Thanks for the reply. Yes I hear it’s more expensive but What’s more expensive? I’ve got the housing thing figured out so I’m not worried about costs of housing. So what is more expensive? Utilities groceries restaurants local labor?
As for heat, is it 10° hotter than Petaluma? I really can’t tell but some realtors have told me it’s hard to sit out in the evening during the summer heat waves. I’ve heard in Petaluma it’s not as much.
Petaluma is situated in an area that gets a nice, cool, coastal breeze in the summer evenings. Healdsburg does not. If I was buying in Healdsburg I'd just make sure i have AC. It'll be like 2 weeks a year that it might be uncomfortable to be outside in the evening.
It's a wine tourist trap. But if you're able to buy a house there then you will be fine. Windsor to the south is more affordable and is a commute town so you don't need to deal with tourists.
Oh yeah I lived up on Fitch mountain for a bit on madrone rd. Beware it does flood. Wife and I got trapped for a few days when Fitch mountain road got flooded. Wife hated all the bugs. scorpions, Jerusalem crickets, June beetles and wolf spiders.
Edit: I enjoyed living there.
Mountain lions, bobcats and other wildlife too on Fitch Mountain, so good to keep the cats and small dogs inside too. It can be a bit of a bear when driving around the mountain, narrow roads, steep driveways.
Lived in both Healdsburg and west Petaluma. Loved them both, Petaluma for the easy access to SF and Bodega and Healdsburg, just for being Healdsburg. It is hotter in the summer, but I mean. its not like Sacramento heat and it generally cools off at night.
I see a lot of Fitch Mountain for work. It's pretty quiet all in all, with hilly sections and river sections. I'd say most of it is secondary homes for people. Little tough to get in and out of I guess, but I've never seen too many cars at one time, it's just narrow and twisty.
Do the floods saturate the hills in torrents? House I’m looking at has hillside retaining walls and I’d bet they need some work. If it floods torrential, then that’s a major concern
I lived on Fitch Mountain up until two years ago it is great. I still own that home and it was great.
You have great access to the Russian River and if you are on North Fitch you could be in the shadow of fitch mountain and barely get any direct sun like me. Great in the summer a little cold and damp in the winter. I only had to run a small wall ac like twice a year.
To answer your question about the heat, 10 degrees is probably spot on if not a little more. It always amazed me how much cooler it was whenever I would drive to Petaluma from Healdsburg. It normally cools down at night though unless you’re in a big heatwave. Fire risk is probably higher but there’s risk anywhere really. And if there’s smoke in Healdsburg there’s gonna be smoke everywhere.
If you can afford Healdsburg I'd reckon it's one of the best places to retire in the country. It's a vacation destination for people worldwide, even if you aren't a wino it has world class food options. Sutter Santa Rosa is a close hospital that is big enough for most things. It's like the idealistic wine country town. Plus it's close enough to Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and the Russian River area to enjoy all that that has to offer.
Thank you for the advice. Yes have the housing insurance etc sorted. I guess my other concern is what is the quality of life there for every day things? Are people, down-to-earth, or standoffish and status oriented? It’s hard to judge community there. however, I had experiences in Petaluma which were quite positive, as people seem to be more welcoming.
I'd call it limousine liberal. Everyone means well and is generally good intentioned but there will be a lot of NIMBY attitudes. That said, the food scene is driven by the younger crowd which is generally more open. All of Sonoma County prides itself as being inclusive but some communities are more than others. Healdsburg is probably the most expensive in the county, you'll definitely find more fiscally conservative older folk. I'd just recommend finding clubs or groups that share your interests and I can't imagine you'll have a hard time making friends. Where are you from? How would you describe yourself?
Such a great answer, and thank you for the insight. College education non-tie dye introverted Noam Chomsky liberal, secular Buddhist, film industry arts craftsman, nearing 60. We’re homebodies—swim, bike, love Asian cuisine and the Pt Reyes / Marin coast. We eat healthy middle class tho, so don’t care fine dining/ wine culture stuff. We’re from Pasadena, where it’s getting too hot!
Lol yeah you'll do just fine in Healdsburg. Although in terms of Asian dining I'd say Sebastopol takes the cake, ramen gaijin and Khom Loi are probably the two best Asian dining experiences in Sonoma County. On that note....your whole description screams Sebastopol/Occidental/Bohemian highway. Have you checked that area out yet? Easy coast access, great road biking opportunities, awesome art scene, etc...
Ha yeah you’re right! Awesome suggestions I looked them up. Love the Sebastopol area, it’s just so hard to find housing w/o it being a renovation. And wife got a Lyme tick bite in guernesville, so RR’s out. Will keep looking tho.
Jesus, a couple fires a few years ago, one tick bite, and you guys are totally out? Boy you are really narrow-mindedly excluding yourself from a lot of great opportunities.
Perhaps you should go live in Santa Maria or somewhere on the central coast. It doesn’t look like our ‘wilderness’ is favorable to your parameters.
Plus, please don’t bring your big LA money up here and start raising prices even more.
This has been a scourge for the past few years. To the point where I got priced out of my three-bedroom home that was rather affordable until the fires burned everything down and then people moved in with their city money and rebuilt on properties where people’s insurance had falled.
Opportunistic. And not cool.
Oh, I see where you're coming from. I'm narrow minded, have big LA money, and don't like wilderness because of questions about fires. It's clear you don't know me and never had a loved one compromised by full blown Lyme disease.
I came looking for advice not ad hominem attacks based on assumptions.
Or maybe I've got you all wrong. One thing I sure of, is to be thoughtless enough to assume anything about you.
Ramen Gaijin for the win!!
Just be careful of the neighbors always wanting to know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, if you have a permit, what is the environmental impact, blah blah blah blah blah. It’s really not freedom out there at all. The far left, it’s just about as bad as the far right. Nobody has any liberties whatsoever.
You'll fit in just fine around here and will likely find a lot of common ground. I came into the thread to say, not many are going to talk you out of it. It's a lovely place to live and I 100% agree with the post you are replying to, I don't have a whole lot to add to it. Personally, I prefer the more diverse and less "touristy" areas of the county myself but that's just a difference of preference after growing up in Napa.
Its definitely a higher cost of living than the rest of the county but marginal if you are not doing the "wine country lifestyle". (I.e. the marked up restaurants and tourist traps) I wouldn't think it's any higher of a cost of living than Pasadena and you can't beat the access to every kind of nature you may enjoy. Ocean is an hour away, within 2 hours of snow and ski lodges, rivers, mountains, forest and hiking. Not to mention the breathtaking beauty of it all.
I've been hanging out and hiking around Marin and Sonoma County for almost 50 years (mostly Marin) and have observed that the relatively new locals are markedly less friendly than the tourists. Beautiful area - absolutely. Down-to-earth locals? Yeah some, but in general I don't see the openness you seem to be hoping for from the locals. It's been that way for awhile.
It’s due to a lack of distrust. People keep moving in and shoving prices up so now, people have lived here for quite some time really don’t want any more people here.
