NikkiDKatt

Octavia Street in Lower Haight stretches for 5-blocks south from Lafayette Park. Most of Octavia Street is made up of these old apartment buildings. Though there are some of those 3-story Victorians, the apartments on Octavia are more often of the 5-story variety, with bay windows and lots of attractive stone and brickwork.

What would it cost to live here?

A one-bedroom across the street from the park starts at nearly $3000 but can run as much as $4000. (There was a one bedroom house here listed for $5000/month.) A two-bedroom jumps up even further to the $6000 range and a 3-bedroom to a whopping $10K plus. The only thing “lower” about Lower Pacific Heights is the location.

You will also find businesses along Octavia. Academy of Art University, for example, has a building there (though I don’t know if it is just for administrative purposes).

There are also a couple of religious institutions here: the St. Francis Xavier Church and the Buddhist Church of San Francisco.

Schools are, of course, strong in the area and though crime is not non-existent it is mostly of the burglary and robbery variety rather than the assault and murder variety.

What brings me out here?

A restaurant, of course. Specifically, Baker and Banker which is a traditional American style restaurant owned by a pair of (married?) chefs whose names happen to be--you guessed it-- Baker and Banker. Go for the smoked trout--it really is delish!

Overall a pretty great Pacific Heights street--but only, of course, if you are filthy rich and can afford to live here. For the rest of us we can only hope we ever get the dough in the bank.

This section of Geary Blvd in the Richmond District stretches right through the slice of SF known as “Little Russia” because of the many Russian immigrants who live in the area.

But one of the main things that brings me out to this neck of the woods is not Russian at all, but Morrocan. Aziza is just a wonderful experience which I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to experience the western coast of Africa without hopping on a jetplane. But this is just one of many Geary restaurants that you don’t need a trip to SFO to experience. Geary is also home to the Hong Kong Lounge, Kappou Gomi (a Japanese place), Swamp (a Cajun seafood joint) and, of course, the Russian Renaissance Restaurant.

Geary, itself does get a fair amount of traffic, being one of the main traffic arteries flowing east-west through the Richmond District. On its far eastern end, Geary comes off Park Presidio (Highway 1). At this point it is a wide street with a tree lined center divider. The buildings are somewhat typical of the city, with bottom floor stores and two levels of apartments above them. This is where you will find business’ such as the tattoo place, Picture Machine; Healing Center Massage; Loveliness Wedding Gowns; and Cards and Comics Central.

It’s not all materialistic businesses, however. Our Lady of Fatima Byzantine Church, Holy Virgin Catholic Church and St. Monica’s are also on Geary and Washington High marks the far eastern end of Geary in Central Richmond. By the time you get to Washington High, the storefronts have given way to first floor garage doors and apartment buildings which are more clearly meant to attract tenants.

What does it cost to live around here? For renters, a 2-bedroom will run between $2200 and $2800--not a steal by any means but relatively moderate for the northern section of the city.

As to buying, one of these 3-story walk-ups in the area will run you nearly $1 million. Again, moderate for the city, though, of course, the same walk-up in the East Bay is likely to run around half that much.

The schools in the Richmond District are also pretty amazing--some of the best in the city. Unfortunately, when it comes to crime Geary, because of its high traffic, is one of the more dangerous areas in the Richmond District, with maybe a half dozen assaults taking place on Geary every month and even higher numbers of burglaries and robberies. It isn’t as bad as many other parts of the city but should definitely be something to think about if you are going to set down roots here.

I recently reviewed the section of Mission Street that is to the east of this section in the Financial District. It reminded me though, of this section of the Mission, which is just as packed with restaurants and cool places to eat, etc.

To begin with, on the far eastern end of this section of Mission is where you will find the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The gallery has a decidedly international flavor. Right now for example they are showing the films of Thai filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, an esoteric exhibition called “Without Reality There is No Utopia” which is all about the falseness of the narratives we live by (like “Capitalism” or “Communism”) and the David Dorfman Dance troupe performing a show called “Prophets of Funk.”

The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is also a favorite spot for people to head to at lunch time--you will often see Financial District types sitting down at noon to grab a bite to eat and take a breather from stealing everybody’s hard earned money. (Just a joke.)

One of the residents of this location is City College of San Francisco, a huge, well-known community college that claims over 90,000 students. It actually has a pretty great reputation.

But what I like most about Mission Street is the restaurants, of course. Especially restaurants like Moya (an Ethiopian joint), Heaven’s Dog (a cool Chinese place), Zaoh (a sushi bar) and one of my all time favorites, AQ. AQ is seasonal Cal Med type restaurant that alters with the seasons and uses local fresh foods. It is a great experience and I would highly recommend it to everyone. And the chef is pretty dreamy too.

Now on the southern end of Mission St. it does look very run down and urban, but there are still some pretty good spots.

As far as living around here, the main problems are crime and high rents. A one bedroom on Mission will run you between $2300 and $4000, while a two can easily go for as much as $4500.

Crime is also a big problem around here. In the last six months there have been 3 murders just a couple of streets up on Market and literally hundreds of assaults. So it is about as bad as it gets--which is not all that surprising given this section of Mission is sandwiched between the Tenderloin and the Mission District, two of the three most crime ridden neighborhoods in SF.

Overall, I would say this is a nice place to visit, but I definitely wouldn’t want to live here.

You really feel like you are in the heart of the city when you come to the Mission in SoMA. With skyscrapers, street level restaurants and the nearby Financial District, Mission Street runs right through the heart of the commercial engine of SF.

There is a ton to do here, starting with my favorite, going to restaurants. Here are some of the places that you can go on Mission Street in the southern Financial District:

Ame: a Japanese/New American restaurant that is just amazing, though it will cost you an arm and leg. (It can run you a good $100/person.)

Roy’s: An Asian fusion restaurant that I have been meaning to go to but haven’t yet.

The Grove: Just for sandwiches if you happen to be doing something else in the area or want to get something to eat while you are at Yerba Buena Park or the Tea Garden.

The Salt House: American cuisine with a strong emphasis on seafood. Perfect for a night out with business associates or for a double date.

But that is only the start of it for Mission Street. You can also find the Museum of the African Diaspora down on Third Street (one of a half dozen museums within walking distance) and the Cartoon Museum here--that later of which is perfectly situated just a block down from the Academy of Art College. If you are looking for a nice place to stay, the St. Regis is here as well--very swanky, and very nice.

Golden Gate University also has a building on Mission.

This is also where you will find the Fluid Lounge--a super hip dance club frequented by Financial District high rollers.

So it is exactly what we love and hate about the city. It is just packed with businesses and entertainments where those who can afford it can spend those high wages they get for figuring out new financial packages. On the other hand, it is totally overpriced, overcrowded, noisy and somewhat dangerous in terms of crime.

I love visiting here, but I could neither afford nor would I really want to live here.

As you can tell by looking at the map, this is the section of Sacramento Street that runs from Van Ness right at the edge of Pacific Heights to Powell. I mention this because on its western end Sacramento has a very different feel than on its eastern end.

Near Van Ness the feel is as you would expect, sort of commercial with a Staples store on that corner and then some restaurants along that first block. One restaurant that I would definitely want to mention here is the Italian place, Acquerello. It is very good and well worth the trip if you happen to be in the area.

