You are in for truly enjoyable times ahead if you are planning to move to Marin County. Marin County is one of the most beautiful and unique areas in America, and not only promises gorgeous scenery, but also endless open spaces and parks, great shopping, excellent schools, fine restaurants, and that only scratches the surface.
Marin County’s southernmost reaches are some of the most sought-after places to live – and most of them are in direct view of the amazing Golden Gate Bridge. A first time visitor to the area was so overwhelmed with the fantastic scenery as he drove up US101 that he literally “had to pull off the road.” Amazingly, he was a jaded advertising man from New York City!
With its houseboats and long waterfront, Sausalito has incredible views of San Francisco. Located just west of Sausalito, Tiburon not only has phenomenal views of the City; it also has wide-open spaces. Located between Tiburon to the west and Sausalito to the east, the island City of Belvedere is the pice de rsistance and one of the wealthiest municipalities in the United States.
Located in Mill Valley, Tamalpais High School – also open to attendance from Sausalito – was awarded the California Distinguished School Award in 1999, 2005, and 2009 and has ranked in the top 5% of American schools since 2005. Mill Valley is perhaps the most popular municipality for families with children in Marin County.
The process of relocating to Marin County is made much easier by accessing online information that exists about nearly every feature of each town that you might wish to know. To illustrate, copy and enter this URL into your browser window: http://www.city-data.com/city/Mill-Valley-California.html. To find out about Tiburon, Belvedere or Sausalito, simply replace these places for the Mill Valley part of the URL.
Another exceptional characteristic of Marin is its topographic variety, starting with tidal flats along the shoreline and rising up the craggy 2,600 foot Mt. Tamalpais. Verdant and soaring Redwood groves and the open trails of the Tennessee Valley Trailhead, which is part of the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area National Park Service, are ideal places for hikes and horseback riding.
Swimming, boating, fishing are all possible in the San Pablo and San Francisco Bays as well as the Pacific Ocean.
In addition, Marin County is fascinating from a historical viewpoint. Populated by the Miwok Indians during the Gold Rush in the early 1850s, the region became most fully inhabited after the 1906 Earthquake and conflagration that followed in San Francisco, driving many people of different ethnic groups across the Bay to Marin County. Owned by Mexico before the US Mexican War, the region was split up into large ranchos that were granted to Mexicans and Americans who spoke fluent Spanish.
Sir Francis Drake entered a small Western Marin County harbor to repair his ship, The Golden Hind, after a year of marauding along the coast of Mexico. Claiming the surrounding territory for Queen Elizabeth I and England as was his habit, Drake sailed away without any assurance that his claim would stick.