- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Northern California Babies
Where would you move to in Marin County?
Hi ladies,
I may be getting a job working in Petaluma, CA and I am wondering where we woud rent a new apartment or house. We would be moving from Redwood Shores in the Penisula and I would ideally like to live in Sausalito, San Rafael, Novato, etc. My question is where would be nice for a a small family and a medium size dog where I would still have a commute less than 1 hour in traffic? Would Sausalito be too far away to commute in the morning to Petaluma? Which has the best ammenities with a cute downtown with shops and resturaunts? I have only really visited Sausalito, San Rafael, and Tiburon. Where would you move to?
K
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Where would you move to in Marin County?
I was born/raised in San Rafael, but if you're working in Petaluma then I'd suggest Novato because a) it's cheaper and b) it's closer to Petaluma. It's also pretty family friendly. Are you looking to rent or buy?
Also, yeah, I'd say that Tiburon is DEFINITELY too far, because you have to take Tiburon Blvd out to the freeway to start with and that alone takes 15m. I think that the heaviest traffic in the AM in in SR by the Civic Center (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and also up by north Novato. Sausalito is also probably a bit too far, imo.
the secret blog
Why not North in Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati?
If you really want to stay in Marin, then I would vote Novato also.
Are you opposed to living in Petaluma?
There are some great areas in Petaluma to raise kids. But if you are wanting to stay in Marin County I'd probably go for Novato for commute issuse to Petaluma.
Hi, I really like Redwood Shores. It is very quiet with lots of grass, walking trails, and trees. When I looked around for places to live when I moved to the Peninsula my dog liked it here the best! So that is how I picked it. It is family friendly with good schools but it is also a little too quiet sometimes. The only thing I don't like is there isn't really a downtown here except for the local supermarket "The Knob". It is close enough to downtowns to San Carlos, Burlingame, Palo Alto, if you want to walk around shops and resturaunts. We rent a really big townhouse which we were lucky to find and pounce on when the price was lower. We found it on Craigslist. I used to live at the apartments at Archstone which I do not reccomend because they raise the rates constantly and gough (sp?) you. The housing prices have gone down a little because of the economy so you could buy a condo at a short sale because many people bought at the height of the market and are now underwater and selling.
You might be surprised at what he can find in the Santa Rosa/Petaluma area so if this is a long term job for you I would certainly take a good hard look at jobs for him. Being able to buy or even rent in the Petaluma area is going to be much easier on your wallet than anywhere south and it's got a great community.
If you go south than I'd consider what public transportation options might be available to him. No matter what the drive down 101 S into the city is crappy, but for you going against commute to Petaluma you shouldn't deal with traffic at all.
Big ditto - I'd live in Petaluma over Novato for sure, too.
Ahem, I'm close to Redwood Shores. So you'll have friends close by.
If your DH will have to commute south, then Marin is definitely your best bet. The traffic going north to south is BRUTAL. However, if that isn't the case (there are a ton of tech companies in Sonoma county) then Petaluma is super cute. It smells like cows most of the time, but the down town is so cute with tons of great restaurants and super family friendly.
I live in Novato, grew up in San Anselmo and spent my late teens early 20s in San Rafael. Novato or San Rafael would be ideal spots for commuting if your DH has to go south and you have to go north. The truth is that you will not have more than an hour commute going north ever because it is reverse commute. You might hit a little in the evening coming south, but nothing bad.
Novato is cute, but I feel the downtown is still lacking a little. They just cleaned it up recently, whole foods went in, a paradise market (higher end grocery), some new restaurants, trader joes- really over all great. However when we eat out, we frequently go elsewhere. San Rafael has more of a selection, as do Mill Valley and Sausalito. Sausalito you are dealing with tourists and it is super expensive so I wouldn't recommend it despite how super cute it is. Mill Valley is great, but more "marin" (i.e. you'll find more snobs and that sort of attitude there) and is also more expensive. San Rafael has a lot to offer, but there are huge differences from neighborhood to neighborhood.
Since you have kids- schools may be of concern to you. Novato's school districts aren't the best in Marin, though in general the schools here are good. They just have no money (less than the other districts) and it shows in regards to the quality of education. If you are in the Terra Linda/ Dixie school district in San Rafael, you're golden. In the San Rafael district, the elementary schools are great, but the high school and middle school are suffering.
In Marin you get the most for your money in Novato. The further south you go, the more expensive it is. But it's a trade off of course. Novato is still sort of a collection of strip malls and residential areas. But we have Costco and Target!
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask! I've lived here most of my life and bought my home in Novato about 2 years ago.