Forestville, Occicental...what are these towns like???

[DocMac]

I am thinking of moving to Sebastapol, and have recently put the question to the BB, What's the town of Sebastapol like? Several very nice people gave me splendid replies that were very informative. Now, I'd like to learn a little bit more about the towns of Forestville and Occidental. Maybe I'd like them better? Are they too isolated? How's the weather different? How are the roads? Etc.
If you have knowledge of life in these towns, would you consider sharing it with me? I'd love to learn a bit about these two places.

Thank you!
Brian

[oldrose]

Hi Brian,

I have lived in Occidental for the last 20 years. It is a great town with most everything you need ( and some you don't), stores, a great school, shops and resturants, all in a two block area . Some of the roads are twisty and dangerous, but the air quality is so wonderful, clean and pure, it is like nowhwere else in the area. The ocean is about 6 miles away and it influences our weather, but because we are higher than most around us it is often sunny where other places are fogged in. It is a truly amazing place to live. On the other hand it is very expensive to live here and you have to drive everywhere . It takes about 15-20 minutes to get to Sebastopol.I hope that helps, email me if you have any further questions.
T


I am thinking of moving to Sebastapol, and have recently put the question to the BB, What's the town of Sebastapol like? Several very nice people gave me splendid replies that were very informative. Now, I'd like to learn a little bit more about the towns of Forestville and Occidental. Maybe I'd like them better? Are they too isolated? How's the weather different? How are the roads? Etc.
If you have knowledge of life in these towns, would you consider sharing it with me? I'd love to learn a bit about these two places.

Thank you!
Brian

[cw707]

I moved to Occidental about a year ago. I like the small town feel, and the Farmer's Market on Fridays. People are nice.

Things I don't like: Spiders, big Wolf spiders and lots of various small types, and sometimes scorpions. So if you have a spider phobia, this is not the place to live. I thought it was just my place, but talked to a 15 year Occidental resident yesterday who said it's a problem in all of Occidental. If you can get a place with well sealed doors and windows, maybe. I rent, and don't want to invest in new doors and windows. I live with several spider bites at a time, and my cat got one that cost $120 at the vet.

Speaking of vets, after trying a couple in Sebastopol and not being happy, I went to Dr. Janet Foley at Occidental Vet, and found her to be an excellent vet. Since my experience with her, I have spoken to a couple of other people who go to her and think she's excellent. I have a special needs kitty who requires a lot of medical help. She's been right on top of everything.

Occidental seems cooler to me than Sebast0pol because of the fog we get, but it tends to be damp - not so good for some health issues.

Hope this helps.

[Tars]

I'm a Sebastopolian, so I can't comment on the weather, schools, shopping, etc. for residents of Occidental or Forestville. But I can say that what a map shows regarding the relative size of those two communities to others in this area, isdeceptive; it doesn't show the impact of commuter traffic. Forestville especially, has higher traffic levels than you might expect for a community its size.

Many people (as in several thousands) seek to live in the hills and trees of west county. This desire has caused many rural residents of that area to build rental units on their property, or sub-divide and sell parcels near their home. Driving through the area, you might see a quaint little dirt road leaving the highway, and assume that there's a private little domain at the end of it. But, if you investigate further, it isn't unusual to find several households where you might've assumed one.

The impact of this is relatively high traffic levels at all times of day, particularly during commute hours. And, as the largest portion of shopping outlets are in the population centers, local residents will need to commute into the central county for much of their shopping, hospitals, business errands, etc.

The population density of west Sonoma county makes it hazardous to be a cyclist or pedestrian along public roads. As has been mentioned the roads can be windy in spots, and frazzled commuters tend to overdrive the road conditions. Especially on side roads, many stretches have little to no shoulder available for pedestrians to get very far out of the way of zooming trucks & autos.

[rocket man]

If you are going to buy a place in Occidental, get the water checked out carefully.
Depending on your well, there could be problems with pressure or hard water which burns out pumps within a couple of years.
Also make sure the well is deep and as been in service for a while. Digging new wells is pricey and unreliable.