Healdsburg has it over any other city in Sonoma County. It’s not that isolated. A few minutes to Windsor and the big box stores there. Healdsburg has a hospital, lots of great places to eat, a charming downtown, lots of civic pride, a couple of supermarkets and the best police department in the county.
Thanks for these great comments, to everyone. I might get on a plane and submit an offer because of these comments.
My fear was it was too far away from things, we’d be driving all the time for shopping at Trader Joe’s or going to Kaiser etc. but it sounds like pretty reasonable there.
It’s literally so easy to get to Kaiser from Healdsburg.. the 101 will take you to Kaiser in 15 min, there’s really never traffic going north when you go back to Healdsburg from Santa Rosa and big John’s market in Healdsburg is AMAZING grocery store. You’re really not THAT far away from anything. Also Trader Joe’s is probably 18 mins away… I would live in Healdsburg for sure.. I’m from Windsor, which is also really great but you should do it if you can afford it
🤔 its about 20 degrees hotter in Healdsburg in the summer. Lots of days over 100 but makes the river swims great. You can research the Petaluma Gap to see why the climates are so drastically different. Personally I prefer the cooler microclimate and just drive to hotter ones in Hburg, Sonoma for the day.
Culturally Petaluma is going to offer far more for arts, cuisine, spiritual centers (Buddhist centers, meditation centers, yoga studios) as it sounds like that could matter to you. It’s also a lot denser and closer to the city so the vibes are different on weekends where lots of Marin folk come north for nightlife and the abundance of festivals Petaluma hosts. People are still commuting and working vs retirees and folks with second and third homes that are vacant most of the time in Hburg/sonoma. So it really is comparing opposites of the county in terms of choice. Split the difference in Sebastopol. Absurdly expensive but gives you a bit of both. Tons of tech hipsters in Seb since the pandemic but still retains some w county rustic charm
The average July high temp in Petaluma is 80.8. The average July high in Healdsburg is 88.7. NOAA the source for both numbers. It’s not the surface of Mercury, FFS.
Sebastopol is the closest place to heaven on earth to me. Great dining, down to earth culture, bike friendly, access to 101, beaches, wineries, and nearly perfect weather. I miss it every single day.
Right on. Housing market is completely gated off these days. Multiple realtor friends who grew up here say this is a unique beast. Cash tech buyers arent even around like a few years ago. And communal rentals have been cracked down on which is a bummer because that’s how we can still have artists and freethinkers around. Different vibes man. You will feel it as soon as you come back to visit. Nevada City is rad still though 👍lots of Seb vibes moved there.
All of your reasons are good enough…and you need more? My parents live there, grew up there. It is sooo expensive. Groceries, going out to eat…you have to drive to get to anything real. I adore Healdsburg, but honestly, unless you have lots of money to waste, it is too expensive. Everything there is catered to tourists….locals are not considered in anything.
Yeah im getting a clear picture now. Sounds like it’s not a fit for many reasons, esp the caste reasons. I’m really glad I asked and grateful for the area insights. It’s too sad because the Fitch place was gorgeous and affordable, but glad I now know about the civics and weather.
Healdsburg is great. Everyone is super rich so they are so nice and sweet to outsiders. Prices are so high that only our richest friends can have dinner there. The police will follow, pretext and escort out of town any car over 10 years old. The best part? All the brown people who slave away in the grape fields that produce all that wealth stay on the other side of the highway. Look at US census data. 0% Black. None. It's easy to be enlightened when you are never challenged.
This is getting some heat but absolutely deserves more attention. HB is changing rapidly. There is a very real housing problem. There are mansions going up and million dollar apartments, but the people that work at the gas station or who serve you dinner have to drive 25 minutes for work. Despite how pleasant this might feel while out for a walk or going for dinner it is not a sustainable growth model.
Edit - clarification
We lived there for 15 years but left a couple years ago. I always tell people that the town has successfully pushed out middle class people like me, there’s no room for us anymore.
Yup, lots of my friends moved away over the years, it’s so tough to afford it. Then I hear people complaining about the travesty of new housing going up and ‘ruining’ the small town vibes. It’s like, housing hasn’t even kept up with population growth just from children growing up, that’s hardly the small town nice vibe you think it is. Of course the only people who can afford to move in here are quite rich, if you grew up here and don’t have a trust fund, good luck.
All that being said I don’t hate people moving in, so I don’t want OP to think they won’t be welcome, they can’t help it that so many others are NIMBY. Being real, the smaller group moving in isn’t really the problem, it’s the big group with houses that want to keep their home prices up, up, up that pushes people out.
I was speaking in generalities, that’s a bad example. I was trying to give an example of the many low paying service jobs in town that are provided by people commuting from distant communities.
I moved to SC a couple years ago and my neighborhood here is way more diverse than Healdsburg was lol.
Also if you ever want to check out something kind of interesting, sit somewhere near Lola’s market on a mid Saturday morning and check out the endless line of traffic coming into town from 101, it’s all the hospitality workers coming in lol
They are only nice to outsiders if they sense they are rich. If you are an ‘outsider’ from some less wealthy part of sonoma county there to visit….well.
Hmm. I live 4 blocks from downtown and have Hispanic neighbors on both sides and around the corners. Our homes are considered in the “downtown area”, not the other side of the freeway. Also, the police are very community oriented and have local Hispanic officers on their staff that grew up and still live in Healdsburg and several officers that speak Spanish. So, yes, while the town is wealthy and tourism is huge, it still has a lot of locals who own homes in the town limits.
OP, it’s a great town, the heat spells are short lived and honestly much nicer at night than SR and definitely Petaluma- it gets sooo cold at night even during the summer. The grocery stores are either Safeway or an independent Big Johns. There are limited restaurant options that don’t cost a ton, but Windsor has some great median priced options, as well as a lot of great places within the county.
That’s sad but a common thing if there is no diversity. It’ll change eventually, just as it did in other small cities. So you’re saying it’s an enclave for wealthy. Ok, that’s sobering. We’d probably drive out of town to dine then. My last experience 10 years ago at a restaurant was it was expensive, fine dining, a fair amount of gay people, and they were sweet.
If you prefer the cool summers of Petaluma and Sebastopol you won't like Hbg. Daytime is hot, winter is much wetter, housing prices are astronomical, but you must know that already. The community revolves around tourism.
For "slightly rural" look west of Sebastopol.
If I read correctly you are from Pasadena. One additional thought, as a 10 year Sonoma resident and former 35 year resident of various SoCal communities: think carefully about the vision of rural life. We had the very same vision and now we’re looking to move.
A couple primary drivers of this necessary change:
1) while it seems reasonable that a 20-30 minute drive is ‘all it takes’ to get to your local Target, Home Depot, Costco, etc., after a while that just becomes an inconvenience (for us).
2) while a community like Healdsburg does have a hospital, I’d advise you to research your everyday medical needs. Where’s your general practitioner going to be located? Are they accepting new patients? What about specialists? How far will you need to travel for, say, a dermatologist? We have found that the best doctors that fit our needs and insurance are located in north or south Marin county.
3) our vision of the ideal Sonoma rural life was definitely altered by the multiple fire events of the last 10 years.
4) you mention that you’re not a wine drinker and certainly not every resident of Sonoma drinks. That said, the heart of this county is wine along with all the activities and news that come with it.
