Alta Vista, Santa Rosa, CA

Alta Vista is one of those northeast Santa Rosa pockets that rewards people who actually drive the streets before judging the zip code. The lots run larger than the citywide norm, a lot of the houses are mid-century with good bones, and a good share have been taken down to the studs and rebuilt with the kind of finishes you would expect closer to the wine estates. Pools show up behind a lot of the fences here, which tells you something about the lot sizes. The setting is quiet and leafy without being remote. You are minutes from Highway 101 and only a few more from downtown, so the trade you are making is a calm residential street in exchange for a short drive to almost everything. Errands and restaurants are a hop away rather than out the front door. The honest catch is that Alta Vista is residential to its core. There is no walkable retail node inside it, and the homes that have been beautifully redone sit next to ones that have not, so the block-to-block look varies. If you want established and settled over shiny and new, this is a strong, under-discussed option.