San Francisco and what to do in it

Santa Rosa barely survived those big fires a few years back.

Russian River is a world-class brewery there.

I was up there for a long weekend earlier this month, stayed in a house in between downtown SR & Windsor (north SR?). It's a rustic college town, kinda bedroomy (for some looooong commutes, though Novato is starting to see more industry moving in). Access to the coast and rivers and parks in West Sonoma is amazing. The neighborhoods that perished in the fires (like Coffey Park) are almost all rebuilt. The beer is great (Moonlight, Russian River, Cooperage), the wine is better. The farmers markets are incredible. The pace of life is nice. The traffic is terrible. You can fly out of STS if you have somewhere far to go and don't want to trek down to SFO/OAK by car.

Obligatory film ref:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h08szD0wfbo

I would visit you if you lived there, quincie! There is a crappy New Zealand bakery that barely eases my homesickness for mince and cheese pies, and good mountain biking trails according to Jordan.

it's one of the places where bay area "hipsters" move to "retire" -- there are lovely forest-y areas and the Russian River nearby. And you can have a slice of DC with you, as you will be near Bohemian Grove! lol

OWL PARTY W THE LIZARD PEOPLE

This is helpful, thank you! Spouse and I are considering a west coast relocation. Originally we were thinking SF (and Oakland, or at least one of us was down with East Bay). My challenge is that there is now a horse in my life, and I have no idea how to make that work in SF. If Santa Rosa can check boxes on climate, food, walkability to useful stuff, drivability to horse and other stuff—we will check it out. I’m a social worker and don’t worry too much about finding a job; spouse is in IT operations and is more concerned. Heroic commutes are off the table.

Where else in N CA should we consider?

Santa Cruz?

Should note that there IS another transit option between Santa Rosa and the Bay.

https://www.sonomamarintrain.org/

Obv. still building up, but don't ignore it.

Also looks like the Larkspur extension, which drops you right at the ferry terminal, should be up and running by the end of the year.

Ooh good to know. We’re about 2 years out I think. But if we are gonna work in the Bay we’d just live in the Bay. But where would pony live arrrrgh damn pony.

Santa Rosa would be great for horses. I have a friend that lives up there who makes large metal sculptures, so the possibility of that much space is definitely there ... I have a cousin that lives in/near Santa Cruz who has a horse, so that is also possible. Obviously the farther inland you go, the more horse-friendly it is. Some of Contra Costa County is still kinda rural (Martinez area -- another friend just moved there and has a ranch with goats, etc.), and there is also the area where I grew up, which is Southern Santa Clara County/northern San Benito County, where there are a lot of people who work in Silicon Valley and have horses and ranch stuff.

My ideal is as urban as possible with horse within 45 minutes (my current situation—me in DC, horse MD). How much does Santa Rosa feel like an actual city? Does it feel like a poorly located suburb of SF or like an actual place in its own right?

I would take a few days and drive around Sonoma County. Each town really has its own character: Santa Rosa and Windsor are both the towns with all the big-box stores and suburb-like developments but nice old-school downtowns. (Like Al says, the Windsor farmers market and others are amazing.)

Petaluma would be a shorter commute into SF if you're definitely working there -- Tom Waits lives there and there are enough old charming stores and diners to show why.

Sebastopol has a Wicca side to it and also has The Barlow (nice studio-lot-like series of sheds for restaurants and breweries/wineries and so on -- it all flooded last spring and had to close for a few months).

Guerneville is right on the Russian River and next to a national redwood forest (astonishing) and hardcore LGBTQ in character. Remote but nice.

Healdsburg is the new Napa Valley as far as nice restaurants and wineries -- super pleasant but even more pricey than elsewhere nearby.

Cloverdale (where my folks live) is barely touristy and kind of the start of the more blue-collar/timber/weed towns north of Sonoma Co. (Hopland, Ukiah). "Clovertucky" as it's condescendingly called. But affordable and on 101 and nice enough.

In between all these towns are probably where you can live with your horse. (I don't think you'll find anywhere near SF or the East Bay where that would be possible.)

If you're OK being even a bit more remote there's Boonville and a few other small towns on 128 in Mendocino County and then Mendocino and Ft Bragg on the coast -- but that would feel pretty isolated. Sonoma Co. would mean still being only 60-90 miles from SF and all the cultural/etc. things there.

Santa Rosa definitely does not feel urban. If you want urban, probably best bet is to live in Oakland or Berkeley and find a place in CoCo County (or maybe eastern Alameda County like Dublin or Pleasanton) within 45 minutes to house the horse.

I would not call Dublin or Pleasanton urban- they’re suburbs to the core

one of my downstairs neighbors is an officer/member of the Black Cowboys Association, I could ask re horse stuff?