As you get east of Polk however, Sacramento starts looking a lot like a North Beach neighborhood, filled with very nice three story Victorian walk-ups with beautiful trims and nice wide bay windows.

Though there are corner markets and the occasional first floor store, this place is 90% residential.

By the time you get to Jones however, the three story Victorian walk-ups give way to tall older apartment buildings with cool stonework and attractive balconies. Nob Hill is perhaps the section of the city that looks most like an East Coast City like NY--the posh part of New York I guess, though given prices I am not sure there is a non-posh section anymore.

On the southern side of Sacramento Street near Powell is where you will find Huntington Park, the Union Club and the Fairmont Hotel. In other words you are right at the heart of one of the richest section of Nob Hill. At this point the street is narrow and starts descending down towards Chinatown and North Beach.

What would it cost to live here?

Buying a penthouse apartment along Sacramento can run you as much as $5 million making it one of the most expensive places in the city (without too much surprise). Though you can also buy some apartments for just a $1 million.

As to renting, a one bedroom here will run you between $2400 and $3400 per month, and a two-bedroom goes for between $4000 and as much as $10K/month. In other words, if you have to ask how much you probably can’t afford it.

Overall, this might be a really cool place to live if you are filthy rich and must live in the city. But overall, it is just way overpriced, there is really no other way of assessing it.

But Absinthe isn’t the only restaurant along this stretch of Hayes Street. There is also Patxi’s Chicago Pizza, a very good pizza though not worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as Absinthe; Sebo, a sushi joint; Stack’s, for pancakes; and Flipper’s, for gourmet hammies.

You also have lots of shopping opportunity here with boutiques like Nida, Propellor and Zeni Wear.

You are also within walk of places like the Orpheum and the SF Opera.

And if all of that spending makes you want to have a stiff drink, try one of the Hayes Street dives: famous Marlene’s (a gay bar); Place Pigale, and Noir Lounge.

I’ve not lived here, but I imagine that it would be really exciting being right in the middle of all this activity. Of course, the downside would be the usual city problems such as higher crime (this is pretty close to the Tenderloin), overcrowding, traffic and noise. I have heard that Hayes Valley is a place where young couples with kids come, but it just seems a little too close to the action for me.

The other problem here is the general problems of the city, which is high rent. I looked up what places are renting for around here and this is what I found: there was a one-bedroom right by Patricia’s Green going for $5500. There were some 2-bedrooms a block down on Fell near Market Street going for $3000 and $4000.

That is just crazy. For that rent you can buy a pretty nice place in the suburbs. (You would have to commute of course.) Even in the city, there are far less expensive places if you go south of Market or on the western end.

Overall, however, I can see the attraction even if I don’t think it is worth it.

Loch Lomond is a residential neighborhood that branches out from Loch Lomond Drive right by the little marina that you can find in that area. The marina is on the southern end of the neighborhood, and it is mostly made up of sailboats. There is a big parking lot there as well.

The homes here are very nice. They are a mix of styles though the ones that I saw were mostly flat and long--mostly one-story houses with pools in the back apparently. It is a very good neighborhood with strong nearby schools and nice views.

So what does one of these houses cost?

Home prices here probably run almost a million dollars on average, with prices running between maybe $700K and $1.25 million.

If it weren’t for the long city commutes and the high cost of living, a lot of people would probably love living here. The homes are really attractive, the schools are great, there are tons of nearby hiking/natural wonder and there is basically no crime--what else could you ask for in a suburban neighborhood?

I really like the look of this neighborhood, but it seems a little bit on the dull side to me--San Rafael and the nearby areas just don’t have enough going on for a newly single gal like me. If, however, I were starting a family and could afford it though, I would definitely consider it.

You might be excused for not having heard of tiny Yountville given that it’s overshadowed by neighboring Napa which gives its name to the whole valley. Yountville, however, is not just some tiny little one horse town. In fact, Yountville may have more Michelin rated restaurants per capita than Paris does--and I don’t mean Paris, Texas.

I recently came here to dine at Redd, one of Yountville’s lesser acclaimed restaurants (though it was still good enough to be listed in the Top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area by SF Gate). Redd--and basically all of Yountville--is a foodie wet dream, apologies for being crude. But this is basically the sort of place you go and just savor everything. Get the 5-course tasting menu; don’t even bother looking at what they are offering. Taste each others food and enjoy. A great place to go with a date.

But, as I mentioned this is only one of the acclaimed restaurants in Yountville. Yountville’s most famous eatery is French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s 3-Star French country-style kitchen. Although it won’t cost you as much as going to France, it will come close, so only come when you are ready to break the budget or go into hock.

French Laundry is only one of several French restaurants in Yountville, however. You also have Etoile, Bouchon and Bistro Jeanty. And if you prefer American and couldn’t get into Redd, be sure to give Ad Hoc a try.

What is it like to live in Yountville?

Though I haven’t lived there I took a look around and found out a bit about it. The homes look like they date from the 80’s and 90’s--they are newer Contemporary style homes. These are nice suburban streets that make you feel as if you are at the edge of a valley even though you are actually pretty far from heavily populated areas.

The average home here costs more than $500K though rarely does a home reach a million dollars. My understanding is that a third of residents are veterans who live in the Veterans Home of California.

Overall, Yountville is a pretty nice place to live, although a bit out of the way if you don’t happen to be involved in the wine, restaurant or other local businesses. You would probably not want to brave the commute into SF on the daily if you can avoid it.

I can’t believe that I have lived all this time in the Bay Area and never been here to Piedmont until this past week. What an amazing little lane this is. Not only does it have two of the top rated restaurants in the Bay Area (according the SF Gate list of the Top 100 Bay Area restaurants) but it is just packed with coffee houses and other entertainments.

Piedmont itself is a bit new to me. I had always mistakenly believed it was a suburb like Danville or Pleasanton, but now I see why it is talked so highly of. It does have a suburban area up in the hills, but Piedmont is more like a semi-upscale, nicer cleaner Berkeley really.

And Piedmont Avenue is definitely the heart of the fun in Piedmont. Let’s start with the restaurants, which is what brought me here in the first place. The two restaurants that are listed on the Top 100 are--drum rollllllllll--are Dopo and Adesso, two Italian joints owned by the same guy. We came here to Dopo and loved it.

But Dopo and Adesso are only a couple of the draws of Piedmont Avenue. You also have a few American restaurants, like Commis and Bay Wolf; an Ethiopian place, Messob; some Japanese places, like Geta, Kana and B-Dama; a Asian fusion joint, Ninna; some Indian joints, Raj and House of Curries; a couple of tapas places, Bar Cesar and Barlata; and a BBQ place, Honey Badgers. Basically, you have a passport to world cuisine living here.

You also got a pretty good movie theater, the Piedmont Theater which is a classic old theater from the age of the movie palace one of a dozen or so left in the Bay Area. They show mostly indie type movies for grown-ups--not the usual blockbusters. So right now, for example, they are showing the critically acclaimed Silver Linings Notebook; No, a political movie about Chilean politics with Gael Barcia Bernal starring; and Stoker, a sort of thriller with Mia Wasikowski and Nicole Kidman a truly creepy roles. Nothing for the kiddies here.

There are also a ton of shops, like The Bee’s Knees, Instyle Threads, True Essence Boutique, The Rare Bird for furniture, Phillippa Roberts for jewelry and flowers, and Happy Heart jewelry.

