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My husband and I are in our 40's and 50's. We have one 5 year old. We work from home. We are looking to move to N. California next summer or fall. I might be attending law school, so I may be commuting to San Francisco. So, we are up in the air, unfortunately, about the commute. I have been looking at Sebastopol. Seems to be right up my alley. I also am looking at Mill Valley. Love the short commute and should also be good for kids, I think? And, San Rafael, which is a longer commute, but not impossible. I have recently run across Bodega Bay. I know very little about the area, except that it is touristy. Not too certain about my child living in such a small community. She likes ballet, gymnastics, yoga, aikido. We love nature too. Besides the travel time (70-90 minutes?) to San Francisco, what are the cons (and pros) to living in Bodega Bay area? What are the people like? The schools? I am also concerned about the education. My daughter seems fairly bright and I am familiar with education (Masters in Ed), so I will be a fairly demanding parent. What would it be like to grow up there (for her)? I love the houses overlooking the ocean. Doesn't look like a lot of trees, though. I love green, trees and cool areas. Love rain and fog. Don't mind that. I like the idea of solitude and small community, but I am really worried about my daughter and the 3-4x per week travel, if I have to go to law school. Also, worried that my daughter won't get the extracurriculuar in such a small town. What's the mentality in Bodega Bay? Liberal? Is it like Sebastopol- people wise? community-wise? Also, my husband and I enjoy cultural diversity, but it isn't absolutely necessary. We enjoy the company of many different types of people and we are fairly easy going. We tend to relate more to educated, liberal-ish, green, types. I enjoy peace, solitude, gardening but also enjoy socializing, yoga, New Age things, etc. (We are fairly diverse, I'd say.) We are hard working, down-to-earth people from the midwest. I very much would like to find a nice community and permanent home for ourselves and for my child. So, anybody out there that can give me some interesting, daily life info about Bodega Bay area (or even Mill Valley and San Rafael)? Your input is appreciated.
Last edited by RunningWild; 09-03-2011 at 09:30 AM..
Seems like the commute to SF would be a pain in the ass from Bodega Bay. All those windy roads in Marin and Sonoma take a long time to drive down. You'd also probably feel pretty isolated.
I imagine you pretty much have to be a millionaire to live around Mill Valley, houses can easily go for over a million there. San Rafael and Novato are supposed to be more affordable, like 400-500k I think? I think it might come down to your budget and how long you want the drive to SF to be.
The small year-round population of Bodega Bay is mainly retirees due to lack of jobs. The few jobs that are available are mainly tourist serving or fishing related. The elementary school has a very small enrollment and is only K-4th with older children and high schoolers going to Tomales in Marin County. Probably half of the elementary enrollment is from families where English is not spoken at home. Your child would have to be driven to Sebastapol, Santa Rosa, or Petaluma for ballet, yoga etc. Bodega Bay is a beautiful place to visit for the day or weekend to enjoy the scenery and coastal beaches but I would not recommend it as a place to live with a child. There are no native trees in Bodega Bay because trees do not grow on the ocean bluffs - too much wind. Finally, the commute to SF from BB would be ridiculous. It is a long drive and in the winter Highway 1 east of Valley Ford is sometimes closed due to flooding.
Mill Valley would be a better fit in terms of atmosphere, people, easy commute, opportunities and school for your child but it is a very costly place to buy or rent a house. Similar feel to Sebastapol but not as rural and more upscale. Some call it "Me Valley" or "Mill Valium" but to many others it is "My Valley" and they feel fortunate to live there. A few years ago it was one of Money Magazine's 10 best places to live for what that is worth. I recommend a visit.
Bodega Bay is probably a bit different than you are imagining. It is FOGGY, COLD & WINDY for at least 50% of the year, especially in the summer and it gets a good bit of rain(40-50" or so) in the rainy season. There are plenty of nice days too and it is beautiful on the coast, but first and foremost you need to understand the climate here, it is BACKWARDS!!! If you like warm/hot sunny days do not move there! The temps. usually stay in the 50s & 60s all year round with the occasional heatwave up to the 70s or 80s & rarely higher. The wind is brutal too, like an "arctic breeze". I sh*t you not, just went out there last week 85 & sunny in Santa Rosa & it was sooooooooooooooo cold out there!! Those "views" of the ocean & bay will be 50% or more views of a crazy thick cold drizzly marine layer.
Also not to scare you but it is right on the San Andreas fault line, the fault runs right through Tomales & Bodega bays so consider that before buying a home. Earthquakes occur everywhere here in NorCal and nowhere is safe, but the coast here is right on the fault.
