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Thriving town, growing pains, expensive - 1/7/2007
I lived (grew up) in Petaluma for 15 years. It's a charming little town that isn't so little anymore. The Kohl's and Target shopping centers built over the last few years have made it feel officially like a mid-sized town... and so does the traffic. You can take care of most of your shopping needs in P-town - if you need anything else, you have a ton of choices between Santa Rosa (20 minutes north, has the mall and several shopping centers), Mill Valley, San Rafael, Corte Madera, etc.
Petaluma has its share of boutiques, a few really good restaurants and PLENTY of awesome Mexican food (Mi Pueblo!!! Get their bbq chicken super burrito), gyms, clothing and decorating boutiques, and antique shops. The downtown area is growing, updating, thriving. It's alive. There are always people out and about - AND there's a great parking garage downtown that ALWAYS has parking, and no quarters required (meter free!)
The junior highs and high schools are, in my opinion, so-so. That is, they're not very rigorous. There are some great teachers and some not-so-good. If you move to the "East Side" of town, your kids will go to Kenilworth Jr High and Casa Grande High. "West Side" kids will go to Petaluma JH and Petaluma HS. The East Side schools are more ghetto, wannabe "gangsta"; kids are more into alcohol. PJH and PHS is more hippie, laid back, surfers, lots of weed (although both do their fair share of both). I went to PHS for two years and think it's a better atmosphere than Casa. The football/track field is the best in the county, and there's been lots of new construction at the school in the past 5-10 years. Casa feels old.
The weather is unbeatable, unless you're like me and you love the cold - cause it doesn't get that cold here. Last summer was an Indian summer, so it got EXTREMELY hot, but that's rare. Humidity feels like ZERO, especially compared to the Southern states. It's bliss. It can be cold and drizzly in winter, but there are rarely extremes. Winter here is green, while summers are brown, unlike other areas of the country. There's really no such thing as thunderstorms in summer. Summer here means bright, sunny days perfect for driving to the beach. Great lounging and surfing beaches are about 25-45 minutes away, depending on which one you want to go to.
If you're looking for a church, try Calvary Chapel Petaluma. It's the best. I've been to churches all over the country; Calvary's my home church, and my favorite. It's contemporary, non-denominati[read more...] |
