Beautiful place, great climate but too expensive - 12/1/2007

Santa Rosa CA is a really great locatation - 50 odd miles from San Francisco, mild climate year round, but the cost of housing is far too high. with a lowend average prices of about 450K for a small house in a a lower income neighborhood, it is impossible for someone with less than an 200K salary to buy a house without having to sell their souls to paying the mortgage. So its not affordable to live here and there arent any high paying jobs in the area. Its only affordable if you have a lot of money to start with.

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Expensive - 10/17/2007

Most people who move here from other states already know but it's very expensive to live in Sonoma County. Some of the highest housing costs in California. Average home price is in the mid $500,000's.

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Crime and Gangs - 7/16/2007

I have lived in Santa Rosa for many years after living in New England and the South. The crime is not as bad as other parts of the county especially for a city of this size. However, the gang problem is a result of so many wineries bringing hundreds of Mexican (Legal and Illegal) citizens in our area. Their children and their culture glorifies the Macho attitude which in turn make the gang problem worse. Also, with the local climate in California of not hurting anyone's feelings and social workers adding to mix of creating every program under the sun, it is like dry brush feeding a fire. What is lacking is a zero tolerance program. However, because they will feel racist, that will never take place so the gang problems will increase because of politicians either ignorance or cowardice to act like a leader. There definitely should be a hefty tax put on these agriculuture companies that pollute an area with immigrants because of the burden they add to the cities and local towns. In the 80's this was not the case in Santa Rosa and the 90s with increase of wineries the gang problems became a problem and have increased. However, once we get a leader who has the strenght to give muscle behind the police force with absolute zero tolerance for gang children and their PARENTS

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expensive - 6/27/2007

A great place but you are going to pay top dollar to live here.

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nice, but...... - 4/8/2007

nice place to live...too expensive

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Santa Rosa, CA living: My 2nd year of living here - 4/7/2007

I am originally from New England and lived there all of my life until 2 years ago when I moved to Santa Rosa, CA for my job. The best thing about this area: Climate. Spring just takes my breath away with just how beautiful the weather is. Green foothills and wine grapes growing on farms. Summer is dry, but a very comfortable 80 degrees with a mild breeze. Little to no humidity. No mosquitos. The kind of days you might experience a few times a year back east, you experience for several months. Winters are tolerable. Dubbed out here as the "rainy season" - it truly is that. Temperatures are roughly in the 60's. Cool enough to need to wear a coat, but certainly not freezing cold. Locals out here have never heard of the term "wind chill factor". Now the bad: The housing prices are out of this world for a medium sized house on a postage sized lot. People who say that living on the east is more expensive, have never lived on the east and then moved out here. The worst thing is, is that housing prices here have only recently (less than 5 years) exploded. So, what I have experienced, is that the socio-economic status of the area is not necessarily that of what newcomers who can afford to live out here can identify with. There are certain pockets of Santa Rosa that are poor, and some that are affluent. I'm not a snob - I just want to be able to identify with my neighbors and have my children play well with my neighbor's children. The neighborhood we are in is perfect for us, because it is mixed racially, with professional working parents and stay at home moms. But that is rare. The majority of Santa Rosa is segregated into pockets of either poor (The area around Steele Lane) or affluent (Fountaingrove). Cost of living: Fuel, heating/cooling costs, groceries: Outrageous. We pay more to heat/cool our house (2000 sq. ft) for a very moderate climate as I described earlier, than we did to heat/cool our home in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. We easily pay double for what we did for groceries back east. We actually thought there was something wrong with our furance, until we had it inspected, and found out we have a 90% energy efficient furance. Scratching our heads, we started asking our neighbors how much they were paying for utilities. The average per month (for natural gas/electricity): $300 per month. No joke - and this is on par with our neighbors. Education: I hate the system out here in this area. The biggest claim to fame is th

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Gangs and Violence - 4/4/2007

It continues to ger worse here. Read the local paper on a regular basis--shootings, beatings, drunk drivers, etc. This is a city that's bordering on being out of control. I felt safer when I lived in Chicago and in NYC.

