Good School district near Petaluma (San Francisco, Fremont: renting, house, job market)

[Unclescrooge]

Hi,

We are planning to move to Petaluma area from NJ soon.
Pl suggest good neighborhood with a good primary school in the area.

- I will work in Petaluma and spouse will work in SF.
- Prefer less than 1h commute for both.
- We have one primary school going (4th grader) kid.
- We need near by Asian indian grocery stores and restaurants.

School district, Safety and a convenient commute are our primary concerns.

[SFNative415]

Hey there Unclescrooge,

Too bay there isn't a forum for the North Bay which I'm sure people who live there could chime in. I don't live in Petaluma unfortunately but what I've told my clients to use is this website https://www.greatschools.org/

Most people find Great Schools helpful in their home search because it's almost like a Yelp for schools and it's districts. You can literally type in an address for the home you are potentially looking at and it will let you know which schools are around (elementary, middle and high school), how far they are located from the subject address, their rating, and what other parents are saying about it.

As far as safety, I recommend https://www.walkscore.com/

WalkScore's website will break down the "walk-ability" in relations to if you need a car, public transit, or how far you need to walk to amenities.

Another good one is https://spotcrime.com/

Spot Crime's website can break down what's going on in the neighborhood. You can pinpoint the location by simply entering your address and it shows the recent police reports.

I am in no shape for form sponsored by any of these companies but I have recommended these to my clients in the past and I hope this helps. Good luck!

[jade408]

What is your budget!

[Unclescrooge]

Thankyou SFNative4125 for the information.
Due to scarcity of information, i am considering renting out initially and the decide to buy a house in 6-12M.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Unclescrooge

Due to scarcity of information, i am considering renting out initially and the decide to buy a house in 6-12M.

There is a scarcity of info since there is no easy answer to your question. The majority of the authentic Indian restaurants and grocery stores are in Sunnyvale and Fremont. There are also some in Dublin.

A good midpoint for both of your commutes is Novato. Novato has good schools but no decent Indian food. I would also consider living in the city of SF in the Richmond district. It would be an easy reverse commute to Petaluma and your wife would have a good commute within SF. However then you would have to go through the SF school placement process. SF has some good schools but getting in the one you want to be in is challenging. I would gamble with renting in SF for a year and go to Sunnyvale on the weekends.

California School Ratings, school profiles, test scores - San Francisco County

Albany has good schools and some limited access to Indian food in Berkeley. However both you and your wife would have challenging but not impossible commutes.

Mill Valley would be an easier commute for your wife than Novato. However the kind of Indian food one finds in Mill Valley is the "Punjabi Burrito".

[Scorpion3510]

Originally Posted by capoeira

There is a scarcity of info since there is no easy answer to your question. The majority of the authentic Indian restaurants and grocery stores are in Sunnyvale and Fremont. There are also some in Dublin.

A good midpoint for both of your commutes is Novato. Novato has good schools but no decent Indian food. I would also consider living in the city of SF in the Richmond district. It would be an easy reverse commute to Petaluma and your wife would have a good commute within SF. However then you would have to go through the SF school placement process. SF has some good schools but getting in the one you want to be in is challenging. I would gamble with renting in SF for a year and go to Sunnyvale on the weekends.

California School Ratings, school profiles, test scores - San Francisco County

Albany has good schools and some limited access to Indian food in Berkeley. However both you and your wife would have challenging but not impossible commutes.

Mill Valley would be an easier commute for your wife than Novato. However the kind of Indian food one finds in Mill Valley is the "Punjabi Burrito".

San Rafael might be more the midpoint. Especially if she can take the SMART train and avoid the dreaded Petaluma narrows in traffic. San Rafael would definitely have more Indian food than either Mill Valley or Novato. Husband could take the ferry into the city from Larkspur or the GG bus.

[davdaven]

The North Bay is much more homogeneous than the rest of the Bay Area, so the Indian population is not that large. However, San Rafael at least has enough to put together a few Indian restaurants. From San Rafael, it is an easy drive to Berkeley, which will be the closest city with an actual collection of Indian restaurants, groceries, and clothing stores.

Most schools in the North Bay are considered good, so San Rafael seems like the most logical option for your family. Especially considering it's the only city in Marin County with anything that passes as diversity. San Rafael is very central to both of your workplaces, with the ability to take Golden Gate Transit express buses (or the Larkspur Ferry) to SF and SMART trains (or other GGT buses) to Petaluma. The drive from San Rafael to Petaluma is reverse commute too, so it's practical to drive. I have several co-workers who drive from Petaluma to San Rafael in the commute direction every day, which has terrible traffic, so it's a pretty common commute in the North Bay.

Within San Rafael, I recommend the neighborhoods within walking distance of downtown. The Lincoln Avenue corridor is okay, but I prefer Gerstle Park or the area on the way to Dominican University. Sun Valley is nice but a little out of the way. The West End is good too. I would avoid Peacock Gap, which is far away from transit lines, and the Canal, which is pretty run down. Terra Linda is pleasant, but it isn't as diverse and not quite as central.

Sorry to say, but I cannot recommend any other communities in Marin County. They lack diversity, and in many cases because they are so wealthy, the children have a sense of entitlement that may poorly influence your child as he/she gets older.

[sarasen]

Originally Posted by Unclescrooge

Hi,

We are planning to move to Petaluma area from NJ soon.
Pl suggest good neighborhood with a good primary school in the area.

- I will work in Petaluma and spouse will work in SF.
- Prefer less than 1h commute for both.
- We have one primary school going (4th grader) kid.
- We need near by Asian indian grocery stores and restaurants.

School district, Safety and a convenient commute are our primary concerns.

Hello - did you ever make the move to petaluma? I am also south east asian indian - thinking of moving to petaluma in a few months, but what's stopping me is the job market - I can take my job with me (telecommute) and my husband found found one job offer - but i'm worried if our current jobs fall thru, what will we find?

Not to mention the schools are a hit or miss, depending on what part of town you live in.

Please let me know anything you have experienced...

[Scorpion3510]

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