The overwhelming majority of those responding to the Argus-Courier’s online poll said that they or someone they knew found it too expensive to live in Petaluma.
About 76 percent found it too expensive, while only 22 percent said it was not too expensive. About 1 percent weren’t sure.
Here were some of the comments.
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“Almost everyone I know finds Petaluma very expensive, particularly the westside/downtown areas. For my family, the quality of life and unique charm make it worthwhile, but it’s certainly prompted trade-offs in our budget.”
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“I find more and more of the people I know are having to move farther north to Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, or even farther just to afford a house or rent. That in addition to the City of Petaluma always raising or wanting to raise the cost of everything because they can’t budget. Include the higher cost of taxes, food, gas and just living, people are moving out of state or north.”
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“It’s too expensive to live here in the sense that there are so few head of household paying jobs here. Our City Councils over the past 10 years have pushed for developments that give us either expensive homes or shopping centers filled with nothing but part-time and minimum wage jobs. As compared to Petaluma, half-way decent jobs pay 10 percent more in Santa Rosa and 25 percent more in Marin. Yet the cost of renting a home in Marin or Santa Rosa is comparable to here. So those who live and work here have to spend a lot more of their income on rent. Marin, here I come.”
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“It is expensive, but there is a good mix of housing options. We often want more than we can afford.”
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“Kids who grew up here cannot afford to live here. It’s sad when you have to leave your home and move north because it’s what you have to do to survive. Meanwhile, let’s hike the price for everything.”
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“Low inventory of homes is pushing up home values.”
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“Petaluma is great but we are planning to leave for retirement. Housing, property taxes, gasoline, vehicle registration, etc. keep going up.
You can live much better on a fixed income outside of California. Never thought we’d be leaving Petaluma but we might have to.”
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“Rents are sky high. Shopping choices force us to pay too much for identical products what is in Rohnert Park. I guess that this is the progressive solution to increased population.”
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“The prices are left over from the days when there were big name high tech companies here. There are only two minor players standing, but the prices are still high. I find this town like a glorified Vallejo or Fairfield, so I believe prices should reflect that.”
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“When you add property tax, sales tax, gas tax, our ridiculous DMV fees, all the taxes for government services on my phone bill, cell bill, and electric bill, you can’t afford to live here anymore. It takes 100 percent of your income, so there is no way to save anything for retirement. You have to leave the state, not just the city.”
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