Too expensive too much crime - 3/17/2024

I was born and raised here. Santa Rosa used to be a great city great location great weather but now it is overcrowded and crime is off the charts and housing is crazy expensive.

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Really nice town with lots to do - 4/22/2022

I've lived her over 20 years and it's a pretty nice place. The main vibe is you feel safe doing this day or night. Most of the neighborhoods are well taken care of, they have good bus routes, lots of parking at colleges, malls, stores. Yes there is some traffic in rush hour, but thats everywhere in the world. Freeway that goes through town efficient with car pool lanes and new caltrans systems signs with electronic updates. Seems some crime is up with the many homeless that come from other areas of the country to hang out here which is a complete bummer. Schools are very good, people are friendly, upbeat area, is a stable community with lots of support and interaction. Lots of artistic things to do, very enriched area with so many great places to eat like no other place. And if you want to go to the ocean, it is a 40 minute drive, sweet.

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Avoid Santa Rosa like the plague! - 1/25/2021

Terrible city that's hurting for money. After going on a long hiatus from enforcing traffic laws, they've recently turned their highways into an ATM machine/cash cow by zealously enforcing the pettiest of infractions and fining hard working struggling Americans. They couldn't care less about public safety and the only thing they protect and service is their bottom line. I'm happy to report I've been able to leave this accursed city and I've made it a point to boycott Santa Rosa and never spend another dime here ever again. This city has gone down hill in a hurry, avoid Santa Rosa like the plague!

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The good, the bad and the ugly - 9/21/2020

I have lived here for over 30 years. In that time I have seen the traffic and crime increase. The crime and homelessness has increased dramatically. I have also witnessed first hand the impact of climate crisis. In the past the rainy season was pretty regular from mid to late October to February/March. These days it is always a drought and we have occasional rain or storm at odd times in the year. The fires are off the charts and as I type this the air quality due to raging fires is terrible. It is so sad to see this decline. I still absolutely love the proximity to Annadel State Park, Sugarloaf State Park, Armstrong Woods, and the coast to name just a few nearby beautiful places. Other than that, the cost of living in CA is just way too high considering the negatives. It is still the best state as far as I'm concerned for nature lovers...but that's all that keeps me here these days. It is also extremely hard to meet people for some reason as many have already established their base of friends and many have family nearby. If you are an older single person you can forget finding an eligible man...

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Weird and Provincial - 5/18/2019

The place gets both its stars for the weather, which is not as good as coastal places like Monterey or Santa Barbara, but holds its own despite the summer heat. The summer nights are almost always cool and temperate which you grow to appreciate. In addition the scenery and topography of Sonoma County are truly outstanding and picture perfect. Now the downside. I've been here for 10 years and my opinion of the place is remarkably unchanged over these years. I have to say that it may be the single most provincial place in the country. I use the word provincial deliberately. The inhabitants are generally unsophisticated, narrow minded people. You may ask, how can one of the most liberal places in the country be provincial? It doesn't make sense. I too would have thought that before moving here. But, alas, there it is, the most closed minded, conservative people I've met, live in this town. I don't mean politically conservative. I mean in personality, in demeanor, and most of all in uninteresting, unusually sheltered lives. This is a town that stopped a freeway from going two or three miles through the east side of town for all sorts of environmental reasons, only causing needless and endless traffic congestion on Farmers and Hoen. But that's what you get when you have an area jam packed with old, slowly dying flower children, which is another interesting part of living here. Nearly an entire demographic is missing between high school kids and the Teva wearing gray haired. If you're here to raise a family, you've come to the wrong place. The public school system is as malfunctioning as anywhere else in CA, nothing to write home about, that is if you do indeed learn to write. The economy is wholly unable to provide a good standard of living for anyone not occupying a niche job, which means a lot of people disappear as they follow their career paths. The worst part of the place however is what I can only describe as an "Indian burial ground vibe." It feels dead. After all of these years I can't put my finger on it, other than a feeling. Yes, a lot of people here smoke pot, but that's not it. It just feels like something not alive. The people are very polite, but there's an empty coldness to them. You may even say they have an inner meanness or aloofness with an outer politeness, yet also with childlike personalities. Passive aggression? Passive annoying? I'm not from the midwest, but midwesterners I know pick up on this right away. It's a strange bubble of humanity. I will likely not retire here, but it is where my particular niche career has placed me.