Lol - I didn't say quincie should move to Dublin or Pleasanton -- I said she could probably find someplace near there to stable the horse!!!

The only local friends I have with horse(s) live in El Sob(rante). There's some great riding out in the hills near there (Briones, Mt. Diablo, Port Costa).

I would imagine Santa Rosa has many more stables than anywhere you'd find in the bay area (where real estate is at an all-time high and poised for a market correction given a tech-bust/recession).

oh duh, there are actually horse stables in Oakland -- one of my clients' kids went to summer camp there

many xps: Eazy's guide to Sonoma County is great! The oft-overlooked town of Sonoma is worth peeking at as well.

compared to DC, Oakland/Berkeley might not feel as urban as you'd like, but San Francisco is super overpriced and it kinda takes forever to get anywhere outside of San Francisco (compared to the East Bay)

fwiw and maybe you already know this there is actually a stable in SF (I'm only familiar with it because my daughter's been going to horse camp there every summer for years now): http://marvistastable.com/

Man I saw the most amazing house in Petaluma a few months ago. It was about to go on sale and I went to a house show down the street; we drove by it and were captivated. drove up, and the real estate agent (or someone) had left the backdoor OPEN. So my wife and I hung out inside this crazy 1940's home beside a creek. Seriously considered trying to buy it and moving out of Berkeley but the commute would be really horrible for me. But people at the house show were all former SF and East Bay residents who were selling us HARD on Petaluma. You can definitely have a pony in Petaluma.

I love Petaluma, also Healdsburg and the town of Sonoma

Berkeley is a great place imo

it is but I've lived there since 1991 and I'm getting sick of it.

Thought I would also put in a plug for Marin. Novato (population 50,000) is relatively affordable & you can board horses on the west side of town. It's not a vibrant as Petaluma but you are a good bit closer to rest of the bay area. Petaluma doesn't seem that much farther north but the 10 miles or so of the 101 between Novato and Petaluma has ridiculous traffic. Or if you want a bit more urban flavor San Rafael (also pop 50,000) is worth checking out. Much closer to SF, lots of old nice properties, and a reasonably sized urban center with stuff to do. And board your horse in Novato.

Marin is so awesome

I live in SF but Marin is a pastoral fantasy for me

Tamalpais’s rain forests, bike paths, puma sightings, beach reveries, amazing vistas, and astonishing hidden alpine lakes are unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

I appreciate those things but also realize how much I value walking to farmers market and a good bakery.

Planning a CA trip for initial recognizance late Dec. This is all very helpful for planning, thanking u

Clearly we should do some sort of ILX pub meetup or the like. I would say that.

Seconded!

Spouse is like "should we consider anywhere in southern CA?" and despite having little to no exposure to anything south of the Bay area, I have some sort of northern CA bias. Should I be more open minded?

Damn CA, why u so big?

xpost So long as it's after Christmas by a couple of days I'll be around. (Probably heading home on Sunday the 22nd.)

I’m up for a FAP

Looking like Dec 21-Jan 2 or thereabouts.

I never go anywhere for xmas (lol jews)

Fully down for a Not New Year's Eve thing.

I’m usually out there sometime during that timE.

late to game, here to rep Placerville area or Newcastle outside sacramento: tres horsey, v pastoral old timey small towns, 45 min or less from city

cons -Sacramento summer sucks aasssss & lacks cool factor (literally & figuratively) of Sonoma/Marin County/Bay Area. but downtown is v vibrant now, esp in past 5-10 years, lots of growth etc.

oh and pville can be kinda rednecky but folks by and large are v nice

It’s waaaaaay too hot (for me) in Placerville- no way could I do 110 in the summer

Yeah I am specifically seeking better weather than hot and humid DC. Like, it is kind of a driving factor. That and the mosquitos.

And the lawyers. So many lawyers.

no humidity, just pure unadulterated fireball-in-the-sky heat

lol

entirely accurate (xp)

xpost, having grown up back east, I still marvel at the lack of bugs during the summers in the bay area.

I used to dislike southern california based on nothing but I like it well enough now. Pasadena is very nice. However, if you're trying to get away from heat, you probably don't want to live there.

Even the bay area is getting hotter in the summer, but it's tolerable and I'm convinced that the more or less temperate climate is only going to make it more desireable over the next 40 years as 3/4 of the country bursts into flames.

Santa Rosa gets pretty hot in summer, doesn’t it? The further inland you go, the worse it gets

Yep, it does, and Healdsburg/Cloverdale even moreso. Closer to the coast (Forestville, Guerneville, Sebastopol) stay a bit milder.

And the nice thing even in the hottest parts of the county is that a) the heat’s totally dry and b) those summer days can have a high of 100 but a low of 55, so it really does fully cool off every night.