Now as far as people it is an eclectic mix of normal suburban folk,fishermen,rednecks,surfers and wealthy people who have weekend homes or are retired. It is safe and friendly but the town doesn't have much to offer at all except some good seafood or fish n' chips and a beer & a couple surf & kite shops. For a lot of your childs activities you would want to drive into Sebastopol (20 min,. or so) or Santa Rosa (30-40min.). The coast is nice and quiet and it is a very small town and safe.There isn't much real estate in Bodega either, you have the Harbor subdivision which is an upscale sub division with HOA rules & fees or you have "old town" which is mostly small old shanty places very close together or you have the neighborhoods just N. of Bodega bay that are the nicest IMO,but there isn't much selection,not many homes & few are for sale it is called Serrano Del Mar. Really the Sonoma/Marin/Mendocino coast is largely undeveloped which is nice,but homes are very expensive & there isn't a huge selection. As you go inland the population and warm sunny weather increases.
As far as trees Bodega looks lacks some trees right on the coast but a quick 5-10 min. drive will get you into the thick of Eucalyptus,Redwoods,Firs,Bay & Oaks. There are some cool Monterey cypress groves & speicmens & Eucalyptus right on the coast as well & then obviously a lot of grass covered hills. As far as gardening on the coast LOL , good luck. Ornamental gardens of specific coast tolerant plants do well,but that's about it. If you go a couple miles inland it is much much better for gardening or into Sebastopol. This is a "mediterranean" type climate so there will be no rain at all for up to 6 months during the summer & fall months,only fog at night, pretty much all the rain comes in Nov.-April. You will need irrigation & it is not the biggest deal, but since you're coming from the mid-west which has "normal rainfall"
just thought you would like to know that.
As far as commuting SF is about 1.5 hrs., HWY 1 is scenic but it will take you FOREVER! The easiest way would be to take the back roads to Petaluma & hop on the 101 or you can go into Santa Rosa & hop on the 101. Depending where in the city you needed to go & traffic conditions the commute would be 1.5-2.5 hrs. before you actually get there.
I would suggest Sebastopol, it has much better weather & a little more convienent location & plenty of activites & trees too & Bodega is only 15-25 min. away. Anyone saying Sebastopol is rural is smoking crack, it is yuppie central, or should I say "yippie" (psuedo-hippy yuppies). It is surrounded by beautiful countryside & open space but it is not "country". The town is very suburban & quite busy. It has a very diverse, eco friendly vibe & sounds right up your alley,I like Seb. a lot. Mostly good people but the yippies are kinda out of hand,haha.
Occidental is great if you want trees & seclusion, it is only 15-20 min. to the coast and in the thick of the Redwoods. Killer spot, but back to the same deal of high prices & not much selection.
I live in Santa Rosa & recommend it as well, there is a much higher population of people, but you are central to everything Ocean,Redwoods, 1 hr. to SF, Napa,etc.
As far as Marin, Mill Valley is great but it is VERY expensive, if you have or make a ton of money which is none of my beeswax,then go for it, but a working class guy like me is struggling in Sonoma county even, the whole area here is very pricey & Marin takes the cake for most expensive & yuppie-ized. San Rafael is ok I like San Anselmo & Fairfax better, Fairfax is like Marin's Sebastopol,Redwoods & chill vibe, great place I like it a lot.
In a nutshell Mill Valley is much,much closer to the SF & much more upscale,still near a lot of nature though, Muir Woods & the coast, Mt. Tam!
Bodega Bay is a very small, quiet,cold & foggy, expensive beach town that is 20-30 min, from a highly populated inland suburbia with plenty of surrounding vineyards,countryside & woods mixed in.
Last edited by BodegaHead; 09-03-2011 at 11:43 PM..
Very helpful information, BodegaHead! Thank you very much! Could you (or anyone) tell me a bit more about Occidental? I visited Sebastopol a tiny bit and have done some reading on that area, but I don't know much about Occidental.
Very helpful information, BodegaHead! Thank you very much! Could you (or anyone) tell me a bit more about Occidental? I visited Sebastopol a tiny bit and have done some reading on that area, but I don't know much about Occidental.
Sure, Occidental is a very tiny bohemian town about 10-15 min. NW of Sebastopol, a quick backroad journey. It is about 20-25 min. to Santa Rosa & 15-25 out to the coast depending on your route. It is surrounded by thick
mixed evergeen & Redwood forest & has a mild climate (almost never freezes,it's funny to see the big palm trees & subtropical plants mixed into the redwoods). It is very pretty & commutable to Santa Rosa or Seb. for work & shopping, about 1.5hrs. to SF.