And, of course, all the usual sort of places that you need to live anywhere, drug stores, groceries, laundries etc.

On weekends this place is packed with 20 and 30 somethings getting coffee and being busy. It is pretty great for people watching and meeting friends.

And in case you are curious, a 2-bedroom costs between $1500 and $2000 roughly. Though there are no apartments for rent on Piedmont Ave. proper--these are mostly in and around the side streets.

I love this place though and would love to live here.

Bayside Acres is a small, aptly named San Rafael hillside neighborhood with winding lanes and great bay views. As you might expect this is a fairly expensive location. Homes here sell from as little as $625 to as much as $1.7 million--though most are in the $900 to $1mil range, which is about where you would expect them to be. Most homes date from the 1950s and 60s.

You also get the other benefits of Marin County living: good schools and low crime. That combined with the beauty of the location makes for a pretty great combination.

Drawbacks of Bayside Acres mostly have to do with the specifics of the location. If you work in the city, for example, you will have a pretty good commute. You will also have to deal with the usual hillside maintenance problems such as erosion, critters, and wildfires.

If you love leafy, hillside living, however, you are sure to love it here in Bayside.

18th Street runs right through the northern end of the Mission District, is one of the main streets in Potrero, and is pretty good spot along the Castro as well, but this 3-block stretch of it in Mission Dolores has to be my favorite 3-blocks along 18th Street.

Why?

Let’s start with the big highlight: Delfina, probably the best pizzeria south of Market. Delfina is more than a pizzeria, it is a hot, hot date spot, as I was reminded when I came here with my friends and sat jealously watching all the young lovers out having a good time.

But Delfina is only one of the draws to this stretch of 18th. The other is Dolores Park, the best sunbathing park in all of SF and they have great movie nights during the summer too. For whatever reason--maybe because of divine placement of Mission Dolores nearby--Dolores Park seems to be magically protected from the summer fogs that keep everyone in fall dress throughout much of July and August.

And as if the best pizza and the best sunbathing weren’t enough, this is also the site of Mission Dolores itself, the oldest construction in all of SF and also one of the locations that one sees in Hitchcock’s Vertigo--so history buffs and movie buffs must make their pilgrimage here as well.

But, that’s not all--sorry I can’t help but sound like an infomercial at this point--you also have the best ice cream parlor in all of the city, the Bi-Rite Market. If you don’t believe me, just come by in summer and check out the lines. I mean, it is like kids waiting for a ride at Disneyland.

Oh yeah, and there are also the Tartine Bakery on the corner of Guerrero, the Dolores Park Cafe and Namu Gaji (a Korean fusion joint), Farina Foccacio, and Luna (on the corner with shop packed Valencia).

With so much here, the only surprise is that anyone is fit enough to be seen in a bathing suit at the park during the summer.

And, you can live in the super cute 3-story Victorians over the stores as well. A dream if you love sitting in the Bay Windows and watch the young folks stomping by below. Of course, a one-bedroom around here will run you around $3000 per month--so it is not exactly affordable living to live so close to the fun.

Glen Park is not a neighborhood that gets a lot of ink. People don’t flock to Glen Park the way they do to a place like North Beach or the Marina. I bet even in the East Bay there are people who don’t even know that Glen Park is a neighborhood in San Francisco.

But Glen Park does have one thing going for it that deserves to get noticed: pizza!

Gialina’s is just a great little pizza place with some of the best Pizza in the City imo. The Atomica, is what this place is known for and to a lesser extent the Nettles; they are both fantastic. Don’t even bother looking up what they are, just go there, order them, and go to pizza heaven!

The rest of Diamond Street is pretty nice too. I think that Glen Park is a generally underrated neighborhood in SF. The Glen Park BART station is right there at the southern end of Diamond and then you get this stretch of Diamond that feels a lot like a Cow Hollow street with laundries, a little pub and the rest of it. (Interestingly, the pub’s name is Glen Park Station and Google Maps has confused the pub with the BART station. So don’t don’t try ordering your pint of brew while waiting for the Pittsburg/Bay Point; no matter how much you could use a stiff one to face your commute.)

This is the kind of stretch that you love to have right by your house for a Sunday morning or for a little relaxing post work detox.

As Diamond Street curls up into the hill, it becomes a pretty typical Glen Park residential street. It narrows and is fronted by tons of older walk-ups, the bay windows staring down onto the sidewalk. It is pretty dense, but very cute. Most of the homes have first floor garages which is a big plus for SF where parking is a nightmare. You also gets some views of the city to the south, lots of little homes on hills.

I took a quick look to see what these rent for and it looks like studios go for around $2000, 1 bedrooms for $2500, to give you an idea.

Overall a pretty good place to visit or live (if you can afford it).

The Glenwood Neighborhood is just to the west of the Peacock Gap neighborhood at the far eastern end of San Rafael. It is a pretty small, hilly neighborhood nestled up in the hills. It is very leafy, but except for the crisp bay air, you probably wouldn’t know you were in San Rafael if you were just teleported down there from the Star Trek enterprise.

It looks like a pretty upper middle class neighborhood with lots of fairly nice, but not excessively nice, Ranch style homes. The neighborhood probably dates from the 50’s and 60’s--it definitely has that Brady Bunch feel to it. You have some nice views but they are mostly just of trees and the valley in which this neighborhood is situated.

Most homes around here seem to sell for around ¾ of a million bucks, which is probably low for Marin County. The schools I hear are mostly pretty good, with San Rafael High and Davidson Middle School being above average for the state.

Overall, if you are looking for a relatively nice suburban neighborhood nestled quietly in a valley and don’t mind what could possibly be a pretty bad commuting (depending on where your work is), then Glenwood could be the place for you.

For me, the Hill neighborhood in Sausalito is all about one place: Poggio.

Poggio Trattoria is an outstanding Italian restaurant that has been ranked in the top 100 restaurants by the SF Chronicle. It is right by the marina and bayside Gabrielson Park. It has outdoor seating and a very open set-up that gives it a very European feel. I came here with my mom on one of the last days before she headed back East and we had a really nice time. I had the Caprese piadine and she had the linguine and clams I think.

Bridgeway, the major bayside avenue where Poggio is located also has a number of other stores and restaurants. Poggio itself is located right next to the Casa Madrona Hotel and Day Spa which
a wonderful place to get put up. I have never been there but have known others who have sung its praises.

Other restaurants that you find along Bridgeway include Scomas (a seafood place) and Ondines (a private dining space serving American style cuisine), both of which are right on the water. There are also a number of other places to eat and enjoy the bay breeze.

We drove around a bit afterwards to check out the neighborhood to see how the other half of the one percent live. As you might expect from a neighborhood called The Hills, the streets snail up the incline and homes are built to take full advantage of the bay views and breeze. You are just north of the Golden Gate here and I am sure many of these homes here have great views of SF, Angel Island and the Bay Bridge in the distance.

The roads here are very leafy and the homes have plenty of bay facing balconies and street side car ports. Many of the condos are right by the edge of the water as well.

As you might expect, these are mostly multi-million dollar homes around here and probably running closer to $2 million than $1 for the most part. In fact, even the condos will often run in the milllion dollar range. (Though I did see one or two places that had sold for around $800,000.)

Basically this is not just a great place to come and visit, but a great place to live--if, of course, you are loaded.

