What's it Like Living in San Rafael Marin County in 2023?

If you wanna live in Marin County's oldest, most populated, and most culturally diverse city, then San Rafael is the neighborhood for you, and I'm gonna break down all things San Rafael in this video, including what it's like to live there and how much it costs. What's up everyone? This is Austin Klar, your lawyer turned real estate agent and real estate developer in San Francisco and Marin County. I've lived in the Bay Area for over a decade, giving me in-depth firsthand knowledge of what it's like to both live and work there. If you're thinking about relocating or want more information about the market, definitely reach out to me. My contact information's in the description below. I will personally answer every call, every email, every text, and I'd be more than happy to help you. And if you like videos just like this, please subscribe to my channel and don't forget to click the bell so you're alerted every single time I post a video. All right, so this video is all about the city of San Rafael. As I mentioned, it is Marin County's oldest and most populous city. There are over 60,000 residents of San Rafael, and it's also Marin County's second largest by area, about 22 square miles large. And there are so many different neighborhoods in San Rafael with so many different things to do both in and immediately next to San Rafael. So it is one of the most active and most diverse neighborhoods in all of Marin County. San Rafael is located 15 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and because it's so large, there are several highway exits that service the city, which makes it very, very easy to commute from whether, you know, like to the South Bay or even to the East Bay or the city. San Rafael is really close to the Richmond Bridge, which is how you get to the East and South Bays from there. And it's about 35 minutes from San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. There's no ferry terminal in San Rafael itself, but it's not that far from Larkspur Landing where you catch the Larkspur Ferry that will take probably about 40 minutes to cross the bay to San Francisco. Distance to San Francisco is the only real downside of San Rafael, but of course only an issue if you have to like go to the city for work or if like you just want to go there for a night out, for example. San Rafael is so large, there are so many different lifestyles and different types of activities to do in the area. There are historic neighborhoods like the Forbes neighborhood and Dominican neighborhoods, which are my two favorite neighborhoods. You can live in like very old, beautiful historic homes on very large lots, relatively close to downtown, which is pretty great. I think those neighborhoods have like the perfect blend of urban and suburban life given how close they are to like the action of downtown San Rafael, but they're far enough away and secluded enough to where you can, you know, live a very private, quiet home life. And then there are neighborhoods like farther from downtown but close to the waterfront like Loch Lomond, Peacock Gap. There's not a lot of shopping or dining in the immediate vicinity of those areas, but there are like boating communities there. There's water access there. Um, you're still not that far from downtown. It's like a 5-minute drive at most. So it's, it's really not hard to get to downtown. I'll talk about this more a little bit later. San Rafael is one of Marin's most affordable neighborhoods because it is a bit farther away from the big city, San Francisco. But even though it's less expensive, there is no shortage of luxury there, and you can get great homes there on large lots for substantially less than the average Marin County home. And there are definitely some for substantially more than the average as well. Some of these homes have incredible views of the mountains and of the bay, of the waterfront. And even if there are no views, most of these are in like beautiful neighborhoods, very well-kept, well-manicured neighborhoods, very family-friendly with amenities like parks and big sidewalks for walking and biking and jogging. Everything there feels very suburban, very cute. And beyond just that laid-back lifestyle, San Rafael also has one of the most diverse sets of activities in any Marin town. There are cultural activities like the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, the historic Falkirk Cultural Center, the Mission San Rafael Archangel, which is where the city got its name from, and it's the oldest building in Marin. The Marin History Museum and multiple art galleries are throughout the community. The Marin Civic Center is actually in San Rafael and hosts a farmer's market every week during the summer. There are film festivals, art festivals, parades. There are events all year round. There are also like multiple movie theaters and shopping centers throughout town as well. San Rafael's downtown in particular has great shopping and great restaurants. Soul Food, which is sort of like a fast casual Puerto Rican restaurant actually started in San Rafael. Probably my favorite in the city, but there are a ton of other options in the area, all walking distance throughout downtown. Downtown is also close to the highway entrance, and it's a short drive to neighboring towns like Larkspur and San Anselmo, which each have their own food and shopping scenes. So, you know, if you don't want to do something in San Rafael, there's a ton to do just outside of San Rafael as well. And just like most other Marin neighborhoods, there's no shortage of like outdoor activities to do in San Rafael as well. You know, there are numerous hills and flat areas that make for perfect like biking walking, jogging, hiking. A lot of communities are waterfront, as I mentioned, so you can go sailing or just hang out in the marina. On the far end of San Rafael, closest to the bay, there's China Camp State Park with like giant park grounds, marshes, nature sites for being outdoors. Mount Tam is also very close to San Rafael, so there's a lot of great hiking trails there that are accessible to residents or visitors as well. As far as schools go, the school district is one of the biggest features of San Rafael. The city is so large by Marin standards that there are actually multiple districts there, and the public schools, all very highly rated. Um, there are a ton of distinguished private schools there as well. Uh, Dominican University is also in San Rafael, which is, um, set among like some incredible historic homes and in a very beautiful part of the town. With this many amenities, it's actually surprising how affordable San Rafael is compared to your average home in Marin. And it's also one of the most active real estate markets in all of Marin. 563 single-family homes have sold in San Rafael since January of 2022 to when I'm filming this in May of 2023, and they've sold for an average of about $1.75 $2.5 million, which is a lot less than the average home in all of Marin, which is about $2.24 million. And both the average home in San Rafael and the average home in Marin sold in over that time frame in about the same amount of time, about 24 or 25 days on market. There are locations in San Rafael like the Forbes neighborhood and the Dominican neighborhoods right by Dominican University where homes reach into the $4 or $5 million territory, but those are a lot less common than the like $1.5 to $2.5 $1.5 million homes. So, you know, obviously still a lot of money for a single-family home, but, you know, they're on good lots in a great neighborhood in Marin. And it's— so it's certainly expensive, but on the more affordable side compared to the rest of Marin. And you do get a lot of great amenities with that. Well, there you have it. That's the scoop on San Rafael. Whether you're visiting or looking for a place to live, it is a great area to check out. If you're thinking about relocating or want more information about the market, definitely reach out to me. My contact information is in the description below. I will personally answer every call, every email, every text, and I'd be more than happy to help you. And if you like videos just like this, please subscribe to my channel and don't forget to click the bell so you're alerted every single time I post a video.