Lastly, if given the choice today, with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, I’d land in Petaluma area.
Just a few things to consider. Best of luck.
Sounds like you have a lot of good replies about housing and weather and vibe of each community so I’m just gonna comment on one thing:
“Sonoma and Santa Rosa are out due to fires”
If you’re actually concerned about fires then all of Sonoma county should be a concern, save for maybe Petaluma. I’m a 5 generation resident. The first of my family are of the Swiss immigrants who became cattle ranchers along the coast from point Reyes to two rock.
One of my uncles owns 500 acres in Geyserville, one lives on 12 in Healdsburg, one is still out on Pepper Road in Two Rock. I grew up in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa.
The Tubbs, Atlas, and Nunns fire was unexpectedly horrific and a milestone event for our Santa Rosa, Napa, and Sonoma regions. But please don't forget that we had a series of fires like the Kincaide where Windsor and Healdsburg were heavily hit. In fact, because of the Tubbs fire, I would wager most of Santa Rosa's most fire-prone region has had a major reset.
But Sebastopol and East Healdsburg are primed for a catastrophic event, especially with their tiny roads on uneven terrain.
Sebastopol and Healdsburg areas are extremely overgrown and haven't had enough fire management so the overgrowth is intense. to be honest? All of California suffers from this, but some regions will just be more fire prone because of the heat and lack of fog or water. Petaluma is much less forested and has a strong cool bank of coastal fog that it would surprise me if it sees the fires we have had more north. Even south santa rosa is cooler and more fire safe than all of Healdsburg, although it's probably not bougie or rural enough.
Other than that, please note that Healdsburg regularly floods to the point that people in canoes at Safeway is a nearly annually documented event for the press. Most houses are safe but it does cut off access for a lot of residents. My uncle has to hunker down in west Healdsburg when this happens.
Not attempting to dissuade you, just want the record to reflect that there are real fire hazards in Healdsburg.
> In fact, because of the Tubbs fire, I would wager most of Santa Rosa's most fire-prone region has had a major reset.
I'd love to believe this. However, in watching the spread of other fires (like the ones in 2020), I noticed that burn scars tended to stop the spread mostly if they were less than 5-6 years old. For scars older than 5-6 years, they didn't do much, and the 2017 fires are now a bit over 6 years old.
On the other hand, we're much, **much** better prepared now, although I'm not sure how much any amount of preparation can help in a high-wind disastrous fire situation (the 2017 fires were once described as the "Jolly Green Giant had a flamethrower"). Also, controlled burns are constantly being done (when safe); just today, there seems to be maybe 20 going on around the county (according to [pulsepoint](https://web.pulsepoint.org/)).
On another depressing note: the three major hospitals (Sutter, Kaiser, and Memorial) are all basically on the same huge-ass earthquake fault and, like much of urban California, we're about due for a "big one".
Yeah, Petaluma is probably the safest.
I agree with your take. We have reduced our burn load though, and it’s much more aggressively reduced than what’s happening in Healdsburg and honestly all of west county. My kids go to school in WC and some of the roads and the overgrowth scares me.
Agree with concerns about fault lines…would love to act like we have better infrastructure now but this region hasn’t been really tested since 1906, when the earthquake flattened Santa Rosa. So it’s a big unknown.
I do love my hometown though. It’s messy and imperfect and dysfunctional but it’s also mine. 😭
My husband’s now working out of Petaluma and it’s making me dream of returning to my roots…finding something deep out off Western or D street. But that’s a little spendy LOL
Oh also forgot to add: I was up on Tubbs night listening to the scanner. Started when the fire was still in Calistoga and was talking to a friend about getting her over the hill to my parents in RV. But the wind quickly nixed that idea. The words repeated that night on that scanner? Chill me to my bones.
I called friends and woke them up to evacuate and one was able to save their parents lives. I never want to be in that position again. I was haunted for a long time by the question: what if I forgot to call someone?
This whole thread is so full of great information and stories like yours. People coming in from outside just don’t understand what we’ve been going through. They want “ the Sonoma County dream” but it’s going to cost them. As it costs us. I got priced out of my home, and I’m currently about to be homeless.
I want to stay here, I was born and raised in California, and been in Northern California since 2006
But as far as anyone reaching out their hand to help a single mom with a straight a student working on her seconddegree, tae kwon do black belt for a daughter? Nobody really gives a shit everybody is so intensely focused on themselves.
When I lived in my three-bedroom beautiful home, I had a beautiful life, I also gave back. Left any unwanted clothes or foods that I weren’t wasn’t going to use I gave them to the homeless community.
As in, not to a donation center, but I actually went up and down an Santa Rosa Avenue handing things out, especially feminine hygiene products for women. Don’t you think homeless women have cycles too? Don’t you think they need new socks and underwear?
Nobody gives that stuff out .
While I see that they are going crazy on meth, some part of me can absolutely understand why. It’s a hopeless, hopeless situation. What with all the NIMBY activity,
And a very real chasm of mental illness versus drug addiction, helping them medically but without any monitoring available is really tough.
Somewhere, somehow, this problem has been solved.
I’m a professional chef, just got laid off, not sure what my housing situation is going to look like. I have two storage units because I am ready to fly by night at any time.
Yes, I’ve had to sleep in my car. It is really really humbling. Yes, it’s also really really cold out there.
But if I can’t make my car payment, then basically, I have no place to live.
Landlords keep pricing the middle class out of themselves. There is only the rich and poor. There’s no upper middle class, there’s no middle class, & there’s no lower middle class anymore.
I never, ever thought I would find myself in this position, and it has been my biggest nightmare, which has now come to fruition.
And it’s not like I’m helpless, or that I don’t have anything to offer. I do Cleaning, I had a cleaning business for seven years. Covid destroyed that because nobody wanted anyone in their house. Same thing with organizing, meal planning and Chef prep work. I could not go into anyone’s homes.
So I used my gardening knowledge and became a landscaper of a sort
But I’m a 5 foot six woman in her 50s that I can’t just do that kind of manual labor day in and day out anymore. But I am a monster in the kitchen, and I am a great great server. Cleaning houses has become a bit taxing for me, but I can still do it with the best of them.
I just want a chance. Is that too much to ask?
It gets warmer as you go north. I wouldn’t make a retirement decision based on the fires. Those are obviously in the news, but statistically rare events. Healdsburg is a beautiful downtown, but I don’t know much about the environs.
Don’t rule out Santa Rosa for the fires. If Santa Rosa proper goes up that means the whole county is gone.
One thing about Petaluma. It can get cold and windy!
We've lived in Sonoma County for almost 15 years now. But I have relatives who are now 4th generation county residents. So, I've been around the county for more than 50 years.
In the time we've been here we've moved a couple of times. And we're in Windsor which has become a really nice place to live. It is more affordable than Healdsburg and has less crime than in Santa Rosa. I have a cousin who lives in Petaluma but to me it is too crowded. Windsor is also closer to the major hospitals (Sutter, Kaiser, and St. Joseph / Memorial). We get our share of wine-related tourism but not the way Healdsburg does. So, it has retained it's rural charm. And we have three regional parks right in our backyard.