When most folks think of Point Reyes, they think of the amazing beaches, hiking and the natural splendour of the Northern California coast. These are without a doubt great destinations and when I was here this weekend with my mom I indulged her love of lighthouses by taking her to see the one along the coast. I totally get the fascination with them--love to imagine what the life of a lighthouse keeper must have been like.

But for me, the real attraction to Point Reyes Station was Stellina, an Italian restaurant that has been listed in the Top 100 Bay Area restaurants by the SF Chronicle. Point Reyes Station is actually a quaint little town that takes advantage of its location along Highway 1. It is one of those places that you just have to stop by and check out--the kind of place where it is a joy to spend a morning just walking around a bit.

Osteria Stellina serves what its creator calls Point Reyes Italian, which I guess means that its Italian dishes are created from locally sourced foods. In that sense it is very much in the Alice Waters tradition of using local flavors and seasonal foods to design their culinary masterpieces. I had the steelhead salmon and the moms had the lemon chicken. We both loved it.

There were several other restaurants that we might have gone to as well, though I doubt any of them are much of a match for the Osteria Stellina. Here is a little sampling: Cafe Reyes (a Mexican place), Station House Cafe, and Pine Cone Diner. There was also a saloon, a bookstore, a flower shop and a saddle shop for the equestrian types who want to go horseback riding in the hills.

I don’t know if I would want to live in a little town like this but I can see the appeal of coming here for dinner.

I hope this isn’t going to become a habit for me--as a former Stanford Cardinal--but I yet again found myself in Bear territory. This time it was with my mom who is here visiting and wanted to go to the famed Chez Panisse--Alice Waters’ renowned East Bay eatery. Unfortunately, as you may have heard, there was a fire that has basically shut Chez Panisse down for now--thus ruining our original plans. Mom was very disappointed--she has always wanted to go and my moving to this section of the Bay Area was her big chance, she thought.

We decided to come here anyway and check out some of the other offers of this stretch of the Gourmet Ghetto as it is affectionately called by Berkeley denizens.

Despite being a pretty busy street, Shattuck Avenue still has a fairly quaint feel to it because of all the stores and restaurants that line the sidewalks. It really does have a European feel to it.

We ended up going to Gregoire, an affordable French joint, where I had the honey bbq pork and moms had the crispy potato puffs. It was really great. We both loved it.

But this was only one of a number of places we could have gone on this strip of the Gourmet Ghetto. There are also a bunch of Asian restaurants like Taste of the Himalayas (an Indian place) and Cha-Ya, a Vegan Japanese joint. We also considered going to Tratoria Corso or to the other French place along this strip, the French Hotel.

The area is also packed with students and local families. On weekends you really do get a sense of being in a metropolitan center of the East Bay. (I still prefer Palo Alto, but I am beginning to see the appeal of Berkeley.)

Maybe its the Stanford gal in me, but I haven’t quite gone gaga over Berkeley the way some of my friends have. The other day though, I did put aside my love of the Cardinal to venture here into Bear territory for a meal within just steps of the UC campus.

What brought me here to Center Street was the restaurant Ippuku. It’s a Japanese restaurant that was voted one of the Top 100 Bay Area restaurants by SFGate last year. It is very Japanese. You feel you like you have stepped on the set of the Last Samurai or Lost in Translation when you are there. We thoroughly enjoyed it even though I don’t remember the names of what ate. My only problem with it was that the plates were way too small.

As to the rest of the street, it seemed like it was a typical Downtown Berkeley street, filled with noisy traffic and dirty. (Sorry, any street in Stanford has Berkeley beat in terms of cleanliness.) But I can completely see what Cal students like about the area surrounding their campus--you do feel like you are in the heart of a bustling international city (I heard at least 4 foreign languages while we were there.)

The other great thing is that BART is right there, so you don’t have to hassle with parking. And there look to be a ton of other restaurants on this part of Center including Le Regal, a Ben & Jerry’s and a place called Alborz--all of which I am keen to try next time I am here. Of course, there was also a Starbuck’s on the corner, a Quiznos and a Bongo Burger which I’m sure are great for undergrads but which have no pull with me.

I also saw a Tibet souvenir store which looked kind of cool but we were in a hurry to catch a movie on one of the streets over, so I didn’t spend much time inspecting it. Oh yeah, and Games of Berkeley--a store devoted solely to games, is on the southern corner with Shattuck--pretty cool!

I was a lot less impressed with Center to the south of Shattuck. There was a parking lot down there and I understand that Berkeley High is there too, but there seemed not to be much worth exploring down there--very urban looking.

Overall, a great place to grab a bite to eat, and to keep your Cardinal Red well hidden away.

Looking to play a few holes of that Scottish terror known this side of the Pond as “golf”?

Well then you have come to the right place. Peacock Gap, this far eastern peninsula of San Rafael, is most famous for its eponymously named golf course. This is one of those large, beautiful golf courses that appeals to the 1% since they are probably the only ones that can really afford them.

It isn’t all about greens and ruffs here, however. The southern end of Peacock Gap is home to McNear Brick and Block, where you can get all your bricking needs met--everything from driveways to fireplaces. They look very nice and I guess they make all the bricks and blocks right on site. You certainly see enough trucks coming in and out of the yard. (They must be doing pretty well given their ability to afford this prime bay front property which I’m sure developers would love to get their hands on.) The other company that shares this southern end of the peninsula is the Dutra Group--three companies that dredge, construct and provide materials , all wrapped in one.

The rest the of Peacock Gap section of the peninsula is pretty much residential with streets named after birds and famous seaside places: Partridge Dr., Peacock Ct., Pheasant Ct, Biscayne Dr., Riviera Dr., San Marino Dr. and Point San Pedro Dr . As you might expect given the water and the golf course around which many of the homes are built, this is prime real-estate. The typical single family home here probably sells for about a million dollars. I’m sure there are some that go for even more. These are large beautiful homes built mostly in the 60’s on the southern end and getting newer (and no doubt more expensive) as you head north.

There are also some condos up here as well which sell for alot less than the homes.

And with China Camp State Park and McNear’s Beach Park right at the edges of neighborhood, this is a dream come true for outdoorsy types who love a good hike, bike or walk.

In addition to the great location, you also get virtually zero crime and great schools. Glenwood Elementary, Davidson Middle School and San Rafael High are all above average schools with great programs and lots of parent involvement.

This is the famous 4th Street Mall section of Berkeley, known for it boutiques and restaurants. There’s lots of stuff to do here. I’ve only been a couple of times but here are my favorites so far:

1. O Chame: A Japanese place with great pancakes and pretty good Tempura.

2. Cafe Rouge: A Berkeley style steakhouse with its own butcher inside.

3. Zut: I haven’t been here yet, but this American style restaurant with its Mediterranean spin looks really great.

4. 4th Street Yoga: Definitely want to check this place out (though there are definitely no shortage of Yoga places in the East Bay).

5. The Apple Store of course--can’t live without one of these.

6. The Molly B clothing boutique

7. Jigsaw London for the bags mostly

8. Books Inc.

9. The Peets (always need some Joe)

10. Brennan’s Irish Hofbrau for when I need a pint of Guinness. (Okay so it is technically not on 4th Street and is south of University, but its close of enough for horseshoes, hand-grenades and Irish pubs, right?)