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The good, the bad, the ugly - 11/12/2016

The good is the great climate, excellent resources like quality food choices (groceries and restaurants), and medical services and shopping opportunities, college town, proximity to Bay area. The bad is high cost of living, very high rents with low availability, increasing crime and gang activity. The ugly is the traffic and congestion. Santa Rosa is a hub through which an enormous amount of commuter and "local" traffic flows to and from all points south, north, east, and west. All the country feeder roads are now overloaded so there are no shortcuts left. To get anywhere you have to deal with bad traffic at most hours of day. The entire Bay area is over crowded with horrible traffic problems. Santa Rosa area was once a gem. Now its well on its way to another endless suburbs and citification.

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Santa Rosa California - 8/17/2014

Can't wait to get outa here. When I do, I'm taking the flag.....

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Santa Rosa crime - 7/10/2014

I don't know what Santa Rosa a lot of you grew up in or are living in. Over in Bennett Valley or Rincoln Valley it maybe a great community but as someone who grew up in Roseland and Indian Village I see it in a much different light. Back in the 80's and 90's Santa Rosa was a wild town compared to what it is today and I believe it's because they've bloated the police force due to the wine industry and tourism that has grown exponentially in Sonoma County. They fought tooth and nail to make this town presentable for the yuppies plus They have feds downtown now. Gangs didn't start with Hispanics here either. If you knew anything that was really going on in this town you'd know that there was a huge migration of east African refugees that settled here decades ago. Eritrean, Somolian and Ethiopian. Gang splinters migrated from Oakland up to Santa Rosa back in the 80's also which created a lot of tension between them and homegrown cliques, many hispanic. I lived in valley oak as a kid where people were getting dropped all the time. It was one of those streets you couldn't just mosey on through if you weren't known because you'd end up with bricks in your windshield. I barely got sleep as a kid because the stray cats fighting all night and the helicopters flying over head every night. Gun shots weren't rampant but they were common. The first time I saw someone shot was 5 years old. It's not the toughest town. I lived in Detroit for 2 years as a teenager and was already a seasoned hoodlum from all that I learned growing up here. It's easy to speculate when your on the outside looking in. If your not really involved in what's going on out here or you don't go walking through places like west 9th for an evening stroll then you should be alright for the most part though home invasions and robberies happen often out here. All I'm saying is don't downplay it like there's only a few wannabes out here because theres more going on than what you see at the plaza on a Wednesday night. The hoods and the gangs aren't as concentrated in certain areas as they used to be ever since operation black widow but they are still out here and run generations. A lot of guns on these streets though people are reluctant to use them with the vice grip that police have on the city these days. Not saying it's a bad thing, just felt the need to give my perspective. We don't all live in the hills or on the east side.

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One Of The Best Places To Live In California - 3/6/2013

I'm just going to write a short review because honestly, I signed up for an account so that I could comment on a very negative review I read on this beloved city. There are millions of people that would love to live here because it's so beautiful, the beaches, rocky and mountainous shore, Redwood groves, and vineyards galore. It is also the official city of The Peanuts Gang, the comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, and there are a lot of statues of the characters around town. My favorite is Snoopy, but you'll find Charlie Brown and Lucy as well as others too. The scenery and the climate both are just spectacular. Nearby, in the small hamlet of Guerneville, you will find Armstrong Woods State Preserve, a gorgeous space of old growth Redwoods rising to well over 300 feet. I used to live a mile from the park and rode my bike there every day. So, this is just a short synopsis of how wonderful this area is, the people are friendly and everyone is accepted just as they are.

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Do NOT Move To Santa Rosa If You Have Allergies! - 7/25/2010

I have lived my entire life around the Santa Rosa area my entire life and have no plans of ever moving out of here but having said that, let me just warn you that if you or your loved ones suffer from allergies, then the entire Santa Rosa area is NOT for you. Luther Burbank (the world famous botanist) introduced many non-indigenous plants to this area and because of that, the pollen and other stuff in the air here will wreak utter havoc on your nose, eyes and throat. Some folks have to fight headaches, dry throat, ugly coughing, nasty sneezing and eyes and noses that just won't stop running no matter how much medication they take because of allergies. You'd be better off moving up north to the Mendocino or Humboldt Counties. Don't believe me? Come on out here and stay for a week in the spring and leave your allergy medicine at home. I dare you. Just a friendly warning.

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Perfect climate - 11/1/2009

Santa Rosa, CA is a beautiful city and has a nearly perfect climate. It does have the change of seasons but the weather is quite mild.