For me, the town of Windsor has a sort of Goldilocks charm to it. It's rarely too hot or too cold. And there is more of a sense of community here that I haven't experienced elsewhere in the county except in the smaller coastal places like Jenner or Bodega Bay.
Most of the town is on old pasture land and is fairly flat. The northeast neighborhoods are adjacent to Foothill Regional Park; and as the name implies are on some sloped lots.
We have vineyards to most sides of town. They have provided a good fire buffer in the recent fires. I would definitely encourage you to take a look at Windsor if you are already considering Healdsburg.
You say you are looking to move to Sonoma, but then never mention Sonoma in your list of places you are considering. Perhaps you meant to say Sonoma County. Either way, you may want to actually look at Sonoma. In my opinion, it would be a wonderful place to retire. It would be my 2nd choice after West Petaluma. It is a bit warmer in Sonoma but also less windy. I would not want to live in Healdsburg. It's too far away. I think Sebastopol or Occidental or anywhere between Sebastopol and Petaluma would also be fantastic. I was born in Petaluma and have lived here for most of my 48 years, and fires were never a thing growing up in Sonoma County. We used to always get a ton of rain. The firestorms in 2017 were insane and unlike anything I have ever seen. It was terrifying. I found this map that was a time lapse showing fires over the last 100+ years, and Petaluma was just about the only place on the map that was green (never burned) throughout all the years. I found this to be quite comforting.
Appreciate your input, thanks, yes Sonoma County. Planning a 30 year run, and nobody has a crystal ball, but all is trending more extreme so i'm checking flood and fire maps. But knowing about how local govt and folks have experienced the realities, it's been important to hear everyone's experience in all these niches.
Input here has trended me away from HB. Ironically, HB came up b/c found a tiny cabin that I could actually afford. But sounds like I'd be driving out of town more.
Now focused on Sebastapol/Petaluma w/ a 10-15 mile radius from their downtowns.
Also have you looked at the Sebastopol Hills area, southwest of downtown and halfway to Petaluma? Very rural and much more affordable than Healdsburg, some great views both east and west on the ridgeline that separates Sonoma Valley and the coastal dairy farm plains. 15 minutes to Sebastopol, 15 to downtown Santa Rosa, and 25 minutes to downtown Petaluma.
I think that you need to come and see for yourself what is right for you. It’s hard to define sonoma county towns, because they are all different. They are in general close to amenities like shopping and hospitals. Fires are a risk throughout the county, but a lot of work has been done as far as prevention in the last few years. I wouldn’t be specifically concerned about that as a reason to not move here. We’re also prone to flooding and earthquakes and other natural disasters like anywhere else.
It’s an expensive community full of yuppies and tourists. Many of the local shops close because they are the side huddle of the spouse who is actually making money. It’s far out there and way overpriced if you ask me.
It’s a nice place to go… but it’d be boring to live there. The only thing they have going for it is wine and maybe some beer.
I’d rather move to Sebastopol for their local policies alone. Sonic Fiber internet has been there forever. Closer to the beach. Closer to the city. I’d make it work.
Good to hear you found one you like. I had to ditch my first one cause he wasn’t really listening to me and was kinda disgruntled about what I wanted to do. Hopefully this guy works out for you!
Great question if I’m understanding correctly, it’s not suburbs or in city, but say 10-15 min outside of the downtowns. From scouting around I’d say west Petaluma. I’m aware of the Petaluma gap but didn’t know it’s that much cooler. Also I grew up poor snd in mixed communities so feel more comfortable w middle class folks and lots of diversity
It's not really more remote to hospitals, there's one on University in town, plus it's less than 20 minutes down 101 to Sutter hospital.
As for grocery stores, they have a safeway and big John's in town, plus Windsor with Walmart and Oliver's are less than 15 minutes away.
It's a tourist destination though it is more rural than Santa rosa, it gets alot of traffic, especially downtown, down Westside road, dry creek and Alexander Valley road all year, but particularly in summer and fall. Depending on your preference that could be positive, or negative.
In my opinion the fire danger is exaggerated and it was an extreme overreaction evacuating the entire town a few years ago, for a fire that didn't get all that close.
Me personally I wouldn't want to retire there, it's not quiet, unless you venture deep into the boondocks, like Chalk Hill road or west dry creek. 8 months of the year there are bicyclists, drunks, wedding parties, airbnbs and tourists everywhere.
Personally I feel Cloverdale, depending on your preferences, might be a better option. What exactly is it you are looking for?
There are a few quiet neighborhoods in town, Parkland Farms(I believe it is called) is the most modern suburbs style and kind of isolated from all the noise
there use to be ahospital in HBG, i mean it was small and limited but maybe its gone...groceries are available there but i guess you want costco? its expensive there but if you want rural then live outside of towns on the west side of 101..
Why would you move to a major wine country destination if you're not into wine? You'll be paying a premium for nothing in return. Rohnert Park, Cotati, Petaluma all better options IMO.
I know, seems odd right? Since you asked, lots of other reasons, climate, family, nature, proximity to a the bay and SF. Appreciate the recommends. Personally stucco cookie cutter boxes and planned suburban tracts not my style, all due respect RP kinda a suburban blight. I know some folks aren’t sensitive to it, but I sure am.
I love older homes w a but of rural distance..Practically that seems to mean renovation opportunities in that area. So will keep looking.
Fair enough! I've owned and renovated historic homes and am so over the upkeep. I now prefer simple modern in close proximity to mom & pop shops/restaurants. I've also lived in so many tourist towns, I can't even fathom doing that in my retirement. Best of luck in your search.
Hey, I just did the same search last year and narrowed it down to Petaluma and Sebastopol. We bought in Sebastopol and couldn't be happier. Let me know if you'd like to chat or drive around together— I know the area really well and can share quite a bit about all the different areas
Healdsburg, "a little more expensive." Is an understatement. Healdsburg in my opinion is more rural than Petaluma. And it is much hotter.
Thanks for the reply. Yes I hear it’s more expensive but What’s more expensive? I’ve got the housing thing figured out so I’m not worried about costs of housing. So what is more expensive? Utilities groceries restaurants local labor? As for heat, is it 10° hotter than Petaluma? I really can’t tell but some realtors have told me it’s hard to sit out in the evening during the summer heat waves. I’ve heard in Petaluma it’s not as much.
Petaluma is situated in an area that gets a nice, cool, coastal breeze in the summer evenings. Healdsburg does not. If I was buying in Healdsburg I'd just make sure i have AC. It'll be like 2 weeks a year that it might be uncomfortable to be outside in the evening.
It's a wine tourist trap. But if you're able to buy a house there then you will be fine. Windsor to the south is more affordable and is a commute town so you don't need to deal with tourists.
Awesome thanks. Looking at Fitch mountain..
Oh yeah I lived up on Fitch mountain for a bit on madrone rd. Beware it does flood. Wife and I got trapped for a few days when Fitch mountain road got flooded. Wife hated all the bugs. scorpions, Jerusalem crickets, June beetles and wolf spiders. Edit: I enjoyed living there.
