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Pizzalina Now Open in San Anselmo

A new Pizza restaurant just opened in Red Hill shopping center across from the Yolanda/Calumet neighborhoods called Pizzalina. Super yummy wood-oven pizza and salads. It has a really nice ambiance, excellent service, and they have a great selection of local brews. The server said they are working on better kid selections, which we think would be nice. We love supporting small mom & pop establishments and the San Anselmo town council is working on limiting chain stores in town, which we support. Pizzalina is in a great location near Memorial Park and is a perfect place to grab a quick bite on the way home from the park. Support local!

Marin Mommies: A Great Resource for Marin Moms and Dads

I thought I’d share a wonderful blog that I frequent often when I’m looking for something to do with the kiddos. Marin Mommies has loads of ideas, mostly focusing on Marin, but with some branching out to other parts of the Bay Area too. They list weekend events, local beaches, hikes, family friendly recipes, birthday party venues, and day trips in the area. If you have kids and live in Marin, or visit often, you should definitely check it out.

Novato’s Miwok Park

We’re always looking for parks in Marin that have a lot to offer kids and families, and what we really like about Miwok Park in Novato are all the cool things for kids to do.  The grassy field is perfect for throwing the ball around or playing soccer, and there are plenty of shady spots to get out of the sun. There’s a large play structure area and lots of picnic tables in the trees with BBQs, and the creek provides a great place for the kids to play. Then the really unique thing about the park is the Museum of the American Indian, which educates kids about the local Native American tribe…super cool. Parking can be limited for big groups but there are also spots in the surrounding neighborhood.

Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore

What a great way to spend a sunny September day! Limantour Beach, only 35 minutes from Fairfax, is perfect for going on a long walk or building a sand castle. Our kids love playing in the sand dunes and had a lot of fun creating a fort there. There are great hiking trails on your way in and a lot of bird watching in the lagoon just to the north, and sometimes we even see harbor seals resting on the beach. It can get a little windy, but it’s easy to find a wind break in the sand dunes to set up camp for the day. We love going into Point Reyes on the drive home for a late lunch, or just stopping for a treat at the local Point Reyes bakery. We are really lucky to live where we live, and West Marin is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Google Map of Limantour Beach

A New Name and New Principals for San Anselmo Elementary Schools

The new school year is just underway, with some big changes.  San Anselmo’s Brookside Elementary School was previously divided into two campuses. Lower Brookside was kindergarten through second grade, and third through fifth grades were at the Upper Brookside campus.  With the big increase in enrollment of younger students, and after much thought about how to accommodate everyone, the district decided to split the two campuses into separate schools altogether.  With last year as the transitional year, for this 2012-2013 school year Upper Brookside has been renamed Hidden Valley, and will be K-5. Lower Brookside will keep the Brookside name and is still in transition, with K-4 classes for now, and plans to become a complete K-5 next year.

Brookside Elementary has a new principal, Billy Cameron, who was previously assistant principal at Bacich Elementary School in Kentfield.  Hidden Valley Elementary also has a new principal, Kristi Fish, who was previously a dean of students, assistant and interim principal at Ross Elementary in Ross.  To read more about her and the new school check out the PTO website.

The Kindergarten Readiness act of 2010 will start to be implemented this year, which gradually will move up the eligibility cutoff so that in 2014 kids will need to be 5 years old by September 1st, where they previously had to be 5 by December 2nd to be eligible for Kindergarten admission. There is a Transitional Kindergarten program at Brookside that will allow children affected by the change to have a pre-kindergarten class on campus before their year in actual kindergarten.  Further information on the requirements can be found here.

 

Under $1.5 Million, Marin Inventory Stays Low

The real estate market in Marin (and most places for that matter) normally has a seasonal cycle of peaks and valleys of activity and inventory. Even if the totals are higher or lower in a given year, the basic pattern generally holds: inventory bottoms out in winter, and peaks in spring/summer. That’s not the case so far in 2012, at least when you look at homes under $1,500,000. The chart below shows all Marin residential properties under 1.5 million over the last five years, and you can see how the number of homes for sale has stayed low since winter.

Basically, this means it’s the best time to be a seller in that price range in years. As has been the case in general this year, multiple offers have become common for good homes that are priced right. What will happen this winter? Hard to say, but if you’ve been considering selling we should talk. Email me at gcrowe@sfnorth.com if you’d like to explore that possibility, or if you’d just like market stats tailored to your price range and area.

 

 

Dinner by the Pool: One of Marin’s Best Kept Secrets

I almost hesitate to write about this place because I would hate to see it get overrun with crowds. Where else can you sit by the pool in Marin and have dinner and cocktails while watching your kids swim? Have dinner at Ricky’s Restaurant at Inn Marin and you don’t have to stay at the motel to use the pool. It’s great on a hot day and is perfect for birthday parties. The early evening we were there they had live music by the pool and people were dancing. Such a cool vibe and just what Marin needs, and the food was really good too.  There’s a large grassy area for kids to run around too, right next to the pool. Hawaii in Marin? Don’t tell too many people about it:)

Should You Buy or Rent?

We are well aware of the unreliability of Zillow.com’s “zestimates” of home values in Marin, but this post on their blog is pretty cool. They’ve crunched the data to show how many years it would take to break even on the cost of buying versus renting the same home in metro areas around the country, including the Bay Area. The numbers are pretty low in areas where home prices are relatively low compared to rents, and much higher in expensive markets. For example, they say that in Novato just 4.5 years after buying a house you would start to save money versus renting, while in a market like Tiburon they calculate it would take more than 15 years to reach the break even point. Here’s a direct link to the SF and Marin numbers.

New Listing: 31 Santa Barbara Ave, San Anselmo

Stephen brought on a great new listing this week in the San Francisco Blvd area of San Anselmo, one of our favorite neighborhoods. It’s a really cool, sunny 3/2, with lots of updates, a family room and office, and a big yard. Asking price is $879,000. It’ll be open Sunday July 29th from 1-4. More info here.