San Francisco and what to do in it

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.

b) those summer days can have a high of 100 but a low of 55, so it really does fully cool off every night.

"can have" does not equal "always have" ... unless you are specifically talking Sonoma County ... further south, this is definitely not the case

I was born and raised in Sebastopol, relocated to Brooklyn but am still back to visit my folks in Santa Rosa every year or so, can cosign everything Eazy said. Lots of my friends moved back to 'slow-coma' county in the past year after their kids were born. It's edenic behind the redwood curtain.

i think Santa Cruz is a great suggestion. Further south, but friends live in a little town near santa barbara called carpiteria. supposedly very nice. don't know if it quite ticks all your boxes though. parts of LA are awesome, but i really don't know enough to make suggestions. stear clear of the inland empire though. it pretty sucky

I think it's Carpinteria. Were you thinking of:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqM7KgyXz2Q

One of the catchiest jingles of my childhood!

lol, yes. and i had completely forgotten abt that

Santa Barbara is *way* farther south

LMBO at Carpiteria, still not sure if that was a troll post or not, well done.

i know, just trying to be "california completist" if quincie is considering other parts
xpost

Can't believe no one has suggested Lodi yet

Take it to the CCR thread.

Sure thing josh in CHICAGO

Would you prefer Josh in Chico?