I’m sure I will continue to change this list as I discover new favorites.

Came here to Solano Avenue to go to Rivoli, which is listed in SF Gate’s Top 100 Bay Area restaurants.I am not that familiar with Berkeley, being more of a Stanford gal myself. However, I love this area in North Berkeley. It just has a very European feel.

Rivoli is great. Don’t be fooled by the name, it is not an Italian restaurant. They actually serve a Western menu--what is called “California comfort food” by SF Gate. I had the grilled yellowtail and for dessert the strawberries and cream panna cotta (which I was supposed to share but didn’t).

My friend who I went with tells me that this section of Solano is an especially popular spot for Sunday morning brunch, especially during spring and summer. With a Copy Central and a 7-11, it definitely has a college town feel. There are also some cute little restaurants and shops down there that I want to check out.

Apparently the Northbrae neighborhood is home more to graduate students and young married couples though there are still a lot of people who are somehow involved with the university.

I will definitely have to check it out again sometime and add to this review.

Came here to Florida Drive in the Clayton Valley Highland to take a look at a 4-Bedroom Ranch home that is up for rent. It is a pretty typical looking Eisenhower Era street but really well kept, with a wide open feel to it that makes the overgrown lawns and un-kept bushes seem not so bad. There are even some picket fences. I don’t know if it is just because this section of Concord is slightly more hilly or because of something else, but this just seems lots better than another similar street we visited earlier down in the flatter part of Concord.

You will totally pay for the difference though. This home here is about $300 dollars more per month than the place we looked at in the Ellis Lake area.

One of the benefits that you get from taking Ygnacio Valley Road past the Cal State East Bay Campus is that the schools are a lot stronger on this side than in the rest of Concord. Highlands Elementary and Clayton Valley High are way above average and even the weakest link, Pine Hollow Middle School is solidly average--which is still above the standard set by most Concord Schools.

This actually a pretty nice spot. I would definitely not mind living here.

Picnic Valley is a very woodsy hillside neighborhood at the southern end of San Rafael. It comes right off of Lindaro Street. This is the kind of neighborhood where the streets are narrow and it is hard to fit two cars next to each other.

The homes here are a mix of very old homes (a century old in some cases) and homes dating from the 1960’s. The older homes tend to be on the lower, straighter northern part of the neighborhood and the newer ones tend to be up in the hills.

This is a pretty nice spot and homes here climb with the elevation, going from about half a million dollars at the lower elevations to more than 3 quarters of a million at the upper reaches.

Of course, this is hilly forest living, so you need to be prepared for extra home costs related to erosion, critter nuisances (like knocked over trash cans) and the fire worries.

You do, however, get strong schools, a safe area and you are close to an okay number of restaurants and things of this nature.

Overall, a pretty good spot for families--especially if you are into an outdoorsy sort of a feel.

Oakmead Drive in the Ellis Lake neighborhood in Concord is mostly a pretty typical residential neighborhood. I came here with my friend in our continued quest to find a 4-bedroom that is within our price range and livable.

Oakmead itself is pretty much filled with somewhat shabby looking Ranch styles homes. It is one of those streets that used to be the American Dream for the middle class. The homes were once pretty nice with white picket fences and the whole bit (some of these still remain) but now the upkeep is a little uneven, with yards that are occasionally brown and with untrimmed hedgerows.
But what we really came to look at was a planned community just off of Oakmead. It is brand new and quite beautiful, and although small and too apartment-like for a 4-bedroom, was very enticing. At nearly $2000/month it is affordable for two, though maybe not for one.
The only other concern has to do with the close quarters of this location--too much like apartment living.
I don’t know about this neighborhood long term though. The schools in Concord I hear are not too good and there is possibly a gang problem, so I don’t know if I would want to live here long term.
Overall though, we are thinking of putting our hats in ring for this place and seeing if we can get it.

The Francisco Boulevard West neighborhood is pretty much a commercial area where you can find a lot of businesses. It is the home of at least one of the Skywalker Sound studios. (I don’t know if there are others in San Rafael in Marin.) As you may know George Lucas’ home is here.

You will also find a lot of other companies that are much less famous around here. Such as: Thornton Paving, Wine Cellar Pros (which build wine-cellars apparently), and on the western end, truly industrial companies like Shamrock Materials (provides masonry for house foundations?) and California Closets (which creates custom closets). There are a lot of typical stores you expect in a location like this as well: Geek Squad, TJ Maxx, BevMo and DollarTree. And car dealers and repair shops like Toyota, Ferrari and Volvo.

Marin Vet Hospital is here too for your kitties and woof woofs.

There is even a bit of a nightlife scene in Francisco Boulevard West. Hot Club 101 is here--it is a Latin oriented club that features a Sunday Bandas night, a Thursday No-Cover College night and, this being the Bay Area, a Wednesday Transvestite extravaganza.

Part of the benefit of this location is that it is just off Highway 101, within striking distance of San Francisco.

Of course, this is not the most attractive of locations, nor is it where you would come to look for an apartment, but it is the kind of place that makes all those other pretty Marin County places more convenient--where you come to buy the stuff that creates those lives of comfort and leisure.

Thrush Court is a quiet cul-de-sac in the Birds neighborhood of Hercules. I came here with a friend to look at a house for her and her kids. She is going through a divorce and the two of us were thinking of maybe trying to share a place like this. The rent for this place was pretty expensive for our budgets--close to $2000, but for a 4-bedroom that we could both share it could maybe work.

These are mostly 2-story Contemporary style homes of the kind that is typical of the mid-1980’s. The other cool thing about this court is that it has extra parking spaces at the middle of the court for when you have guests for a dinner party or something along those lines.

This is a great location in terms of looks. The homes are not too old and you feel pretty safe here. It is also somewhat elevated so you probably get a little bit of a sea breeze.

I hear that the schools in Hercules are also pretty good so it would be great for the kids.

My main concern with living in Hercules has to do with commutes. I hear that they are pretty terrible from here. That would be the main problem.

Overall though this is a pretty nice spot, and I definitely wouldn’t mind working here if I could work out the logistics of it.

Like most of the neighborhoods on this southern part of San Rafael, Bret Harte is named after and anchored by a park. The neighborhood itself is made up of straight narrow streets with post-WWII Ranch styles homes. Basically it is one of those neighborhoods the Boomers grew up in. The residents here tend to be older (maybe even some of the original home buyers). Front lawns are small and far closer to the street than in more contemporary style neighborhoods.

Friends that I have around here tell me that schools are pretty good and mostly above average. Crime is also low--you mostly get minor sorts of stuff like petty thefts and the occasional burglary.

Most people who work here make the commute into the city, which seems just crazy to me. But I think if I worked at one of the companies that calls Marin home, it might not be too bad.

You also can’t beat Marin when it comes to outdoor activities. You can go to the beach or mountain biking and are basically living in one of the greenest, most beautiful places on the Earth.

You are also close enough to the main shopping and entertainment spots in San Rafael to get to them in just minutes.

Overall though this is not one of the most beautiful spots in Marin; it is probably one of the more affordable ones. I can see living here in order to be close to all the other benefits--especially if you happen to work up here in Marin.

Sherwood Forest Drive in El Sobrante--just a couple of blocks off San Pablo Dam Road--looks like a typical 1970’s style neighborhood with Ranch style homes and garages with dolphins on the occasional garage door.

