• Moving to Novato/Sonoma?
• Moving to Novato
• Will we miss Oak/Berk if we move?
• Which Marin neighborhood?
• Diversity and kid-friendly activities?
• Moving to Marin for the schools
• Living in San Rafael

Moving to Novato/Sonoma?

My husband's company has asked him to accept a transfer to their office near Novato. As long-time Rockridge residents with a toddler, we just assumed we would stay here and he would just commute. We are now rethinking that and wondering if anyone can tell us about living in or near Novato (maybe Sonoma?) with small kids. Any neighborhoods that are particularly nice/family- friendly? How about schools, traffic, community, diversity??? Need Some Input

[no replies received]

Moving to Novato

My husband and I are considering a move to the North Bay. We live in Oakland and are concerned about the public schools as well as crime and lack of greenery in our neighborhood. We would like our kids to live in a place where they can bike and play outside. We need somewhere close enough to my husband's job in Larkspur. We think we may be able to afford Novato. We have never spent any time there other than looking at open houses. We would appreciate any comments on living in Novato or other relatively cheap (for Marin) housing areas.

[no replies received]

Will we miss Oak/Berk if we move?

Now that both of his parents have passed away, my husband (along with a sibling, who lives out of the area) has inherited his childhood home in Marin, and we find ourselves faced with a huge life decision: Whether to leave our beloved East Bay neighborhood and move across the Bay.

On the plus side: The Marin house and yard are much bigger than our current, relatively small home, and we could conceivably stay there for the long haul. We could also send our two elementary-aged children to public middle- and high school in Marin (which I really don't think is an option for us in our current locale; though we've been happy with their public elementary school here, I've done my research and do not feel good about the public-school options beyond fifth grade).

On the minus side: We'd be heartbroken to leave our very tight community here, the Marin house needs a TON of work, and we'd be stretching ourselves to our absolute financial limit to move into it (we're both chronically underemployed creative types).

I'm also worried about ''starting over'' socially there. We know a few people in Marin (mostly my husband's childhood friends who stayed -- none of whom I feel particularly close to, plus a few of my friends and acquaintances who don't live terribly near the area we'd be moving to). The neighborhood seems much quieter and more private (and thus more isolating?) than the kids-running-in-and-out-of-each-others'-houses, can't-walk-a-block-without-bumping-into-five-people-you-know, totally down-to-earth vibe we LOVE here. Also, Marin seems so changed to us now -- compared to the much more liberal and funky-seeming place where my husband grew up. Finally, I'm wary about all the expensive SUVs, perfect trophy wives, and general chichi vibe I sense there.

Of course, we've talked about selling the house and using the money to either move into a bigger home in a ''better'' school district on this side of the Bay (but with the way prices have gone up, I'm not sure we'd get something all that much different from our current abode), or staying put and using the money to help offset the cost of private schools (an option my mate isn't keen on -- he feels like it would be a better investment to put the cash into something that will appreciate in value; plus, our house is a tight squeeze now, so we can't quite see having teenagers here -- and if we were to expand, our only option would be to go ''up,'' which wouldn't increase the value of our home as much as it would cost). We've even talked about selling both houses and moving out of state, though both of us were raised in the Bay Area and can't quite imagine life anywhere else.

Does anyone out there have advice or insights to share? Anyone with personal knowledge of Marin who can tell us whether there's a real sense of community there? Or how much of an issue the whole ''status and money'' thing is, really -- both for kids and adults? Would a family of somewhat liberal, pretty laid-back, fairly disheveled, and relatively broke folks even begin to fit in there? (I realize, of course, that we're incredibly fortunate to be faced with such a dilemma at all.) Any advice, food for thought, etc. would be most appreciated! Thanks so much, East Bay mama

Well, it pretty much sucks. It took about two years for anybody to talk with me (I was 8 months pregnant when we moved in) and, 4.5 years later, we have two friends in our neighborhood. One is a nice family from Fremont (Indian) in a McMansion across the street, and the other is a persian/russian islamic mix down the street. In short: NOT the little helmet- haired blonde women with the huge houses and no books. (sigh).

My caution to you? BE VERY CAREFUL. Your neighborhood sounds utterly wonderful. We are dealing with socialization issues with my poor kid, who is growing up not really having many people around. If we meet someone we like, it's hard to get their nanny to have time to bring the kid to play. sigh.

There is one child that we know who lives in our entire neighborhood and he's busy. In my opinion, the upper middle class people who live in the 3 mil - up houses have got to be some of the most unfriendly folks I've ever met in my life. ICK ICK ICK.

I hear that there is a nice sense of community in parts of Marin, and you might want to go over and hang out. On the other hand, we were at the Children's Discovery Museum in Sausalito yesterday where a young hippie-looking Marin mom was standing with a friend, talking. ''It has to be a great party,'' she said. ''I think I'll have the Counting Crows do it. What do you think?''

Seriously, vibes like that are toxic to kids. Good luck! ''from where the children have ''Princeton'' tattood on their foreheads at birth...'' bummed mom

Which Marin neighborhood?

We are thinking of moving to Marin to use the public schools ) and of course it is quite pricey. We are interested in finding out what the best school districts are and what neighborhoods would be appropriate. Yes, Kentfield and Tiburon are beautiful, but we are looking at affordable areas of San Rafael and Novato. Maybe affordable wasn't the word, but you see where I am heading. If someone from Marin was moving to the East bay I could give them quite an earful about neighborhoods, schools, etc...I need a marin counterpart! I am familiar with the test score sites, and marinschools.org, I need an editorial opinion of the situation over there: Like if we moved to Novato, would we always find ourselves driving south for kids stuff, restaurants, etc.. like how we drive to Berkeley, or Rockridge? I am looking for the real skinny! Thanks

I have co-workers who are parents and live in San Anselmo and Fairfax, and they like it; there seems to be a lot available for kids and a lot of support of various kinds in the community for the schools. But the neighborhoods are a little more...remote. Traffic is an issue because of the hilly little roads in and out, and you have to drive more because there are fewer walkable areas. It's more like being in the Berkeley hills or Montclair.

Novato, as far as I can tell, is more like being in Antioch or Fremont. Newer, and therefore larger, houses in car-oriented tract developments. Big box shopping. But I don't really know anything about the schools or other kid-oriented activities and resources there.

The one person I know in Kentfield, by the way, sent his kids to private (Catholic) school! :-) Commutes over the Richmond bridge

Diversity and kid-friendly activities?

I am wondering how people compare living in Marin County versus the east bay in terms of kid-friendly activities and diversity. We are a mixed race (asian/caucasian) family with a 2.5 year old. We like to do all kinds of activites(classes, museums,etc.) and meet friendly people at playgrounds who we can turn into friends. We find it pretty easy to do that in the east bay (mostly Berkeley and Oakland). We are thinking of moving to somewhere in Marin County, and are wondering what will change and what we might miss in terms of lifestyle. anon