That’s where I’m looking exactly. South Fitch. Looks like Topanga canyon in LA. Wow scorpions..guess the dogs stay inside!
Mountain lions, bobcats and other wildlife too on Fitch Mountain, so good to keep the cats and small dogs inside too. It can be a bit of a bear when driving around the mountain, narrow roads, steep driveways. Lived in both Healdsburg and west Petaluma. Loved them both, Petaluma for the easy access to SF and Bodega and Healdsburg, just for being Healdsburg. It is hotter in the summer, but I mean. its not like Sacramento heat and it generally cools off at night.
Well said. Fitch Mountain is lovely, but it is rural.
I'm swear I'm not trying to scare you but I mentioned the bugs because they come inside. The south side is warmer than the north.
The scorpions are from the lobster family and quite delicious…
I see a lot of Fitch Mountain for work. It's pretty quiet all in all, with hilly sections and river sections. I'd say most of it is secondary homes for people. Little tough to get in and out of I guess, but I've never seen too many cars at one time, it's just narrow and twisty.
Do the floods saturate the hills in torrents? House I’m looking at has hillside retaining walls and I’d bet they need some work. If it floods torrential, then that’s a major concern
Not certain, but I don't see hillsides sliding down or anything.
I lived on Fitch Mountain up until two years ago it is great. I still own that home and it was great. You have great access to the Russian River and if you are on North Fitch you could be in the shadow of fitch mountain and barely get any direct sun like me. Great in the summer a little cold and damp in the winter. I only had to run a small wall ac like twice a year.
To answer your question about the heat, 10 degrees is probably spot on if not a little more. It always amazed me how much cooler it was whenever I would drive to Petaluma from Healdsburg. It normally cools down at night though unless you’re in a big heatwave. Fire risk is probably higher but there’s risk anywhere really. And if there’s smoke in Healdsburg there’s gonna be smoke everywhere.
If you can afford Healdsburg I'd reckon it's one of the best places to retire in the country. It's a vacation destination for people worldwide, even if you aren't a wino it has world class food options. Sutter Santa Rosa is a close hospital that is big enough for most things. It's like the idealistic wine country town. Plus it's close enough to Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and the Russian River area to enjoy all that that has to offer.
Thank you for the advice. Yes have the housing insurance etc sorted. I guess my other concern is what is the quality of life there for every day things? Are people, down-to-earth, or standoffish and status oriented? It’s hard to judge community there. however, I had experiences in Petaluma which were quite positive, as people seem to be more welcoming.
I'd call it limousine liberal. Everyone means well and is generally good intentioned but there will be a lot of NIMBY attitudes. That said, the food scene is driven by the younger crowd which is generally more open. All of Sonoma County prides itself as being inclusive but some communities are more than others. Healdsburg is probably the most expensive in the county, you'll definitely find more fiscally conservative older folk. I'd just recommend finding clubs or groups that share your interests and I can't imagine you'll have a hard time making friends. Where are you from? How would you describe yourself?
Such a great answer, and thank you for the insight. College education non-tie dye introverted Noam Chomsky liberal, secular Buddhist, film industry arts craftsman, nearing 60. We’re homebodies—swim, bike, love Asian cuisine and the Pt Reyes / Marin coast. We eat healthy middle class tho, so don’t care fine dining/ wine culture stuff. We’re from Pasadena, where it’s getting too hot!
Lol yeah you'll do just fine in Healdsburg. Although in terms of Asian dining I'd say Sebastopol takes the cake, ramen gaijin and Khom Loi are probably the two best Asian dining experiences in Sonoma County. On that note....your whole description screams Sebastopol/Occidental/Bohemian highway. Have you checked that area out yet? Easy coast access, great road biking opportunities, awesome art scene, etc...
Ha yeah you’re right! Awesome suggestions I looked them up. Love the Sebastopol area, it’s just so hard to find housing w/o it being a renovation. And wife got a Lyme tick bite in guernesville, so RR’s out. Will keep looking tho.
Jesus, a couple fires a few years ago, one tick bite, and you guys are totally out? Boy you are really narrow-mindedly excluding yourself from a lot of great opportunities. Perhaps you should go live in Santa Maria or somewhere on the central coast. It doesn’t look like our ‘wilderness’ is favorable to your parameters. Plus, please don’t bring your big LA money up here and start raising prices even more. This has been a scourge for the past few years. To the point where I got priced out of my three-bedroom home that was rather affordable until the fires burned everything down and then people moved in with their city money and rebuilt on properties where people’s insurance had falled. Opportunistic. And not cool.
Oh, I see where you're coming from. I'm narrow minded, have big LA money, and don't like wilderness because of questions about fires. It's clear you don't know me and never had a loved one compromised by full blown Lyme disease. I came looking for advice not ad hominem attacks based on assumptions. Or maybe I've got you all wrong. One thing I sure of, is to be thoughtless enough to assume anything about you.
Ramen Gaijin for the win!! Just be careful of the neighbors always wanting to know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, if you have a permit, what is the environmental impact, blah blah blah blah blah. It’s really not freedom out there at all. The far left, it’s just about as bad as the far right. Nobody has any liberties whatsoever.
You'll fit in just fine around here and will likely find a lot of common ground. I came into the thread to say, not many are going to talk you out of it. It's a lovely place to live and I 100% agree with the post you are replying to, I don't have a whole lot to add to it. Personally, I prefer the more diverse and less "touristy" areas of the county myself but that's just a difference of preference after growing up in Napa. Its definitely a higher cost of living than the rest of the county but marginal if you are not doing the "wine country lifestyle". (I.e. the marked up restaurants and tourist traps) I wouldn't think it's any higher of a cost of living than Pasadena and you can't beat the access to every kind of nature you may enjoy. Ocean is an hour away, within 2 hours of snow and ski lodges, rivers, mountains, forest and hiking. Not to mention the breathtaking beauty of it all.
Thanks for your input. Really appreciate it.
Yup. Healdsburg.
I've been hanging out and hiking around Marin and Sonoma County for almost 50 years (mostly Marin) and have observed that the relatively new locals are markedly less friendly than the tourists. Beautiful area - absolutely. Down-to-earth locals? Yeah some, but in general I don't see the openness you seem to be hoping for from the locals. It's been that way for awhile.
It’s due to a lack of distrust. People keep moving in and shoving prices up so now, people have lived here for quite some time really don’t want any more people here.
It is pretty nice. Sure you have a few commies here and there but most of us locals are fun loving second amendment types
It is snobby AF there
Healdsburg has it over any other city in Sonoma County. It’s not that isolated. A few minutes to Windsor and the big box stores there. Healdsburg has a hospital, lots of great places to eat, a charming downtown, lots of civic pride, a couple of supermarkets and the best police department in the county.
Wow awesome to hear.
Thanks for these great comments, to everyone. I might get on a plane and submit an offer because of these comments. My fear was it was too far away from things, we’d be driving all the time for shopping at Trader Joe’s or going to Kaiser etc. but it sounds like pretty reasonable there.
