— William Boucher
“I grew up in South County, in Morgan Hill to be precise. I attended high school in San Jose and spent my first career there. After a while, it just got too much—too much traffic, too fast a pace, too many plastic people, too much division between haves and haves, the old ethnic neighborhoods were shrinking… When my wife had the opportunity to move to Sonoma County, we jumped at it the opportunity. Sonoma County reminded me a lot of Santa Clara County growing up. More than thirty years later we’ve built a network of friends and really feel a sense of community rather than a speed-dating group of superficial acquaintances. I’m really glad you found the kind of environment where you can thrive. From my very biased point of view, the city is great to visit, but I don’t want to live there. Thank you for sharing so much about yourself in the article, it took strength and courage, and I commend you for it.”
– Lee Cretin
“While I’m proud to live in Santa Rosa and proud to have the SRJC and the Schultz Museum, Ms. Torres is right. As a non-foodie and non-wine drinker, there isn’t much to do here. I remember watching the Crushers baseball team in high school. And I miss the convenience of the robust public transport in big cities. What I like to see in Sonoma County is an improvement in the public education system. Not only from a safety point of view (in view of the recent violence in schools), but also in terms of content. I would like to see more hands-on courses and skills development courses. Maybe there could be a project with the SRJC. A semester/year course that gives a general overview of the different types of jobs and explains the basic skills in each individual job. Maybe speakers from local industry with demonstrations. Also Growing Up 101: how banking and homeownership work, what it takes for a car to work, how city, state, and local government works, how to sew on a button. Real World, Practical Preparation; Not everyone goes to college. Given the cost of living, I probably won’t be moving to San Francisco or any other major city, so I’m finding things to do. And Santa Rosa, like most cities, has a lot to deal with in terms of homelessness, public roads/construction, and crime/recidivism. I think that working on improving education – after several years – can help with that.”
– Anne Lee
“I absolutely agree. Apparently more than half of my high school seniors had moved to LA. I answered before reading the whole question, so I plan on leaving. It’s very difficult to start a new life here to create new events and things to do. It was beautiful to look at but too quiet.”
– Ben Lash
“Wow, are you driving around with your eyes closed? Take a look at the Union Square and VanNess Ave areas. City hall. Tourism has declined in SF for good reason. If SR is too boring, maybe you should try Petaluma, it’s closer to your beloved San Francisco.”
– Gary Doolittle
“Born and raised in Santa Rosa and will never leave Sonoma County. And yes, San Francisco has become a gross place. I couldn’t imagine starting a family there. In fact, our family stopped going to San Francisco altogether because of how bad things got there. I never thought an entire city could smell like urine. Sonoma County strong!”
– Joy Roybal
“Santa Rosa and Sonoma County are communities of community. Each of them has a special connection to the residents. No reason to go unless you are looking for a different community. For fanboys like me, no city ever “needs” Batman. The whole parable of the cloaked crusader says that the city has lost its way. Furthermore, the extreme state of hopelessness produces a necessary agent of change outside of failed systems. SF has hope. Sonoma County has hope. Because people have hope. That’s why I live here.”
– Jim Leddy
Sevastopol
“Having not grown up in San Francisco 50 years ago, she has no real understanding of how the city has changed. As for her assessment of Santa Rosa, playing up the trauma we’ve all experienced from the fires while implying that it’s boring is lazy. Chappelle made a couple of brief visits to Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, but since she probably wasn’t at the show and it wasn’t making the news, she may have mistakenly assumed he hadn’t said anything negative or critical about the area. It’s nice to be here, it’s a slower pace but if I want some action I can go to the city. If I want to see a Broadway show, musical, comedy or concert, it’s an hour away.”
– Matt Schweifler
“I agree with her – San Francisco is magical! I like Santa Rosa – for all the fun happenings and curiosities, the amazing views, the great food and the wineries, breweries etc and it’s quieter – which I appreciate now but maybe didn’t when I was young. I couldn’t bear to live in a full throttle place like SF right now, but that’s not SF’s fault. It’s just a stage of life thing – maybe I would feel different if I was loaded down and could live anywhere in the city I wanted. Unfortunately, SF isn’t all that affordable for young people – or for people of any age without quadrupling, but I appreciate their defense of SF to all its naysayers. It’s not perfect – but it’s magical – no question about it!”
– Lori
“I definitely agree. i love the city The energy was amazing in my twenties, but after getting married and having kids, Sonoma is my home. We go into town and yes there are homeless people and it’s very sad but it doesn’t stop me. I wish there was an answer. We took the train and the ferry and spent a few days walking around, and when you walk out of a Giants game and hear Tony Bennett singing, my heart is gone and tears come to my eyes.”
– Candice Mick
san francisco
“Born in San Francisco in 1957, moved to Santa Rosa when he was three months old. I grew up in Santa Rosa, but my parents worked and played in the city. I did my residency at Community Hospital in Chanate and worked there part-time for 18 years before becoming Sutter and then Sutter Mark West Springs. Moved back to San Francisco after Tubbs fire, retired from Sutter Santa Rosa three years ago. I miss Santa Rosa every day, but the city is also my home. I will defend both; They are two sides of a beautiful coin.”
– Peace the crown
“What do you say about the approximately 240 deaths from fentanyl OD? It is sad that some progressives either overlook the crisis entirely or simply refuse to acknowledge it and continue to point to crime statistics to distract from the problems we face. PS-SFPD data shows that the number of homicides has increased by 26% this year. The money Breed invests goes to corrupt non-profit organizations that benefit from the status quo (if they fix the problem, their source of money disappears). So please, if you really love SF (as you do), it’s tough love time. We must acknowledge and accept the situation and work together to resolve it. Getting on the defensive, getting involved in politics, and blaming Republicans (I’m a left-leaning independent) and that’s bad for our city.”
– Smile
