Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa is not only a wonderful place for growing grapes but also growing families looking to get some distance from San Francisco. 12 months of mild weather provides the perfect climate for enjoying the amazing parks and trails and excellent public schools make the area popular with families.

Summary of the Santa Rosa benefits from a local:
-temperate climate (a few nights of freezes in the winter) not often too hot, very clean air. An hour from San Francisco with world class theatre, ballet, opera, a number of museums, amazing restaurants. Santa Rosa in Sonoma County has 425 wineries, has just been named a prime area for craft beers (Russian River Brewing Company - home of Pliny the Younger), amazing cheeses. Twenty minutes from the gorgeous Pacific Coast with migrating whales heading south to Mexico in the winter and heading back to Alaska with the babies in the spring, visible from a number of places on the coast. Old Growth Redwoods. Russian River - great kayaking. Farm to Table restaurants. Bike trails everywhere and the new train has places for bikes on every car. Iron Man in the summer and lots of other bike races. Farm Trails, Cheese Trails, Art Trails

For more reviews of what living in Santa Rosa is like from locals check out: The Buzz

Wine country doesn’t come without some drawbacks. Anything within a ninety minute drive of San Francisco is going to cost a pretty penny for housing. Being surrounded by beautiful vineyards and state parks makes this issue even worse. Wine country has also been hit hard by recent wildfires, which makes it a beacon for climate risk, but that hasn't suppressed pricing any.

Here's a summary of the cost issues from a local:
Is Santa Rosa a good place to raise a family?
No, not really, not unless you are very rich, and your kids will inherit. AS things stand now, unless your kid grows up to be a CEO or Doctor, they won’t be able to have what one would call a “normal life” in Santa Rosa, as they won’t be able to buy a house, have normal stuff, etc. This is a big big issue, not just for SR, but for many “blue” left leaning “cool places”, as the folks who live there support good economics and sharing, but don’t want more building (to lower housing costs), and in fact just voted down some bonds to MAKE more affordable housing

Located in the heart of wine country USA, Santa Rosa locals enjoy a life centered around that classy commodity and the weather that goes along with them. Nights out for the upper crust are usually spent enjoying a nice glass of wine and a locally-sourced gourmet meal. Santa Rosa is also only an hour or so from San Francisco and Oakland for those looking for some bigger city vibes, and only 45 minutes from the beaches if you favor a more traditional Cali experience. Raising kids here, while expensive, is pretty heavenly. Lots of sports they can play year round, great public schools, and big cities not too far if you want them to get some culture.

If you're interested in seeing all that happens here check out the calendar of events: https://www.visitsantarosa.com/special-and-signature-events