These don’t look like your typical Ranch style homes however. First, many of them have shingled roofs, gabled dormers and prairie style porches. All in all a very Western feel to homes. Also a lot of lawn chairs on front porches, suggesting the neighborhood is mostly made up of older folks. Homes here sell for around a quarter of a million dollars.

This is also a fairly safe area with only the occasional burglary or incident. It is far enough from the city that those kinds of urban problems seem to fade.

The local elementary here is pretty good as well. (Though the rest of the schools are progressively worse for the older kids.)

Overall this seems like an okay neighborhood if you are just starting a family or if your kids are already out of the house.

The Gerstle Park neighborhood in San Rafael is an older neighborhood. Most of the homes here date from before 1945. These are mostly walk-up bungalows. You will also find some occasional apartments mixed in here and there.

Homes here can sell for close to $1 million dollars. Most homes, however, go for about half that.

One of the central benefits of living in Marin County are the good schools. Even when you are living in one of the more affordable areas, this tends to still hold true. This is somewhat the case here. Most of the schools are above average. The local elementary--Dell, however, has an API of 4 which makes it about average, or slightly below.

This is also a very safe area with few criminal incidents to report beyond mostly minor stuff. There are of course more incidents near 2nd streets and the higher traffic area, but most of these are of the petty theft and occasional public urination variety--as can be expected in any high traffic area like this.

This is also one of the draws of the area, you are within walking distance of pubs like the Flatiron Saloon and restaurants like Citrus and Spice (a Thai place).

This is part of what makes this an attractive area for the historic century old Panama Hotel. The hotel, which also has a restaurant, is a popular place to lodge visiting business folks and vacationers visiting Marin. They also have live music. A few other inns have also popped up, such as the Gerstle Park Inn.

So this is actually a pretty good spot to live if you like older homes and living close to the action--such as it is in San Rafael.

California Park is a pretty typical hillside neighborhood around these parts. It has nice sloping streets with homes set up along them to make the best of the views here--which are mostly of the valley below from these locations.

You get all the typical hillside problems here, of course, like erosion and critters eating your gardens and getting into your garbage. But you also get the great schools and the benefits of being close to everything from nice restaurants to hiking and beaches.

Of course, this is Marin County so you can expect to pay a couple of extra hundred k here for the privilege of living amongst the wealthy. Most people are happy to so, however, if they can afford it.

Hull Lane in Martinez is nice quiet two block long street ending in a cul-de-sac. It is mostly made up of large Contemporary style homes that seem to date from the 1980’s as far as I can tell. There is also a condominium complex here. The nice thing about this spot is that you get the quiet and safety of a suburban setting while being within walking distance of a movie theater and supermarket. You also have a Kaiser medical facility right next door. Highway 4 rushes by just to the north.

You can rent a 3-bedroom in the condo complex for $1800. So it is a pretty good deal. A nice spot.

Downtown San Rafael reminds me a lot of Palo Alto. It is definitely the same kind of demographic as well.

Like most downtowns, this is where you go to find the cool restaurants. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Napoli Pizza
2. Lotus Cuisine (an Indian place)
3. Sol Food (a Puerty Rican joint)
4. Il Davide (an Italian place)
and 5. Panama Hotel Restaurant

These are all on 4th Street, the main drag here. There are some bars and pubs too:

1. Nickel Rose
2. The Mayflower Pub
3. Pint Size Lounge

It is definitely a nice spot to hang out on a Sunday morning or to come at night for a bite to eat.

This is also where you will find the public library, the San Raphael Arcangel Church--which is a reconstruction of the original church that the Catholics once built here.

There is even a tattoo parlor: Spider Murphy’s. So its got something for everybody.

Came to see a house here on Sodaro Drive in the Vine Hill section of Martinez. This is the section of Martinez that feels more like Pacheco than Martinez. What I mean is that the street has sort of a rural feel. If the roads weren’t paved, it would feel like you were in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Most of the homes here are very old and they have late model cars parked out front, suggesting the residents are on the older side as well. But the homes are mostly very well kept. It is not unusual to see white picket fences out front and well trimmed shrubbery.

I don’t know if this is typical, but we came to see a 4-bedroom here that was going for $1850. That is pretty good for a 4-bedroom.

Overall the area is fairly safe and has solid schools. It is also relatively well situated for commuting into the rest of Contra Costa County (though I wouldn’t want to try to make it into SF from here).

This actually seems like a nice quiet spot to raise kids.

This is the spot where the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge touches down in Marin County. The southern end of this neighborhood is made up of companies and the detritus of such industrial locations. What companies are located here?

The San Rafael Heliport, the video game maker Telltale Games, a Home Depot, the ceramics designer Daltile, Parnell Pharmaceuticals and video production company, 32 Ten Studios--to just name a few.

The northern end of Canal is much more suburban. Along the water you get one of those planned condo neighborhoods where all of the homes look somewhat alike and the streets are named after New England locations: Nantucket, Newport etc. In this location, most of these run between $600K and $800K .

These give way to some very boxy looking apartments which pretty much make up the rest of Canal. These apartments--listed as condos mostly--sell for about about $150K.

As far as school goes, they are mostly fairly strong here as throughout most of Marin.

Overall this is probably a very good place to work and fairly good place live.

Came here with a friend for her to look at a 4-bedroom house. It was actually listed at $1000/month which is an amazingly low price.

18th Street is a fairly typical San Pablo street. It is filled with older homes dating from World War II and before. Rent here is as low as I have ever seen it and you can tell the reasons why by just looking at the homes along the neighborhood: they all have bars on the windows and and steel reinforced screens on the doors. Basically there are crime fears here, even though it is not considered to be as bad as Richmond.

There are some newer Contemporary style homes on the end of 18th Street, but even they have bars on the windows.

It is actually not a bad spot from which to commute and if you happen to be in school, Contra Costa College is nearby. If you are in high school or below, schools are pretty bad however.

This street and neighborhood have potential but I don’t think it is to the point where I would want to gamble on it yet.

The Heather Gardens/Meadowoods neighborhood is just to the south of the high school. It is mostly made of Ranch homes though there are some cul-de-sacs where you find some newer Contemporary style homes that are pretty unusual.

From some spots in this neighborhood you even get some pretty good views.

Homes here, of course, are at the ¾ of a million dollar range.

Overall this is a nice little neighborhood located right at the suburban heart of Larkspur and within walking distance of both the high school, middle school and Old Town Larkspur.

Definitely worth a look if you’re looking for a place to live.

Where can you find a 7-bedroom house for under $3000?

Here on Pueblo Drive apparently. Pueblo Drive is an attractive suburban street on the southern end of Pittsburg that could easily be used as the backdrop for a movie meant to be set in the 60’s or 70’s. It is flat and not the least bit flashy but it is nice.

It is close to Buchanon Park and has a nice working class feel.

Although there are a fair number of reported sex offenders in the neighborhood, overall crime here seems relatively low despite Pittsburg reputation for being a gangland.

So what is the problem? Why are the rents so low?

Schools are first of all significantly below average with API’s of 2 and 3s.

The worst problem however is the terrible commute. If you have to go farther than Walnut Creek, you might as well move into your car, you will be spending most of your time there.

That’s why you can find an affordable home for this price here.

