re: Painfully Expensive for Locals - 5/4/2011
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8/16/2013
An update to this two year-old review: My last kid is on his way to college, and I am seriously considering a move in the next couple of years. Healdsburg is still very expensive and even more exclusive, having added a couple more high-end hotels and several more pricey restaurants. I was not impressed with the quality of the public schools, and in a small town like this one, there isn't enough going on to keep the average kid happily busy. For a well-to-do family with a stay-at-home parent with lots of time to drive kids to and from activities (often out of town) and the means for private school education (St. John's School or The Healdsburg School) it's probably a great choice. Healdsburg is still beautiful, very clean, and friendly (tourists can be crabby and an inconvenience during the peak tourist season, but that's true of any tourist-heavy town).
This is one of those very pretty small towns that flew under the radar for years. Sooner or later, tourists and wealthy couples who want to raise kids in a "small town" slowly elbow the locals-oriented small shops and restaurants out. People come here for the same reasons the locals live here. Who can blame them?
Bottom line: if you're wealthy, chances are you'll love it here.
Bp | Healdsburg, CA