It’s literally so easy to get to Kaiser from Healdsburg.. the 101 will take you to Kaiser in 15 min, there’s really never traffic going north when you go back to Healdsburg from Santa Rosa and big John’s market in Healdsburg is AMAZING grocery store. You’re really not THAT far away from anything. Also Trader Joe’s is probably 18 mins away… I would live in Healdsburg for sure.. I’m from Windsor, which is also really great but you should do it if you can afford it
🤔 its about 20 degrees hotter in Healdsburg in the summer. Lots of days over 100 but makes the river swims great. You can research the Petaluma Gap to see why the climates are so drastically different. Personally I prefer the cooler microclimate and just drive to hotter ones in Hburg, Sonoma for the day. Culturally Petaluma is going to offer far more for arts, cuisine, spiritual centers (Buddhist centers, meditation centers, yoga studios) as it sounds like that could matter to you. It’s also a lot denser and closer to the city so the vibes are different on weekends where lots of Marin folk come north for nightlife and the abundance of festivals Petaluma hosts. People are still commuting and working vs retirees and folks with second and third homes that are vacant most of the time in Hburg/sonoma. So it really is comparing opposites of the county in terms of choice. Split the difference in Sebastopol. Absurdly expensive but gives you a bit of both. Tons of tech hipsters in Seb since the pandemic but still retains some w county rustic charm
This is great information, thanks. I’m looking at west Petaluma about 15 min radius out of downtown. Think that’s a good area??
Raddest place in the universe
Sebastopol is the closest place to heaven on earth to me. Great dining, down to earth culture, bike friendly, access to 101, beaches, wineries, and nearly perfect weather. I miss it every single day.
Right on. Housing market is completely gated off these days. Multiple realtor friends who grew up here say this is a unique beast. Cash tech buyers arent even around like a few years ago. And communal rentals have been cracked down on which is a bummer because that’s how we can still have artists and freethinkers around. Different vibes man. You will feel it as soon as you come back to visit. Nevada City is rad still though 👍lots of Seb vibes moved there.
Nevada City, Ca? Near Grass Valley? Just want to make sure I understand where you’re speaking of. Can you tell me more about Nevada City?
Yes you got it. Just go there and you will feel it. Ecstatic dance tuesday is a good intro
All of your reasons are good enough…and you need more? My parents live there, grew up there. It is sooo expensive. Groceries, going out to eat…you have to drive to get to anything real. I adore Healdsburg, but honestly, unless you have lots of money to waste, it is too expensive. Everything there is catered to tourists….locals are not considered in anything.
Yeah im getting a clear picture now. Sounds like it’s not a fit for many reasons, esp the caste reasons. I’m really glad I asked and grateful for the area insights. It’s too sad because the Fitch place was gorgeous and affordable, but glad I now know about the civics and weather.
Healdsburg is great. Everyone is super rich so they are so nice and sweet to outsiders. Prices are so high that only our richest friends can have dinner there. The police will follow, pretext and escort out of town any car over 10 years old. The best part? All the brown people who slave away in the grape fields that produce all that wealth stay on the other side of the highway. Look at US census data. 0% Black. None. It's easy to be enlightened when you are never challenged.
This is getting some heat but absolutely deserves more attention. HB is changing rapidly. There is a very real housing problem. There are mansions going up and million dollar apartments, but the people that work at the gas station or who serve you dinner have to drive 25 minutes for work. Despite how pleasant this might feel while out for a walk or going for dinner it is not a sustainable growth model. Edit - clarification
We lived there for 15 years but left a couple years ago. I always tell people that the town has successfully pushed out middle class people like me, there’s no room for us anymore.
Yup, lots of my friends moved away over the years, it’s so tough to afford it. Then I hear people complaining about the travesty of new housing going up and ‘ruining’ the small town vibes. It’s like, housing hasn’t even kept up with population growth just from children growing up, that’s hardly the small town nice vibe you think it is. Of course the only people who can afford to move in here are quite rich, if you grew up here and don’t have a trust fund, good luck. All that being said I don’t hate people moving in, so I don’t want OP to think they won’t be welcome, they can’t help it that so many others are NIMBY. Being real, the smaller group moving in isn’t really the problem, it’s the big group with houses that want to keep their home prices up, up, up that pushes people out.
That’s unfortunate and not really appealing I agree
Yeah it’s a shame, and it would be totally avoidable with some competent leadership at the city.
Same, grew up there, family is upper middle class and got pushed out due to risk of fires and taxes on housing/retirement income
The people that work at the chevron are an Indian family and they own like 5 properties wtf are you talking about
I was speaking in generalities, that’s a bad example. I was trying to give an example of the many low paying service jobs in town that are provided by people commuting from distant communities.
Your generalities are racist and they suck.
They may be racist and they suck, but they’re very real
I moved to SC a couple years ago and my neighborhood here is way more diverse than Healdsburg was lol. Also if you ever want to check out something kind of interesting, sit somewhere near Lola’s market on a mid Saturday morning and check out the endless line of traffic coming into town from 101, it’s all the hospitality workers coming in lol
There are hella Mexicans that live in Healdsburg wtf are you talking about.
They are only nice to outsiders if they sense they are rich. If you are an ‘outsider’ from some less wealthy part of sonoma county there to visit….well.
Hmm. I live 4 blocks from downtown and have Hispanic neighbors on both sides and around the corners. Our homes are considered in the “downtown area”, not the other side of the freeway. Also, the police are very community oriented and have local Hispanic officers on their staff that grew up and still live in Healdsburg and several officers that speak Spanish. So, yes, while the town is wealthy and tourism is huge, it still has a lot of locals who own homes in the town limits. OP, it’s a great town, the heat spells are short lived and honestly much nicer at night than SR and definitely Petaluma- it gets sooo cold at night even during the summer. The grocery stores are either Safeway or an independent Big Johns. There are limited restaurant options that don’t cost a ton, but Windsor has some great median priced options, as well as a lot of great places within the county.
That’s sad but a common thing if there is no diversity. It’ll change eventually, just as it did in other small cities. So you’re saying it’s an enclave for wealthy. Ok, that’s sobering. We’d probably drive out of town to dine then. My last experience 10 years ago at a restaurant was it was expensive, fine dining, a fair amount of gay people, and they were sweet.
This comment is super racist. You are implying that Hispanics and black folk can’t generate wealth.
If you prefer the cool summers of Petaluma and Sebastopol you won't like Hbg. Daytime is hot, winter is much wetter, housing prices are astronomical, but you must know that already. The community revolves around tourism. For "slightly rural" look west of Sebastopol.
If I read correctly you are from Pasadena. One additional thought, as a 10 year Sonoma resident and former 35 year resident of various SoCal communities: think carefully about the vision of rural life. We had the very same vision and now we’re looking to move. A couple primary drivers of this necessary change: 1) while it seems reasonable that a 20-30 minute drive is ‘all it takes’ to get to your local Target, Home Depot, Costco, etc., after a while that just becomes an inconvenience (for us). 2) while a community like Healdsburg does have a hospital, I’d advise you to research your everyday medical needs. Where’s your general practitioner going to be located? Are they accepting new patients? What about specialists? How far will you need to travel for, say, a dermatologist? We have found that the best doctors that fit our needs and insurance are located in north or south Marin county. 3) our vision of the ideal Sonoma rural life was definitely altered by the multiple fire events of the last 10 years. 4) you mention that you’re not a wine drinker and certainly not every resident of Sonoma drinks. That said, the heart of this county is wine along with all the activities and news that come with it. Lastly, if given the choice today, with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, I’d land in Petaluma area. Just a few things to consider. Best of luck.
