Northern California Dreamin'

Aleta George and Charles Neave

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You don't have to go far to have it all. Whether it's a rural neighborhood with easy access to big-city amenities, or one with stellar schools, or plenty of natural scenery with abundant opportunities to experience the great outdoors (yes, golf, too) a mere stone's throw away, or a place loaded with history or small-town charm—it's here. We invite you to read about and explore some of the region's top neighborhoods. You might find your perfect new home. Or, it may just get you thinking about where you'd like to land in the future.

Enjoy the tour—and dream on.

Solano County

OLD TOWN SUISUN

Ed and Connie Tualla in Old Town Suisun.

Established during the California Gold Rush, when hay scows and steamboats slipped through the slough en route to Sacramento or San Francisco, Old Town Suisun is now the site of more recreational vessels such as motorboats, sailboats, kayaks and canoes. The slough and its basin are the focal point for the redevelopment of downtown Suisun that began in the early 1990s and which continues today.

"It took a lot of years to get things moving in the right direction, but they're doing that now," says Cliff Hemler, who has lived in Old Town since 1948 and was raised by the community after the early death of his parents. "I knew if I ever did anything wrong I'd get my butt kicked all the way to Texas Street."

Now a real estate agent for Century 21 Distinctive Properties, Hemler says that you might still find a fixer-upper for $350,000, though they are becoming increasingly rare. A new house overlooking the water sells for about $850,000.

Ed and Connie Tualla built a home on the waterfront in 2001. Retired postal workers with grown children, the Tuallas now run a custom embroidery shop called Teams by Design on the first floor of their 44,000-square-foot live-work space. "The neighborhood is quiet and the city keeps it clean," says Connie.

Residents of Old Town Suisun enjoy sunset walks on the waterfront promenade, a wide variety of ethnic restaurants, the park with free public events hosted by the city, live performances at the Harbor Theatre, and easy access to Amtrak's Capitol Corridor train and Interstate 80. Located below the Pacific Flyway and adjacent to the Greater Suisun Marsh, bird lovers enjoy sharing their days with snowy egrets, diving cormorants, honking Canada geese and swallows arriving in spring. —Aleta George

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Northern California Dreamin'

Solano County