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Great Climate, but... - 3/13/2007

Climate is great, as is proximity to the coast and Wine Country. However, the traffic is horrible. It's not just congestion, it's the aggressive drivers. Lastly, violent gangs have become a real scourge. The authorities seem to be in denial or not capable. The problem is speading. A negative impact on property values will continue.

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Relocating to Santa Rosa, Maybe - 2/26/2007

We recently retired and are thinking about relocating to Santa Rosa. What is the rental market like there? Also would appreciate any other thoughts regarding the area. Thanks, Joe

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Educational opportunities in Santa Rosa, CA - 2/21/2007

Santa Rosa has many nearby universities providing high-quality learning experiences.

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Good and bad... - 11/27/2006

Pros: The local junior college is excellent, the climate is great, the politics are mostly moderate. (There is an interesting split in the community between the conservatives and progressives.) There are some very nice older neighborhoods but prices are generally $1 million and up. The community still has an agricultural focus with a lot of wonderful organic roduce, local cheeses, wine of course, the breads are the best I've had outside of France. Great restaurants. The city has decided to maximize growth within city limits, with the express purpose of preserving the open spaces in the county. Cons: Housing prices. Traffic is absolutely horrid. Growing gang crime and violence especially in the southwest part of the city. The local government is generally pro-development which results in some pretty lame decisions (e.g., the hillside development in the northeast part of town was supposed to be done in such a way as to preserve the sightline of the hills, which are beautiful, but that went out the window long ago and the million $ plus homes are sprawling all over the place). Bike trails and alternative transportation are VERY slow in coming.

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Santa Rosa - 9/11/2006

I have lived in Santa Rosa over 30 years. I raised my 2 children here and we all think it is a safe and wonderful place to live. The price of realestate has gone up so much that neither of my children can purchase a home and one has moved away to be able to afford home ownership. There is more crime than when they grew up but still not as much as in other areas.

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Beautiful but... - 9/6/2006

Santa Rosa has become unaffordable for young families (or anyone else for that matter)who do not come to this area with a serious amount of money. The housing market is beginning to cool off a bit but homes still average $500,000+. Some surrounding communities are even more expensive, Healdsburg, Sonoma and Sebastopol. This is a beautiful area to live in, with the ocean just to the west, redwood forests nearby and a moderate climate but it comes with one hefty price tag. The infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth, particularly the roads and highways. A freeway that was built over 30 years ago when our population was a fraction of what it is today is just now being widened. If money is no obstacle to your relocation/retirement then you will find this a good choice for your new home. When income is compared to the cost of living, I believe that we are rated as one of the least affordable areas to live in the country.

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The Best Climate - 8/27/2006

I love the weather here. Right now, in August, we've got foggy mornings and then the rest of the day is sunny with clear skies. It's like this for most of the year. In the winter it rains a lot, but never gets really cold. The only drawback is the high pollen count.

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Santa Rosa - 7/26/2006

Getting too crowded Trafic almost worst than san fransico.Nice weather But can get really wet in the winter.Lots of street venders making lots of noise.and trash.Im sorry to say after 20 years here, we are ready to move!

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Santa Rosa - High cost of living - 7/4/2006

The wine county region is an incredibly beautiful area, however the cost of living is insane. Half a mil gets you a starter home.

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too expensive - 6/13/2006

Beautiful place to live, wonderful, Gods land BUT way too expensive. Can't afford even a box to live in.

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Wine Country - 4/18/2006

Santa Rosa is in the middle of California wine country just north of Sonoma and the Valley of the Moon and west of the Napa Valley.

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Beauty not worth the price - 4/17/2006

I love the beauty of the wine country, but the high prices make it impossible for a young couple to find a decent place to call their own.

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Santa Rosa, California - 4/14/2006

Beautiful area, just way too expensive... First time homebuyers - forget it!

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