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Great if you bought 15 years ago!! - 7/31/2009

This place used to be affordable for california, with people in the early eighties being able to buy a house for 70k to 110k. Have wages went up 600%? No, just another reason why the young and working class leave in droves. I am planning my leave as well for somewhere in the midwest where a fixer upper can be had for $10,000 or so. The weather is not that great! I mean the weather is wonderful, sometimes 75 degrees in december and January. But there comes a time when you realize that you will never ever be able to afford a home here. I see ads where people are living 2 to a room. I do not see why anyone would chose to come out and live here, if your poor you will exploited by high rents, if you are rich why pay california taxes? The traffic is terrible. If you want great weather I would try chico or the foothills if you want to be in California, but then again that is where people in California go when they try to find cheaper real estate, then you realize that everyone is fleeing these high prices into Arizona, Nevada etc. So I am going back to the midwest where I have lived and its not too bad. There is a wine industry, so what, pay high prices to nibble on food and taste wine, big whoop. I drive by these vineyards everyday. The ocean is close, but after you have been there a couple of times you are done with that, and the water is very cold. What really got me is that in my search for affordable rents I looked at mobile homes, $700 a month space rent on an old single wide that you have to buy for $15,000 or more, thats horrible, in the south and midwest normal space rents are $110-$220 and you have three times the yard size. Pass on this area if you are workingclass.

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Awesome weather, very expensive home prices rent - 5/14/2009

That said a friend just purchased a foreclosed home that was fairly new for $150,000 on a small lot. That was in a working class neighborhood that I would live in. That might not last too long. The last figures out seem to have stabilized for home prices at about $400,000. This whole system is geared too having very high real estate. The towns do not want to grow and they veto anything that is affordable, a real bad nimby attitude. Yet they still have job growth, that is, for now. I think this place is poised on the edge of disaster because of the high costs, high utilities, high taxes. I mean people keep leaving for affordable areas, and this place might get so expensive that people leave in droves. Also the traffic in Santa Rosa and near cities is awful. The city has a small system of four lane roads. The 101 freeway has just went to six lanes. That said I am a very frugal person and have discovered cheap places to live here, although one trailer court raised its rates from $235 to $600 in 2004. There is a trailer court on santa rosa avenue that has a space rent of $250 or so. It would cost about $13,000 to $25,000 to buy a well maintained older trailer that only has space for two small cars. I would only suggest the area if you are rich and want very good weather. The depressed home prices will not last and are likely to shoot up, so it might be a good investment. Or you get a decent job or your first good job to build up a resume. And california has a 16 to 32 billion yearly deficit, that might mean much higher taxes. If you are gay or lesbian than this area would be good for you. To the west of Santa Rosa is a gay area called the russian river area.

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Climate - 4/1/2009

I've relocated from New York to California. I love the climate, it's the one of the thing keeping me here. It's much more expensive , so I'm considering relocating back to the East Coast.

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Cool Rainy Winters and Tall Redwoods - 2/23/2009

Santa Rosa, an hour north of San Francisco is the beginning of the true Northern California with Redwoods becoming ubiquitous. The Winters are cool and rainy with warmish but not impossible Summers with weather in the 80's to low 90's generally. The Winters will dip below freezing at night perhaps a dozen times with the days in the 50's generally. Unfortunately the cost of living, like most of California will give pause if you are from out of state and are not familiar with the cost of the good life.

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I would move here today - 2/11/2009

I have had the fortune to visit Santa Rosa many times over the last several years. People are friendly and appear to be well educated. Job oppertunities are numerous, especially health care. Yes, the cost of living may be a little high, but so is Boston & Philidelphia. If you love a warm climate and can tolerate a little wind and a few rainy days, you will love living in the Santa Rosa area!

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Great place to live - 7/6/2008

Santa Rosa is perfect. The climate is the best in the nation. It has seasons but they are very mild. There is no rain for most of the year, but it is beautiful and green. It is only one hour from San Francisco, the most beautiful city in the U.S. People are friendly and open minded.

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Sonoma County - 2/29/2008

Good moderate climate and handy to lots of interestiing destination towns.

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Loved to death - 2/28/2008

One of the finest living areas in the U.S., though slowly succumbing to growth issues. A vibrant agricultural/viticulture community maintains a lot of open space but we are slowly losing ground to traffic and other expansion woes as with all desirable areas that are loved to death.

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Santa Rosa Climate - 1/27/2008

Santa Rosa has a very moderate climate, with seasonal weather, that does not fluctuate uncomfortably as the seasons change.

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