One of the ironies of the Great Migration when many people fled big cities is that ultimately they craved smaller cities and towns with characteristics of the places they left - like city centers with lots to do. Sonoma’s 8-acre plaza, the largest in all of California, at the center of town is a gravitational core of the entire Sonoma Valley. `It is surrounded by amazing restaurants, cafes and bakeries, art galleries (including the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art), bars/wine bars, pizza places, boutique shopping and more. The Plaza itself is host to Tuesday night farmers’ markets in the summers, live music and other community events and more. Ultimately if you want to live in a town in Sonoma which has a true commercial center then this is the spot.  

The Plaza

The Best Thing About Sonoma?

It’s a cliche to complain about tourist season if you live in a city that is at the center of a tourist economy. The city of Sonoma, as the namesake of the valley, pulls in a great majority of the wine tourists and September/October is the height of the wine tasting/festival season. If you live in Sonoma then everything gets harder during this timeframe. Locals tend to avoid the Plaza during these months and once you hit November all returns to the chill bliss that makes this one of the most beautiful places on the planet. 

September/October

The Worst Thing About Sonoma?

Sonoma lifestyle, like in many wine country towns, feels split between two different ways of life. You have “locals” who live here year-round, work in the area in the wine or agricultural industries (or are retired), raise their children in largely suburban/rural neighborhoods and who love the land from which they make their living. The other way of life is comprised of wealthy owners of 2nd homes, or empty nesters who appreciate the warm climate and healthy, fun lifestyle of the valley, and who probably made their wealth in the Bay Area. 

Regardless of which group you fall into expect to enjoy some universal truths about living here. The ocean is nearby so taking the short drive to the Pacific is common, daily hiking/biking on the nearby trails and nightly walks among the beautiful blocks are universal. It’s important to remember though that this is a working family town also. So little league games, playing at all the beautiful local parks, biking around town and just enjoying the intimacy of a small town still overrides all the tourist mishegoss for those who choose to live here. 

Check out the Sonoma **[calendar of events](https://www.sonomacity.org/calendar/)** to see what's going on throughout the year. 


Lifestyle of Sonoma 

Many locals of course work in the wine industry and enjoy short-ish commutes to work. Many newcomers work from home and so face no commute. If however you are going to live here and try to commute to one of the tech hubs you will be unhappy. Sonoma is a beautiful town that is built for people who work in the agricultural/wine/hospitality industries or the newly crowned, untethered class of those who don’t need to commute anywhere. That is the worklife culture of Sonoma and really much of these bucolic wine country towns. 

Worklife of Sonoma

If you want to live in a wine country town that has the most active town center then Sonoma should be on your short list. While many Sonoma Valley cities can feel sleepy, and that can be a positive, Sonoma also offers a truly magnificent town plaza that give the town a more active energy than some of the others. If you crave that type of energy then Sonoma should be on your list.

Why You Should Move Here Now? 

Downtown Sonoma is of course most notable for the Plaza but it is also the neighborhood with many of the largest most historic homes in the area. If you can afford and can buy one of these beauties then more power to you. Living near the Plaza means glasses of wine on front porches and leisurely strolls to dinners and trips to the farmer’s market. Living in Downtown Sonoma feels most like the “urban” wine country life many imagine when they seek out homes in the area. 

Also, if you are a young professional or couple working in the wine or hospitality industries then the apartments and condos in the Plaza area are choice ones to snag. There aren’t as many as you’d expect for a “downtown” but those on the Plaza or within walking distance provide a pretty cool and chill lifestyle. 


Young Professionals/Empty Nesters/Retirees/WFH’ers

Downtown

Boyes Hot Springs is well known as the site of the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. It is also though a suburban neighborhood where families live and enjoy being a couple miles from the city center and getting a breather from some of that traffic and tourist madness. 

The neighborhood is smack dab in the middle of some of the best parks in the area with Maxell Farms and Ernie Smith Parks, and the Montini Open Preserve just to the south. So, if you’re a family that enjoys spending time outside playing, running, biking and hiking this could be your spot. You’re also just a long iron from the Sonoma Golf Club if that’s your thing. It’s an iconic private club with golf, tennis, swimming, spa services and excellent dining available to members. 

Families

Boyes Hot Springs

Temelec is an unincorporated area just outside of town that has four major communities of single family homes, each with their own Home Owners’ Association - Temelec, Creekside, Chanterelle and Seven Flags. The namesake community, **[Temelec](https://temelec.org/)** is a 55+ neighborhood with beautiful homes, common grounds and common facilities including the historic Temelec Hall for events, a pool, picnic area, pond and community gardens. The Hall is the center of community events and also has kitchens for communal cooking, a library and fitness center. The other communities in Temelec also primarily serve 55+ communities and each has their own distinct characteristics but expect beautiful landscaping, wonderful paths and shared community amenities in each. 

One of the secrets to buying real estate in Sonoma Valley for empty nesters and retirees is to look at the 55+ communities. Even if you never considered yourself a likely candidate for a planned community the housing prices are typically much better than the general market rates and you get to enjoy the city you are near as much or as little as you like. 