It is very tiny & touristy,but peace & seclusion can be found on the properties out there, plenty of wooded places in the hills, also some open sunny meadows in spots. The big problem I see here is $$$$$$$$$$$$$. I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but it is super pricey to get something nice.
I don't know what you are looking for in a property or if you are going to rent or buy? What kind of yard do you want? How much sq. footage or bedrrooms? Rents can be found on Craigslist.org & properties for sale can be found on Greathomes.org.
I think Sebastopol is your best bet, it is still pricey for homes, but there is enough selection you could find something.
So I just ran into your other post about Sebastopol. If you are used to BIG newer homes on BIG lots you will probably hate California. Most homes that you have in mind are $700-1mil. plus even in this down market.
I live in a 60s
split level that is decent but not fancy on 1/3 of an acre in town & it was a $750,000 house during the bubble & is still worth $450-500. Most of the big fancy newer homes have NO yard like .001 acre & houses 3 ft. away on all sides & all of the older homes with acreage are not super fancy & they will run you $600 and up. You can get both but it will cost the big bucks. I would completely forget about Marin altogether, it is probably way too built up & expensive for your liking from what I am gathering. I think you could find peace in West county if you just accept the homes & the way of life are different here, it's California!!!
Really if you want somewhere that is convenient to SF but kind of a mix of rural and suburban, but not as horribly expensive as Marin, I'd look at the area around Orinda and Lafayette. Either that or around San Rafael, but Orinda and Lafayette at least have BART stations.
I'd still say from reading your wants list Sebastopol would be your ideal choice, but out of town in W. Seb. in the hills.
Another choice for you in Marin is Fairfax or San Geranimo. Like I said before though it comes down to price. I just saw a perfect large family 3,300 sq. ft. home in great condition with 2 acres in Fairfax,very nice place, but it is $1.2Mil. in this market! In Mill Valley it's even worse about $1.5 Mil. for the first nice property with 1 full acre & it's wooded. If you could settle for an older house with a half acre or less you could buy for $500-800,000.
In Seb. I just saw a nice BIG house built in 2004 on 4 acres, it is $1.5 Mil.. There are other homes in Seb. for cheaper but you said you hate most of the 40s.50s,60s , 70s & 80s houses & that they should be torn down. Really out here those houses are just renovated, most the newer homes are crap in subdivisions with no yard or CUSTOM built by someone with money on a few acres & hence the $1Mil. plus pricetag.I'm actually in the process of restoring my crappy 60s home now & fixing up the original wood floors. When things come back I'll probably get some outrageous price for it
As far as you saying lease to buy or whatever you said are you saying you have no down payment are you talking rent to buy??? If so good luck we put $200,000 down on a short sale home in 2008 just after the bubble collapse & could only afford a crappy older 60s house with no yard haha. Our house has dropped since then but not as bad as if we bought in 2006-7.
Now the market is MUCH lower, what you are seeing looking at homes now is a 30-45% price reduction if you can believe it!!!!! A few years ago the properties cost waaaay more, but it is all relative because getting a loan is much harder & if you're selling to buy you will get a much lower price & much less equity to put down. Really the properties are outrageous & owning land is a privelage. I say here you get land or a house in a normal price range of $500,000 right now(which is EXPENSIVE by most places standards) you will get an acre or maybeeee 2 & a small fixer home or you can buy a nicer home with NO yard at all, or my place is right in between it is an average 2,500 sq. ft. home of 1/3 of an acre with an outdated kitchen for that range. I am looking to maybe move from here when I can because of the property costs, but it's difficult everywhere in CA, I was looking at Mendocino or SLO county but the jobs don't pay as much & you are FAR from any city so there is a trade off to own that 1-5 acres & nicer house. Sonoma county has a lot to offer,it's a great place, but it's expensive
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!!!!! A few years ago the properties cost waaaay more, but it is all relative because getting a loan is much harder & if you're selling to buy you will get a much lower price & much less equity to put down. Really the properties are outrageous & owning land is a privelage. I say here you get land or a house in a normal price range of $500,000 right now(which is EXPENSIVE by most places standards) you will get an acre or maybeeee 2 & a small fixer home or you can buy a nicer home with NO yard at all, or my place is right in between it is an average 2,500 sq. ft. home of 1/3 of an acre with an outdated kitchen for that range. I am looking to maybe move from here when I can because of the property costs, but it's difficult everywhere in CA, I was looking at Mendocino or SLO county but the jobs don't pay as much & you are FAR from any city so there is a trade off to own that 1-5 acres & nicer house. Sonoma county has a lot to offer,it's a great place, but it's expensive
