Sonoma County is agricultural heaven. Famed horticulturist Luther Burbank went so far as to say about Sonoma County, "This is the chosen spot of all this earth as far as Nature is concerned. I won't disagree. For those who are looking for an acre or two of this gardening paradise, Sebastopol stands out among all the others. For a host of reasons, including the failure of apple growers to make enough profit from their work, many Sebastopol country properties were broken into smaller parcels before zoning laws were enacted to preserve large farms. Other agricultural towns, like Healdsburg, simply don't have a lot of small parcels available.

Sebastopol country property surrounds the town of Sebastopol, but is more sparse in the direction of Santa Rosa. The Laguna de Santa Rosa occupies a vast tract of land between those cities, so your best searching will be on Highway 116 leading into Sebastopol, Highway 12 heading towards the coast, or Highway 116 on the way to Graton and Forestville. There are a multitude of smaller roads between these major arteries, each with a feel and character of its own.

To really understand this area and get a feel for the microclimates and neighborhoods, a bike ride is ideal for exploring the back roads. The major roads are a little busy with regular traffic for me to recommend bicycling, but the smaller roads have an easier pace. Still, ride carefully. If you can't take a bike ride, an old fashioned Sunday drive crisscrossing the countryside between Graton, Occidental, Freestone, Bloomfield, and Hessell will give you a strong flavor of the different neighborhoods. You may even run into some friendly live stock along the way.

Property isn't cheap here. The schools are top notch, which always spurs demand for property from active parents. Politically, the local citizenry is involved with their town and national events.There's a great shopping variety in town including several locally owned markets, national grocery chains, and a Whole Foods. Local businesses include O'Reilly Media, the source of more Hello World programming beginnings than any other entity in the world.