55+ Empty Nesters/Retirees

Temelec

Sonoma

Moving to Sonoma County

41 Comments

Award

Share

Save

Hide

Report
User avatar
u/Peacock
·
Promoted
Hit new movies from theaters, buzzworthy Originals, thrilling live sports, and so much more.
https://www.peacocktv.com/
Sign Up

Sort By: Best
View all comments

User avatar
level 1
ElectraPotato
·
1 yr. ago
Born in Vallejo and bounced around the Bay (mostly Sonoma County) for 30 years. Thoughts:

"Best" depends on what you value more. If you want somewhere to actually walk around and have something to do, Petaluma and Sebastopol have somewhat of a central downtown area. Santa Rosa does as well, but it's scattered between the 101 freeway, and there are patches of areas throughout town as well that feel a bit segregated. Hella people say it's "diverse" in Sonoma County and that is a joke. There is an overall friendlier vibe in Sonoma County and people try/pretend to be inclusive, but it's mostly white people in a white bubble if we are being honest. Tell me why you got cops waiting on Sebastopol Road next to the taco truck when they could easily be catching the girls in wine valley doing rose all day? Forreal though...

Vallejo (Solano County) is more diverse and cheaper, but you also got rough areas and angry people upset with the gentrification in bigger cities that are getting pushed to poorer areas. You get Six Flags but that's about it haha... Blue Rock Springs used to be nice when there were more playgrounds and wasn't overrun with ticks. Some people like Vallejo because it is more affordable, it is more diverse and has a lot more culture, but you get more crime out there too. There also isn't a whole lot to do, and again you have to drive everywhere.

20's to 30's you will probably like Petaluma downtown area (somewhat bro vibes), or Sebastopol downtown area (somewhat hippie vibes that kinda act as if it were mini SF vibes). Both have some nice art scenes, especially if you are into metal work/sculpture. There is generally more to do and more of a central city/community vibe. Petaluma is generally safer from the fires and has been an evac spot the past several years (although how the fires have been going it's not necessarily immune). Both have parks and a little closer access to different beaches along the coast (about a 30+ min drive depending what beach you go to). Petaluma has Butter and Eggs Day (big ass drinking day), and the Antique Faire. Sebastopol has Apple Blossom Fest. There are more 20's and 30's age group in Petaluma because part or SRJC is there, and in general more drinking/bar spots. Santa Rosa has some spots too, but it's harder to go bar hopping without driving. Petaluma and Sebastopol are more walkable.

Weather in Petaluma is generally about 5-10 degrees cooler than Santa Rosa on an average day, and gets more wind. The farther north and east you go in Sonoma County, the hotter it usually gets. If you like your summers to be average 90+ then you may prefer Santa Rosa or Sonoma. Lately it has been shifting, so summer-fall is a lot warmer seasonal time, hence the wind picking up the fires. It can also be random though. One day it's 55 and raining/cloudy, then the next it is 90 and hot as hell.

Sonoma is a little more pricey, but has a cute little shopping district. It's mostly tourists and wine people though, so you tend to see more white people mid-upper class here. It has some nice architecture and history with the Mission. If you can afford it and don't mind there being less diversity, this is a nice spot. The weather can get a bit hot though since it's in the valley. And again, you have to drive to get anywhere else.

Santa Rosa has various shopping areas and overall more "diversity" for most Sonoma County cities, but you will still see it segregated and in chunks. If you're into Snoopy, it's home to the ice rink and museum, and you get a lot of fun art around the city as well. You also get Howarth Park/Spring Lake etc. which is a good hiking/biking area. Downtown sometimes has events going on, and also does Sonoma County's Pride celebration. Santa Rosa tends to be a central spot for a lot of Sonoma County events because it is a bigger city. If Santa Rosa had a better downtown area and more to do without having to drive to different spots, then I would suggest living here over Petaluma/Sebastopol. If you don't mind driving, then maybe you might like it.



**Moving to Sonoma County**

Petaluma is probably your best bet for what you're looking for...but Sebastopol, too. Just a touch more isolated but a 10 minute drive from Santa Rosa. I drive out there and hangout at the Barlow a lot.

Here are the latest demographics per the census: 62.9% White, 27.3% Latinx, 4.6% Asian, 4.0% multiracial, 2.1% Black, 2.2% Native American, 0.4% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. We do have one of the largest LGBTQI populations in the county per capita. However, our general population is primarily Latinx and White. Many people of color also drive here from out of the County to work here, since it is so expensive and hard to find housing.

Hard to make friends. I met people through work, going to wine events, and bars. Also Facebook groups (I run Sonoma County Foodies, for example).

Pro - Beautiful and food/booze

Cons - I live in Sonoma and the majority of the population is 65+ which doesn't help my social life as a 41 year old woman who doesn't want to just hang out with retirees. Also climate change (I am a wildfire reporter) is really doing a number here. Also the rent costs. And tourists.

Pro/Con are tourists. Whether from across the country or from SF or South Bay. SOmetimes I love them, sometimes I hate them.

Sonoma lacks a lot of typical establishments, such as a mall, fast food franchises, and popular stores. However, we are fortunate to be surrounded by other towns that within a twenty-five mile radius that supply this shortage of urbanization. Our town makes up for it by having a large sense of diversity and providing a safe and vibrant community.

Sonoma is okay, it just lacks things to do for any group of people under the age of 21. If you are not into wine and dine then this is not the place for you. Sonoma would be better if they had more known restaurants, another common grocery store, and maybe a fun teen friendly spot.

Sonoma, California

Valley of the Moon

Looklyloo Score: 85

We're on it!