Good and bad...
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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.
Lee | Santa Rosa, CA