The Four C’s: How To Figure Out Where To Live In Marin County
I spoke to my wife and business partner, Pat, aka “The Real Estate Goddess” about this topic last night, and she correctly pointed out that I was talking about all of the factors important in selecting a location to live in Marin County, not a house. So I guess this becomes the Four C’s of deciding where to live in Marin County.
We said the Four C’s were:
1.Cost
2.Commute
3.Climate
4.Community
Today’s topic is commute, which used to just mean how quickly you could get to San Francisco. But now, with the growth of the job market in Sonoma, we’re finding more and more buyers interested in the northbound commute also.
Overall though, if you’re thinking of buying real estate in Marin County, know that the commute to the city is the best kept secret in the Bay Area. It’s not always a picnic, but the drive is gorgeous, and much easier than negotiating the Bay Bridge.
Here’s the four most important things you need to know about commute time and commuting, if you’re thinking of buying a house in Marin County.
1. Highway 101, like most freeways, backs up at rush hour in the morning. No surprise there. Where it backs up, however, is important. Right now the most significant backup in the morning is from San Rafael, just north of downtown. The freeway goes from 5 to three lanes at the Civic Center, and it’s a real bottleneck. The good news is the project to widen that strip and add carpool lanes has already started, and will hopefully be done in a few years. But right now, one of the big reasons you can find great, newer homes in Novato for $370 a foot and Mill Valley averages $618 a foot is the difference in commute time. It is significant, and I suggest you try it one morning before you decide you’re ready for it.
More good news: once you hit San Rafael, it’s pretty much at the limit most mornings to the toll booths on the Golden Gate Bridge. So if you’re south of San Rafael and close to the highway, you’ve got an easy time of it, most days.
2. Northbound at rush hour that same bottleneck affects traffic from San Rafael south, although the curve and hill through Greenbrae slow things down too. Many afternoons, it’s stop and go starting at the Tiburon exit.
3. Sir Francis Drake is the main artery from the freeway to Central and West Marin, and is also a tough go at rush hour. I lived in San Anselmo for a while and commuted to the city. Mornings are tough, but afternoons can be very slow, as the road narrows to one lane through Ross.
4. Public transportation is available, and generally very good. Golden Gate Transit runs buses throughout Marin County from every town, and numerous express buses go to the City. They’re clean, comfortable, and have reading lights. There are a lot of worse ways to spend 45 minutes. The ferries are an absolute joy - the only problem I ever had with the ferry was I always felt like I was on vacation and not going to work.
There’s lots of other variables, not to mention shortcuts (does anyone ever take Wolfe Grade to Gerstle Park in the afternoon?). These are just the big factors. Want to be 10 minutes from San Francisco? Buy a home in Sausalito. Don’t mind spending 45 minutes in your car? Get more for your money with a nice house in San Anselmo.
Where you live in Marin can have a dramatic effect on how much time you spend in your car commuting, even if the towns are only 15 or 20 minutes away from each other. That 20 minutes might become 45 on a weekday morning. Ask the questions, and best of all, try it yourself sometime to see what works for you.
[…] 1. Cost […]