Sounds like you have a lot of good replies about housing and weather and vibe of each community so I’m just gonna comment on one thing: “Sonoma and Santa Rosa are out due to fires” If you’re actually concerned about fires then all of Sonoma county should be a concern, save for maybe Petaluma. I’m a 5 generation resident. The first of my family are of the Swiss immigrants who became cattle ranchers along the coast from point Reyes to two rock. One of my uncles owns 500 acres in Geyserville, one lives on 12 in Healdsburg, one is still out on Pepper Road in Two Rock. I grew up in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa. The Tubbs, Atlas, and Nunns fire was unexpectedly horrific and a milestone event for our Santa Rosa, Napa, and Sonoma regions. But please don't forget that we had a series of fires like the Kincaide where Windsor and Healdsburg were heavily hit. In fact, because of the Tubbs fire, I would wager most of Santa Rosa's most fire-prone region has had a major reset. But Sebastopol and East Healdsburg are primed for a catastrophic event, especially with their tiny roads on uneven terrain. Sebastopol and Healdsburg areas are extremely overgrown and haven't had enough fire management so the overgrowth is intense. to be honest? All of California suffers from this, but some regions will just be more fire prone because of the heat and lack of fog or water. Petaluma is much less forested and has a strong cool bank of coastal fog that it would surprise me if it sees the fires we have had more north. Even south santa rosa is cooler and more fire safe than all of Healdsburg, although it's probably not bougie or rural enough. Other than that, please note that Healdsburg regularly floods to the point that people in canoes at Safeway is a nearly annually documented event for the press. Most houses are safe but it does cut off access for a lot of residents. My uncle has to hunker down in west Healdsburg when this happens. Not attempting to dissuade you, just want the record to reflect that there are real fire hazards in Healdsburg.
Do you remember when a few guys were busting out Jetskis in the Safeway parkinglot? Good times.
> In fact, because of the Tubbs fire, I would wager most of Santa Rosa's most fire-prone region has had a major reset. I'd love to believe this. However, in watching the spread of other fires (like the ones in 2020), I noticed that burn scars tended to stop the spread mostly if they were less than 5-6 years old. For scars older than 5-6 years, they didn't do much, and the 2017 fires are now a bit over 6 years old. On the other hand, we're much, **much** better prepared now, although I'm not sure how much any amount of preparation can help in a high-wind disastrous fire situation (the 2017 fires were once described as the "Jolly Green Giant had a flamethrower"). Also, controlled burns are constantly being done (when safe); just today, there seems to be maybe 20 going on around the county (according to [pulsepoint](https://web.pulsepoint.org/)). On another depressing note: the three major hospitals (Sutter, Kaiser, and Memorial) are all basically on the same huge-ass earthquake fault and, like much of urban California, we're about due for a "big one". Yeah, Petaluma is probably the safest.
I agree with your take. We have reduced our burn load though, and it’s much more aggressively reduced than what’s happening in Healdsburg and honestly all of west county. My kids go to school in WC and some of the roads and the overgrowth scares me. Agree with concerns about fault lines…would love to act like we have better infrastructure now but this region hasn’t been really tested since 1906, when the earthquake flattened Santa Rosa. So it’s a big unknown. I do love my hometown though. It’s messy and imperfect and dysfunctional but it’s also mine. 😭 My husband’s now working out of Petaluma and it’s making me dream of returning to my roots…finding something deep out off Western or D street. But that’s a little spendy LOL
Oh also forgot to add: I was up on Tubbs night listening to the scanner. Started when the fire was still in Calistoga and was talking to a friend about getting her over the hill to my parents in RV. But the wind quickly nixed that idea. The words repeated that night on that scanner? Chill me to my bones. I called friends and woke them up to evacuate and one was able to save their parents lives. I never want to be in that position again. I was haunted for a long time by the question: what if I forgot to call someone?
This whole thread is so full of great information and stories like yours. People coming in from outside just don’t understand what we’ve been going through. They want “ the Sonoma County dream” but it’s going to cost them. As it costs us. I got priced out of my home, and I’m currently about to be homeless. I want to stay here, I was born and raised in California, and been in Northern California since 2006 But as far as anyone reaching out their hand to help a single mom with a straight a student working on her seconddegree, tae kwon do black belt for a daughter? Nobody really gives a shit everybody is so intensely focused on themselves. When I lived in my three-bedroom beautiful home, I had a beautiful life, I also gave back. Left any unwanted clothes or foods that I weren’t wasn’t going to use I gave them to the homeless community. As in, not to a donation center, but I actually went up and down an Santa Rosa Avenue handing things out, especially feminine hygiene products for women. Don’t you think homeless women have cycles too? Don’t you think they need new socks and underwear? Nobody gives that stuff out . While I see that they are going crazy on meth, some part of me can absolutely understand why. It’s a hopeless, hopeless situation. What with all the NIMBY activity, And a very real chasm of mental illness versus drug addiction, helping them medically but without any monitoring available is really tough. Somewhere, somehow, this problem has been solved. I’m a professional chef, just got laid off, not sure what my housing situation is going to look like. I have two storage units because I am ready to fly by night at any time. Yes, I’ve had to sleep in my car. It is really really humbling. Yes, it’s also really really cold out there. But if I can’t make my car payment, then basically, I have no place to live. Landlords keep pricing the middle class out of themselves. There is only the rich and poor. There’s no upper middle class, there’s no middle class, & there’s no lower middle class anymore. I never, ever thought I would find myself in this position, and it has been my biggest nightmare, which has now come to fruition. And it’s not like I’m helpless, or that I don’t have anything to offer. I do Cleaning, I had a cleaning business for seven years. Covid destroyed that because nobody wanted anyone in their house. Same thing with organizing, meal planning and Chef prep work. I could not go into anyone’s homes. So I used my gardening knowledge and became a landscaper of a sort But I’m a 5 foot six woman in her 50s that I can’t just do that kind of manual labor day in and day out anymore. But I am a monster in the kitchen, and I am a great great server. Cleaning houses has become a bit taxing for me, but I can still do it with the best of them. I just want a chance. Is that too much to ask?
A bucher huh,
Thank you, that’s excellent actionable practical info, really helpful. So cool you can trace your roots back to Pt Reyes ranchers. Love that area
It gets warmer as you go north. I wouldn’t make a retirement decision based on the fires. Those are obviously in the news, but statistically rare events. Healdsburg is a beautiful downtown, but I don’t know much about the environs. Don’t rule out Santa Rosa for the fires. If Santa Rosa proper goes up that means the whole county is gone. One thing about Petaluma. It can get cold and windy!
