Where is a good place to live north-ish of San Francisco?

In My Humble Opinion
1

It looks like I’m going to get a job offer in Novato, twenty miles or so north of San Francisco. The job seems great, but Novato was not my kind of place, and I don’t think my wife will like it at all. I love San Francisco and would like to live in the city, but it’s crazy expensive, so I was wondering if we could find a neighborhood that’s a little more manageable. I’ve poked around Zillow and Craigslist a bit, and Mill valley and Sausalito are even more expensive than the city, and the rest of the area seems pretty suburban.

My wife lived most of her life in Romania and Germany and finds American suburbs desolate and lonely. I lived most of my life in Los Angeles, and I tend to like the neighborhoods like Venice, Silverlake, West Hollywood, places that many people find weird and seedy. I’m 46, and we have a three year old, so it’s not like we need a place with a bunch of night life. I think we just like to be in areas where people are out and about, even if we don’t get out and about that often. San Francisco is basically the perfect city for us, and there’s a reasonably good chance we’ll just suck up the cost and live there (I’d also have to give up my woodshop, which is a bummer and a bigger factor for me than the cost), but I thought it might be worth seeing if anyone knew of an area that’s somewhat walkable and ‘lively’ in the area where we could maybe afford a small house instead of a hipster shoebox in North Beach.

2

Sebastopol is cool. Not sure what the driving time would be though.

3

Have you considered Berkeley? (Note: I have no idea what it costs to live there).

4

Novato is nice.

5

I would consider Pinole. Smallish town right on the bay, maybe 25 minutes from San Francisco. Not cheap, but much cheaper than SF.

6

khaaaannnnn!!

7

???

8

In the OP I specifically said we don’t want to live in Novato, so I assumed he didn’t pay much attention, or was just being coy. Also, Bricker just kind of seems like the khan of the board (Montalban, not Cumberbatch).

9

Tough call. The entire North Bay is pretty damn suburban, and the bulk of the suburbia is the blandest post-1960s burbs. You might find what you’re looking for near the older downtown areas that the burbs grew up around -San Rafael, Petaluma, maybe Santa Rosa. And I’ll second looking at Berkeley - a commute across the Richmond-San Rafael bridge shouldn’t be too horrible.

10

Had to Google that.
I’m pretty sure I never had a Trekkie card to lose.

11

Santa Rosa has the Russian River Brewing Company, which is supposed to be awesome. I’m not sure the rest of Santa Rosa would be more your kind of place than Novato, and it’s not exactly close. With San Francisco and Sausalito eliminated, that pretty much just leaves the East Bay, and a schlep across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. There are lots of places to choose from there though. I guess Vallejo would also be possible.

12

Another shout-out for Petaluma - nice town. Santa Rosa is bigger and has a lot more suburbs, but not bad, either. I am not sure what is wrong with Novato.

Whatever you do, try not to add a bridge to your commute.

13

Thanks for the suggestions. I hadn’t really considered Berkeley. For some reason I thought it was south of Oakland.

This was my impression from the day I spent there and the time I’ve spent looking around online. I’ll probably keep looking just because it’s close to work, and the rents seem pretty reasonable north of Novato, but at least I know what to expect.

14

Nothing’s wrong with it. We just like to be able to walk to things, and it doesn’t seem like that kind of place.

What if we ended up in the city and I was driving north in the mornings over the Golden Gate? I kind of assumed it would be the opposite way of traffic and not too terrible, but I might be naive about that.

15

Ugh! If I was moving for a job in Novato, I wouldn’t be looking for city living, I’d find one of the cute little towns in Marin or Sonoma county and get a little hobby farm! I agree, if you don’t like suburbs, there’s not much else around.

I like the north bay town of Martinez, personally. It has a small town feel and great schools. And beavers! A family of wild beavers live in Alhambra Creek by the Amtrak station, and are amenable to visitors.

16

Yeah, I think you are right about the reverse commute on the GGB, but dont forget about the additional cost in bridge tolls.

17

I thought Martinez was Spanish for “land of many oil refineries”. But all I know is what you see from the bridge.

As for the OP, I’d second Petaluma and maybe Napa/Sonoma if you’re a bit more adventurish.

18

Why is there an additional cost? Whether you go round trip north to south or south to north, the cost is the same.

19

This sounds like downtown Berkeley to me, although the drive would be a bit of a bear (28 miles, fighting traffic for some of that stretch).

Rent is significantly cheaper than SF but also more expensive than much of the bay area.

20

Martinez is actually a town with some character, but I can’t imagine commenting to Novato from there. Vallejo would be commutable, but you don’t want to go there. Trust me, I grew up there.

Napa or Sonoma was my other thought – enjoy the character of living in wine country, and either should be an acceptable commute to Novato.