Palm Hill is a little nook of a neighborhood to the southeast of downtown Larkspur. It is a cute neighborhood with narrow bushy streets. This is a fairly old neighborhood with a good number of Ranch style homes. It does not look as expensive as other areas of Larkspur with newer and better homes, though I am sure it is still well above most people’s budgets.

Even so. You still get most of the benefits of living in Larkspur, from the great schools to the amazing natural beauty.

You also get the drawbacks as well, of course. Here I am talking about the high cost of living.

You are also within walking distance of the movie theater and the restaurants of the cute Old Town area of Larkspur. A pretty good deal, actually.

Ever wonder where the cheapest place to rent a 4-bedroom is in the Bay Area?

You guessed it: Oakland. Specifically, at this moment, it is the Webster neighborhood. What kind of a place is it? Not completely sure since the posting was entirely in Spanish.

We came to take a look. Webster is just to the east of the Oakland Colliseum, squeezed between International and Bancroft. It is one of those neighborhoods packed with rickety pre-World War II homes.

You can tell this is a high crime area by the bars on the windows and the steel reinforced screens on the doors. Oakland schools are also notoriously poor.

Some of the streets in this neighborhood looked pretty bad--not where I would want to be at night. Some of them looked pretty nice. Unfortunately the place we came to see was not in one of the nicer looking places.

Needless to say, I couldn’t even get my gal friend to get out of the car to take a look at the place.

Stretched out against the woody southwestern hills, Chevy Chase is absolutely one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Larkspur. This is one of those hilly areas where the homes have great views not only of the valley below but of the north bay.

This is hardwood deck territory. The kind of large homes that must cost above million dollars even in a down market like we have been having.

The downside to living in a paradise like this--other than the high property costs--is that you have to deal with narrow lanes and the many problems of having a hillside home in the middle of what is essentially a forest. You will have to keep the trees at bey and your fire insurance up to date. You will have to deal with wildlife getting into your garbage, eating your vegetable garden and occasionally skunking your neighborhood. Hardwood decks and moist environments also add to the upkeep of a home.

But with great schools, no crime and just the aesthetics of this area, Chevy Chase well makes up for these drawbacks if you can afford it.

Baltimore is the Larkspur neighborhood just to the south of Old Town. It is mostly a residential neighborhood except around Magnolia where you get some spillover from the “downtown” area. The Italian restaurant Picco is technically in this neighborhood as is The Tavern at Lark Creek, a high ceilinged restaurant and wedding venue that is the fountainhead of half dozen plus Lark Creek restaurants around California.

Most homes in this area are estimated at around $1 million, but you will also find some small 20’s era bungalows that sell for about 3 quarters of that. Although there have been some newer homes added here it mostly still has the wide-laned feel of an older neighborhood and enough of the original homes that were once here to firmly indicate that it is one of the oldest spots in Larkspur.

You get a fair amount of traffic along Magnolia, but the inner streets are pretty quiet. You are fairly close to the Old Town neighborhood as well so you have all the restaurants and stores within walking distance.

Overall this is an okay neighborhood but way overpriced in my opinion, given what it actually offers.

If you like the feeling of living away from it all, Madrone Canyon may be the place for you. Although it is just down the road from the rest of Larkspur, the feel of the area is remote--as if you were living much farther up the coast not just across the bridge from San Francisco. The narrow winding streets the make up this neighborhood give way to homes that are perfectly perched (in many cases) to catch glimpses of the Bay. These are big homes often with more than 5000 ft. of space, often multiple stories, though you can’t always see how big they are from the street because of tree cover and the need to pay attention to the road.

The median price for homes here is easily a million dollars and I know that some rise to 2 million. You probably won’t find anything in this neighborhood for under $750,000.

This is hillside living at it most extreme, so although it beautiful and the schools are great, you should also be ready for the downsides of owning a home in a location like this. First, of course, you should be ready for the maintenance issues involved in living in place with these kinds of topographical features. First, there are problems with erosion when ever you live on hillsides. This means, in many cases, fighting a constant battle against sliding off the hill.

Second, this kind of living also requires constant home maintenance, as you fight off the elements, keep trees trimmed, and are constantly trying to keep nature at bay. Next, don’t forget nuisances like critters getting into your garbage on trash day, skunks getting under your house and skunking you when the dogs bark, deer eating your vegetable garden, and having to drive the winding roads everyday to take kids places,etc.

Finally, don’t forget that you will also have wildfire worries in such a woody area. During fire seasons, which climatologists tell us will become more intense, but which are intense already, you will have to cross your fingers and hope you don’t have you house razed.

So it is not just paradise. However, if you can afford to live in a place like this, you will probably find it one of the best places to raise children. It is close to nature, has great schools, is super safe and still has nearby restaurants and movie theaters. What else could you ask for?

The Loop is the residential neighborhood that sprawls out just to the west of the Old Town neighborhood in Larkspur. The narrow lanes that head up into these mild hills give way to large, older homes. This neighborhood dates from the 1960’s mostly. There is definitely a sort of bucolic feel to the area with all the sidewalk-less streets and driveways that disappear back into the trees. You feel as if you are out in the middle of nowhere here.

You will also get some critter worries on garbage day, and some erosion worries during the rainy season, so factor that in when deciding whether this is the right place for you.

I am given to understand that most of these homes are valued at $1 million.

Of course, as throughout Larkspur, one of the big draws are the great schools. Redwood High School receives some of the top ratings, as does Hall Middle School. There is even a private religious school--St. Patrick--which is just to east.

Larkspur also has the benefit of being close to all the natural offerings of Marin County with hiking, biking and beaches nearby. The commute into the city is, of course, a bit of a drag: it will take you about an hour to make it to most places in SF and about the same to make it into Oakland, which means most Larkspur residents are spending a lot of time in their cars heading to work.

As to restaurants and nightlife, you are right by Old Town which means you can have a nice meal and be home in 10 minutes.

Overall a great spot to live.

Old Town is Larkspur’s version of a “downtown.” Of course, since Larkspur is not exactly Oakland this is basically just a cool little strip where you can go to nice restaurant and catch a movie. The area does have a sort of quaint old feel to it, but in a really well-maintained sort of way. (Probably more fiction than reality.)

I’ve been to the Lark Theatre a few times. Here’s the selling point: it’s an eclectic small town movie house that serves beer and wine (you and some of the movies provide the cheese). Now the screen is not the biggest but if you love watching quality current movies and some less of the beaten path selections on a screen that is not in your own home, this is the place for you. Also, it is unusual in not being in the big city, not many of these kinds of places left. Just to give you an idea, right now they are playing The Impossible (the Naomi Watts movie about the Thailand tsunami) and a live night at the Met (on weekend mornings). Every month they also have a sing-along night for movies like the Wizard of Oz and periodically they do special events like a Oscar’s Night and a Super Bowl event. So it is definitely an unusual theater.

Old Town also has a dozen or so restaurants that cater to locals and the weekend/summer traffic who find their way here. You have a couple of Chinese places, a sushi place, Fabrizio’s and Picco (both Italian joints), Left Bank (French, of course), and Avatar’s Punjabi Burritos--Indian style burritos that are plate licking good; just check out their website to see what I mean: http://www.enjoyavatars.com.

There are also some cool stores like the Nicolette Boutiques and Gala’s, kids clothing like Max and Addi’s, and even a little bar, The Silver Peso.