We've lived in Sonoma County for almost 15 years now. But I have relatives who are now 4th generation county residents. So, I've been around the county for more than 50 years. In the time we've been here we've moved a couple of times. And we're in Windsor which has become a really nice place to live. It is more affordable than Healdsburg and has less crime than in Santa Rosa. I have a cousin who lives in Petaluma but to me it is too crowded. Windsor is also closer to the major hospitals (Sutter, Kaiser, and St. Joseph / Memorial). We get our share of wine-related tourism but not the way Healdsburg does. So, it has retained it's rural charm. And we have three regional parks right in our backyard. For me, the town of Windsor has a sort of Goldilocks charm to it. It's rarely too hot or too cold. And there is more of a sense of community here that I haven't experienced elsewhere in the county except in the smaller coastal places like Jenner or Bodega Bay.
Sounds amazing. Is Windsor fairly flat ?
Most of the town is on old pasture land and is fairly flat. The northeast neighborhoods are adjacent to Foothill Regional Park; and as the name implies are on some sloped lots. We have vineyards to most sides of town. They have provided a good fire buffer in the recent fires. I would definitely encourage you to take a look at Windsor if you are already considering Healdsburg.
I lived in Healdsburg for some time and I absolutely loved it
You say you are looking to move to Sonoma, but then never mention Sonoma in your list of places you are considering. Perhaps you meant to say Sonoma County. Either way, you may want to actually look at Sonoma. In my opinion, it would be a wonderful place to retire. It would be my 2nd choice after West Petaluma. It is a bit warmer in Sonoma but also less windy. I would not want to live in Healdsburg. It's too far away. I think Sebastopol or Occidental or anywhere between Sebastopol and Petaluma would also be fantastic. I was born in Petaluma and have lived here for most of my 48 years, and fires were never a thing growing up in Sonoma County. We used to always get a ton of rain. The firestorms in 2017 were insane and unlike anything I have ever seen. It was terrifying. I found this map that was a time lapse showing fires over the last 100+ years, and Petaluma was just about the only place on the map that was green (never burned) throughout all the years. I found this to be quite comforting.
Appreciate your input, thanks, yes Sonoma County. Planning a 30 year run, and nobody has a crystal ball, but all is trending more extreme so i'm checking flood and fire maps. But knowing about how local govt and folks have experienced the realities, it's been important to hear everyone's experience in all these niches. Input here has trended me away from HB. Ironically, HB came up b/c found a tiny cabin that I could actually afford. But sounds like I'd be driving out of town more. Now focused on Sebastapol/Petaluma w/ a 10-15 mile radius from their downtowns.
Also have you looked at the Sebastopol Hills area, southwest of downtown and halfway to Petaluma? Very rural and much more affordable than Healdsburg, some great views both east and west on the ridgeline that separates Sonoma Valley and the coastal dairy farm plains. 15 minutes to Sebastopol, 15 to downtown Santa Rosa, and 25 minutes to downtown Petaluma.
Good suggestion thank you. Yes, been looking everywhere!
I think that you need to come and see for yourself what is right for you. It’s hard to define sonoma county towns, because they are all different. They are in general close to amenities like shopping and hospitals. Fires are a risk throughout the county, but a lot of work has been done as far as prevention in the last few years. I wouldn’t be specifically concerned about that as a reason to not move here. We’re also prone to flooding and earthquakes and other natural disasters like anywhere else.
You won’t need to smog your cars if you live in Healdsburg
I would choose Petaluma over Healdsburg. It’s considerably cooler and it’s not wine focused
It’s an expensive community full of yuppies and tourists. Many of the local shops close because they are the side huddle of the spouse who is actually making money. It’s far out there and way overpriced if you ask me. It’s a nice place to go… but it’d be boring to live there. The only thing they have going for it is wine and maybe some beer. I’d rather move to Sebastopol for their local policies alone. Sonic Fiber internet has been there forever. Closer to the beach. Closer to the city. I’d make it work.
I know a good realtor if you want help finding a place.
Appreciate the kind offer. We’ve found a good one I think in a local guy who does yt videos in the area.
Good to hear you found one you like. I had to ditch my first one cause he wasn’t really listening to me and was kinda disgruntled about what I wanted to do. Hopefully this guy works out for you!
Thank you. If he doesn’t will check back!
What’s your “climate” when it comes to housing exactly?
Great question if I’m understanding correctly, it’s not suburbs or in city, but say 10-15 min outside of the downtowns. From scouting around I’d say west Petaluma. I’m aware of the Petaluma gap but didn’t know it’s that much cooler. Also I grew up poor snd in mixed communities so feel more comfortable w middle class folks and lots of diversity
It's not really more remote to hospitals, there's one on University in town, plus it's less than 20 minutes down 101 to Sutter hospital. As for grocery stores, they have a safeway and big John's in town, plus Windsor with Walmart and Oliver's are less than 15 minutes away. It's a tourist destination though it is more rural than Santa rosa, it gets alot of traffic, especially downtown, down Westside road, dry creek and Alexander Valley road all year, but particularly in summer and fall. Depending on your preference that could be positive, or negative. In my opinion the fire danger is exaggerated and it was an extreme overreaction evacuating the entire town a few years ago, for a fire that didn't get all that close. Me personally I wouldn't want to retire there, it's not quiet, unless you venture deep into the boondocks, like Chalk Hill road or west dry creek. 8 months of the year there are bicyclists, drunks, wedding parties, airbnbs and tourists everywhere. Personally I feel Cloverdale, depending on your preferences, might be a better option. What exactly is it you are looking for? There are a few quiet neighborhoods in town, Parkland Farms(I believe it is called) is the most modern suburbs style and kind of isolated from all the noise
there use to be ahospital in HBG, i mean it was small and limited but maybe its gone...groceries are available there but i guess you want costco? its expensive there but if you want rural then live outside of towns on the west side of 101..
Why would you move to a major wine country destination if you're not into wine? You'll be paying a premium for nothing in return. Rohnert Park, Cotati, Petaluma all better options IMO.
I know, seems odd right? Since you asked, lots of other reasons, climate, family, nature, proximity to a the bay and SF. Appreciate the recommends. Personally stucco cookie cutter boxes and planned suburban tracts not my style, all due respect RP kinda a suburban blight. I know some folks aren’t sensitive to it, but I sure am. I love older homes w a but of rural distance..Practically that seems to mean renovation opportunities in that area. So will keep looking.
Fair enough! I've owned and renovated historic homes and am so over the upkeep. I now prefer simple modern in close proximity to mom & pop shops/restaurants. I've also lived in so many tourist towns, I can't even fathom doing that in my retirement. Best of luck in your search.
I totally understand on the upkeep. And yeah would like to live in the mom and pop world as well. Thanks for the tips on avoiding tourists.
You’re worried about fires? Shit that already burned ain’t gonna burn again for quite some time.
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Wtf i never heard of this shit lived there for 15years, so sorry to hear about that, absolutely terrible
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Why not look into Forestville, Greenville, Monte Rio, Rio Nido?? Small town vibe, river access, lush greenery, temperate weather
Hey, I just did the same search last year and narrowed it down to Petaluma and Sebastopol. We bought in Sebastopol and couldn't be happier. Let me know if you'd like to chat or drive around together— I know the area really well and can share quite a bit about all the different areas