Telegram Sam said:
Northern Sonoma County, California
Why?
1.Beautiful weather
Avg min temp is 39' in Dec- Avg. temp 47'
Avg yearly rainfall 29"- most of it in Dec, Jan, and Feb
Avg Max temp 89' all year (it does get hotter though-spikes as high as 115)
2.Most beautiful place in the world-
3.Great wineries on every bike ride- good for getting some suger if you need
4.Cyclist friendly, but not cyclist burdened (there are not a lot- saw three in 60+ miles today- can go as high as twenty)
5.The further North, the less traffic
6.Great small communities (mine is Cloverdale)
7.No Marin-ites (sorry guys, you know what I mean) north of Petaluma
8. A bike rack will get you to thousands of rides
9.good local shops
10.Within reasonable distances of beaches and forests
11. LOTS of Mountain Biking
12. Lots of lakes and wild life
13.Trees!
14.Home of the VINEMAN Triathalon and many club rides that are up to speed
15.Sweet hills-hard climbs
16. very few dogs in the road
17. The river- for cooling off after a hard ride
18. Fat shoulders on most roads
19.100s of continuous no-freeway miles
20.Friendly cyclists
Why not-
1.It's spendy-coming from any where else, California is going to hurt
Just my 2c worth
but of course- this is where I live- I better love it right?
I've got to agree, Sonoma County would be an excellent choice. It is beautiful and the roads are fabulous. It is expensive, as is most of the San Francisco Bay Area, but part of what you're buying is a lifestyle that I don't quite think you can get elsewhere (I may be wrong...).
That said, I have to take Telegram Sam up on point #7. I am from Marin. I grew up in Mill Valley and have lived here for 26 years. I can not imagine any other place I would have liked to have grown up in. I'm not rich by Belvedere/Tiburon standards, but I'm definitely not poor either. I went to the expensive private schools; I went to the public schools (my parents could have saved their money - I got a wonderful education at the public schools). I don't buy the "Marin-ite" stereotype. So what if the people here are rich? Does that make them bad people? We are not elitists. Sure, there might be a few stuck up people here and there, but that's really a small percentage, when you look at it. Name me a place that doesn't have some bad apples. I find some of the weathiest people here to be incredibly geniune, caring, passionate, and altruistic.
In the time I've lived here, yes, I've seen the place change, I've seen the people change, and I've seen many transplants coming in. For the most part, I'm okay with it. I find the people in this area to be extremely friendly to cyclists and motorcyclists (my other passion) - in fact, even more so in the southern parts of Marin than the northern parts. Maybe my perspective is skewed, from "inside the bubble", but I like it here.
Anyway, I know it's said in jest (I hope). I've just got to stick up for myself where I can! If you can afford to live in the Bay Area, it's wonderful!