This isn’t the city, but given that Larkspur has a population that barely breaks 10,000 this is quite a selection. Definitely a nice place to spend a weekend morning or evening.

Skylark is a condominium neighborhood, nesting up along Skylark Drive and the streets that branch out from it. It is a very leafy area, which makes the uniform look of the condos not seem as oppressive as they might otherwise feel in another location. In fact, many of the condos here have a nice wood shingled look to them. You can get a two-bedroom here for about $2000.

For Larkspur, that is, of course, pretty affordable. And you still get all the benefits of living here in Larkspur, from the great schools and safety to all the natural beauty and proximity to hiking and beaches. Basically, it is a back door to a truly high quality lifestyle.

It is a nice little nook for single parents and singles looking to live large on a modest budget.

This is the neighborhood on the far northwestern end of Larkspur, just to the south of the College of Marin. There is not much to it. The main attraction to this “neighborhood” is Magnolia Avenue with its row of stores and eateries. Magnolia is too much of a speedway for this stretch to have a “small town” feel, as you might expect from what I have said so far but you will still find a cool little bakery with outdoor seating, a pizza place and Thai place. You will also find a boutique, a Masonic lodge, a cleaners and bank. (It pretty much has the feel of 1982 around here.)

That is pretty much it.

Hillview in Larkspur is a pretty average looking residential neighborhood. But as anyone who knows anything about Larkspur and Marin County, there is nothing average about the home prices here. So even an average looking neighborhood like this, filled with nice but not opulent Ranch style homes on nicely kept wide streets, will actually have very, very expensive homes in it. These Ranch homes that would probably sell for $400 K or so across the Bay, sell for more than $1 million here.

That is not really surprising. What Larkspur has that those East Bay homes don’t have is great schools and safety--and people will definitely pay extra for those benefits.

As far as commuting, you can be to almost anywhere in SF or the northern East Bay within an hour. You could also head north and make it as far as Petaluma within an hour.

There are some nearby restaurants and some Larkspur watering holes as well, even if these are not anything that people will go out of their way to find.

Overall an average neighborhood made above average by...you guessed it, location, location, location. That’s what it’s all about, after all.

North Magnolia isn’t much of a neighborhood. It is mostly just one or two little streets with big houses on them. The rest of North Magnolia is just undeveloped land, though maybe one day it will get filled by homes like much of the rest of the locations around here.

The homes that are here are nice and big. They would definitely cost more than $1 million. It’s a nice spot and I’m sure some developer will take advantage of it soon.

The Creekside neighborhood in Larkspur is a tiny neighborhood just to the west of the Boardwalk neighborhood. Creekside is mostly made up of what looks to me like condominiums and model homes. The homes, which are on the western end of Creekside, look to date from the 90’s and I hear sell for $1 million dollars or more. The condos that mostly make up the eastern end of the neighborhood, are a lot less expensive, with the median price being only about a quarter of the price of a home.

Of course, regardless of whether you pay a million dollars or just $250 k, you still get the great schools and the low crime. You also get a bit of shopping and proximity to lots of great outdoor delights not too far away.

Overall, this is a pretty good deal if you like living among the rich tycoons of our day but don’t really have the bank account for it.

The Boardwalk neighborhood in Larkspur is best known for its namesake, the boardwalk that leads you out to the homes along the water. There is no road access directly to these homes, so there is a big parking lot at the entrance to the boardwalk and then residents have to hike it out over the wood boards of the walkway regardless of the weather. Kind of cool, though perhaps not the most practical way to live, and definitely a lifestyle whose days are numbered given the forecast changes attributed to Climate Change.

What locals also know about this neighborhood is that it is the location of Hall Middle School--Larkspur’s exceptional junior high school that is ranked as a perfect 10. This neighborhood is also the location of a handful of government offices, such as the Twin Cities Police Authority and the Office of City Business Licences.

Piper Park is also here. It is basically Hall’s baseball fields, but is okay for what it is.

That is pretty much it for this area.

The Larkspur Marina, like many places in the SF Bay Area, such as locations in Foster City and in Alameda, and Discovery Bay, offer homes with backyards facing the water. That is the appeal of locations like this. As you would expect the homes here are really nice. Not spectacular--but nice.

Many of the homes on the interior section of this neighborhood however, do not have boat access, facing an inward closed lagoon. For these homes it is just the pleasure looking out onto water from their backyards. These are million dollar homes and just like in Foster City, these date from the 1970’s when apparently this kind of neighborhood was a popular idea.

Overall this would be a pretty cool place to live, if you really like to be on the water, but if you are not that keen on it, just way, way overpriced. (Really, way overpriced anyway--but if people will buy these homes at those prices I guess someone thinks it is worth it.)

The Bon Air/Spy Glass Hill neighborhood in Larkspur is just across Sir Francis Drake Blvd from Greenbrae. The neighborhood is mostly known for being the home of the Bon Air Shopping Center and Marin General Hospital.

Bon Air Shopping Center is little more than a glorified strip mall. There you will find a Mollie Stone’s Supermarket, an apparel store named Arch Rival, a CVS Pharmacy, and a Susie Cake’s Bakery. There is also a Fifi’s Diner and a sport’s bar, Wipeout B&G. No big deal, but they do seem to get a ton of traffic on the weekends when I have been here.

In addition to the hospital (which I don’t review here because I really don’t know anything about it) and the shopping center however, the Bon Air-Spy Glass Hill neighborhood/hoods also have residential sections. On the eastern half, the Bon Air side, you have a gated condominium complex with nice newer dwellings.

On the western end it is mostly apartments, with most of these units dating back to the 1960’s by all appearances, but having dingy looking balconies that probably offer pretty good views.. Apartments around here will run you around $2100 for a 2 bedroom, which given the territory is not insane, though it might be a little steep in terms of what you actually get for this.

One of the big benefits here is that the schools are strong. You in effect get the same schools that those paying for their $1 million homes for around $24,000 per year. A pretty good deal.

Commuting is also pretty good so long as you are staying in the North Bay area (no farther down than SF or Oakland). This is not where you want to live if you work way down in San Jose.

There are also a ton of parks and green spaces in this neighborhood, and even if there weren’t, you could head on over to the many green spaces in Marin, such as Stinson Beach or Mt. Tamalpais.

Overall a pretty good place for renters who want to hobnob with the really well off. Though, of course, it will cost you to do so.

Even Marin County has trailer parks--or more accurately in this case motorhome parks. That is what you find here. Greenbrae East is a bit of an industrial area with wharf style hangers housing auto body shops, truck repair shops, a tow yard, a car glass place, a heating and sheet metal place, and that sort of thing. It is mostly ugly and rusty looking like a lot of these places have been for a long while.

There is also a mid-sized motorhome park here. It isn’t much, and feels a little bit like it has just been plopped down here.

On the far southern end of this neighborhood there is a pretty typical strip mall, with stores like Cost Plus and Trader Joes--it looks far more modern and inviting than the rest of this neighborhood. On the far northern end of the neighborhood you will find there is the Greenbrae Boardwalk which has a line of homes that are some of the oldest in all of Greenbrae. They extend out into the marsh and have backyards that give out onto Corte Madera Creek. They are nice but precariously built near the water--especially given Climate Change projections.

Overall this is a pretty interesting place, if not particularly attractive. .