Three bedrooms. Check. Two baths. Check. Family room. Check. Two-car garage. Check. Garden. Check. An average temperature of 72 degrees in the summer. Check.

Thus goes the “buyer interview” – the real estate agent’s tool to learn about a home-buyer’s wants and needs. And yes, here in the North Bay weather choice is a la carte, thanks to the variety of microclimates we enjoy.

From the mid-west or east coast and eager to escape summer heat and humidity? The Southern Marin towns of Sausalito, Mill Valley and Tiburon/Belvedere provide the coolest climes. The same applies to the coastal towns of Stinson Beach, Olema, and Pt Reyes; and in Sonoma County to Bodega Bay, Jenner, and Sea Ranch. The coastal fog provides natural air conditioning in Sausalito, Mill Valley, and the coastal towns; the bay breezes do the same for Tiburon and Belvedere.

If heat is what you seek, warm days and balmy evenings, someplace that allows you to dine al fresco without having to invest in a patio heater or don a parka, head to San Anselmo or Fairfax, or north, just past central San Rafael: Marinwood, Novato, east Petaluma, central Santa Rosa, Sonoma – just about any town in the Valley of the Moon.

For many, Central Marin – Corte Madera, Larkspur, Greenbrae, Kentfield, San Rafael – offers the ideal combination of comfortably warm summer days and pleasant evenings; though expect more rain than the rest of the county during the winter months.

For the most part, winter weather in the North Bay is pretty consistent across towns and neighborhoods. Differences come mostly in levels of humidity and rainfall, though even those are not as extreme as the range we feel in summer temperatures. Crisp days and chilly-but-far-from-freezing nights make for very easy winter living. Lake Tahoe, a four-hour drive northeast, is where most locals head when looking for snow and the enchantment of a winter wonderland.

Dramatic rolling fog, hot dry breezes, or something in-between, no matter your weather preference, there’s a town in the North Bay that will suit you.

For a more detailed look at Marin microclimates, check out this post by fellow blogger Andy Gellepis.

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Posted by:  Frank Howard Allen Realtors