Is Walkability an Important Consideration in Regards to Your Residence?

[BristolCavendish]

Walkability as in ease of access to simple errands, grocery stores, public schools/libraries et al. Visited the in-laws who reside in the SF mid-peninsula over the weekend and they mentioned that the local RE agents are now promoting this feature/benefit as an additional 'come-on' and reason for jacking up suburban home prices even more. Then again, this feature is only attractive in the safer/nicer neighborhoods where homes are running anywhere from $2.5M and upwards.

Living in a rural area of Marin, we have to use the car for just about everything and excursions on foot are pretty much limited to 'nature walks'. While the relative seclusion is appealing on its own accord, mundane chores like shopping errands usually have to be better planned/thought-out and during the heavy rainy season, anything requiring an outdoor run is usually a total drag.

I imagine that city-dwellers have a lock on this kind of convenience but in many instances the mass congestion of humanity can be unappealing in and of itself. SF like many urban areas, can be a fun place to visit/dine but I wouldn't want to live there 24/7/365.

The parent in-laws are considering a move to an assisted-care facility and have offered their home to Mrs. BC as an inheritance. In CA back around 1978, Proposition 13 limited property taxes to their assessed value at the time and this tax break can be 'grandfathered' in when/if the residence is passed down to their children. As a result, the property tax on this now $4M home is still based on its appraised value from 1978. In this particular neighborhood, some of the newer homeowners are paying $40K+ while the older residents are 'locked-in' at around $7500 per year. Pretty good deal as this proposition was enacted to curb government spending waste as well as protect seniors living on fixed retirement incomes.

Currently pondering a relocation but really enjoy the relative seclusion of rural Marin County. Another viable possibility would be to keep it as a secondary residence or perhaps rent it out given the existing housing crisis in Silicon Valley. Being a 4BR/2.5B house in a desirable neighborhood, it would probably fetch around $5K+ per month. Times have changed and I still remember when that amount of money per month was a mortgage payment.