked at Realtor.com or elsewhere and know that houses in that part of CA are very expensive, to put it mild. And I'd recommend to line up a job that doesn't require a daily commute to San Francisco, cause Hwy 101 is a long slow line of tail lights to the city during rush hours. I'd trade living here in Orange County for Sonoma County in a flash, no doubt about it.
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Old 06-06-2007, 03:38 PM
 
2 posts, read 10,499 times
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Sonoma is beautiful, but extremely expensive! It sounds like Sebastopol would be a good choice for you. Petaluma has a bit of crime, but in Sebastopol it is rare. It is also not too far from the ocean. I am moving out of Sonoma because of the cost of living. Good luck.
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Old 06-08-2007, 10:07 AM
 
Location: Mt. Charleston, NV
18 posts, read 185,140 times
Reputation: 18
Can a married family (husband is certified chef and I am early childhood educator) with two small children and combined salary of $60k live in Sebastopol?
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Old 07-04-2007, 03:36 AM
 
46 posts, read 202,127 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by starsandmountains View Post
Can a married family (husband is certified chef and I am early childhood educator) with two small children and combined salary of $60k live in Sebastopol?
Not very easily, I'm afraid. Although, your husband may find that he's able to make more money and have more opportunities as a chef in Sonoma Co than he would in most other places in the country. A good friend of mine works as a personal chef and has more work than she knows what to do with. And her services don't come cheap, either. Sebastopol is one of the more expensive areas, but there are smaller towns close to Seb. that are less expensive. Check out Graton or Forestville - both very small, rural towns just a few miles north of Seb.

There are still some parts of Santa Rosa that are affordable, but be careful of any condos in northwest Santa Rosa near HWY 101...that's some serious gang territory. (Well, serious for Sonoma Co which, on it's worst day, isn't Compton or Watts, but they do shoot each other over the color of their clothes and who needs the stress of that kind of crap in your neighborhood.) Other than that one area, Santa Rosa is a really safe middle sized city. Safer than Petaluma I think. At least it *feels* safer than Petaluma.

Petaluma does have a cute downtown though and, again, "safe" is relative. If you are coming from a place where crime is a real problem, Petaluma would feel like heaven. One thing you can't escape in Petaluma is the fact that 6 days out of 10, it smells like cow manure....all those "happy california cows" live on the dairy farms that surround Petaluma.

Rohnert Park is a dull, character-free, "bedroom community" with one bad high school and nothing for kids to do. AVOID.

You may want to look a tiny bit north of Santa Rosa for more affordable housing. Windsor or Wikiup are possibilities, but it won't be cheap anywhere. Sadly, I haven't seen a house for sale in this county for less than 400k in years.

Good luck! It's expensive, but salaries are higher too so you really might be able to make it work. Sebastopol is nice, but it's not unique. Really look around while you're here and you may find exactly what you're looking for in an equally nice, but less expensive Sonoma Co town.
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Old 07-07-2007, 05:26 PM
 
Location: California
11 posts, read 101,130 times
Reputation: 16
Default Santa Rosa Thrives!

Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenGirl View Post
There are still some parts of Santa Rosa that are affordable, but be careful of any condos in northwest Santa Rosa near HWY 101...that's some serious gang territory. (Well, serious for Sonoma Co which, on it's worst day, isn't Compton or Watts, but they do shoot each other over the color of their clothes and who needs the stress of that kind of crap in your neighborhood.)
I think you are a little off with your assesment of the "gang problem" in Santa Rosa. This is an article from The Press Democrat:

"...violent crime in Santa Rosa dropped 13 percent in 2006, according to an FBI report.
Property crimes -- burglaries, vandalism, auto theft -- also are down in the city.
The declining local crime rate bucks the national trend. Violent crime has increased slightly over the past two years in cities around the country.

"It's good news for the community,'' Santa Rosa Police Chief Ed Flint said."

Like any growing community, you are going to have rebellious youths doing stupid stuff. Unfortunately, the word "gang" is so explosive that the mere mention of it strikes fear into us all. I moved to Santa Rosa to raise my family. I have never felt safer in my life.

Myself and a group of Santa Rosa citizens have started a blog and a discussion forum. check it out.

<A HREF="http://santarosa.forumco.com/">Santa Rosa Thrives!</A>

This is why we moved here and we will never let a few knuckle heads jepardise our safety or our enjoyment of one of the most beautiful areas of California if not the country.

Take Care
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Old 08-23-2007, 06:55 PM
 
6 posts, read 25,533 times
Reputation: 12
We have lived in Petaluma for 5 years and love it here.
It has a beautiful new theatre district, sweet downtown area, lot of live theatre, and many charming qualities. You'll find crime everywhere in California. It's a very populated state with lots of social problems, but we feel safe here anyway.
If you are commuting, 101 is horrible.
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Old 08-24-2007, 12:39 PM
 
15 posts, read 96,982 times
Reputation: 21
i think the cost of living in sonoma county is somewhat overblown. I've seen statistics that the surrounding counties are more expensive.
I have lived in Petaluma for the last 12 years or so, before that Berkeley and before that San Francisco. I don't think I've ever lived in such a beautiful area. I especially love approaching Petaluma from a trip away, and travelling thru areas where cows are herding, and horses are grazing. When the hills are green it is just a mind-blower to have all that in your backyard.
A few weeks ago i took a mini-vacation to Safari West. It has 400 acres of land devoted to african animals and birds. It has 8 man made lakes and probably over 150 different species for touring and viewing and walking around. I recommend any one who comes to Sonoma County to take advantage of all that it has to offer, which is too numerous to mention -
including wineries, etc...
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Old 08-25-2007, 09:03 PM
 
Location: Erie, PA
713 posts, read 1,866,941 times
Reputation: 180
Got at least a six-figure income?
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Old 10-22-2010, 04:30 PM
 
13 posts, read 64,013 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by HuntMan1 View Post
I think you are a little off with your assesment of the "gang problem" in Santa Rosa. This is an article from The Press Democrat:

"...violent crime in Santa Rosa dropped 13 percent in 2006, according to an FBI report.
Property crimes -- burglaries, vandalism, auto theft -- also are down in the city.
The declining local crime rate bucks the national trend. Violent crime has increased slightly over the past two years in cities around the country.

"It's good news for the community,'' Santa Rosa Police Chief Ed Flint said."

Like any growing community, you are going to have rebellious youths doing stupid stuff. Unfortunately, the word "gang" is so explosive that the mere mention of it strikes fear into us all. I moved to Santa Rosa to raise my family. I have never felt safer in my life.

Myself and a group of Santa Rosa citizens have started a blog and a discussion forum. check it out.

<A HREF="http://santarosa.forumco.com/">Santa Rosa Thrives!</A>

This is why we moved here and we will never let a few knuckle heads jepardise our safety or our enjoyment of one of the most beautiful areas of California if not the country.

Take Care






It really depends on where you live. The gang crime in santa rosa is said to be about as bad as san jose or san francisco which isnt bad, but santa rosa only has about 155,000 people where san jose and san francisco both have at least 800,000. There is a gang problem but it is only in certain places, mostly on the westside but southeast santa rosa around bellvue ave also has some problems.
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