Marin’s own Novato is a unique city, one with an undeniable if underrated charm that can get a bit lost in the cultural surplus of the North Bay.
But those who spend even just a moment living amidst its locals, soaking up Novato’s truly unique way of life…well, it is clearly a wonderful corner of Marin to occupy—and I’ll do my best to explain why:
For some context, I moved to Novato exactly three years ago to live with my grandmother in the home she’s had for more than 30 years. Though I’d visited her often enough throughout my childhood, my idea of Novato was mostly a hodgepodge of family gatherings centered around grand, Greek-style meals and a scattering of shopping trips for said meals. By the time I became a resident of Marin’s northernmost city, I’d only really seen my grandmother’s house, the inside of Whole Foods and whatever brief snippets caught my eye while driving between the two locations.
For even more context, it may be relevant to know that my hometown in the Sierra Nevada foothills is very rural. So rural, in fact, that the local pizza joint’s directions for locating the establishment just say, “We’re to the right of the stoplight.”
So, moving to Novato felt a bit like having the world at my fingertips. After all, who wouldn’t be perfectly happy with a Trader Joe’s within walking distance (especially when compared to my previous hometown’s two-hours-each-way epic monthly pilgrimage to TJ’s)? To me, Novato was a whole new world with an almost overwhelmingly vast array of places to explore. Not to mention the fancy infrastructure with so many shops, streets and stoplights galore.
When I arrived in Novato, my grandmother told me that settling into a new location always takes about a year. And she was quite correct, as she so often is. For the first 365 days or so of living here in Marin, I can only recall a few disjointed memories of my early interactions with learning to live in this new and exciting city.
At the top of that list, with startling clarity, is the day I discovered the installation of the gigantic owl that lives outside of Copperfield’s Books in downtown Novato. I looked into that owl’s eyes, and it stared through me like it was assessing the recesses of my very soul. Interesting? Indeed. Unsettling? Maybe…
Otherwise, my first year was spent slowly learning the various shops and stores, getting used to being able to access anything I needed with relative ease, realizing that DoorDash exists, registering to vote, learning the zip code and getting used to people being out and about at 2pm on a random Tuesday.
My second year of living in Novato marked the turning point from being so new in town I was basically a tourist to having a smidgeon of local footing. Honestly, that shift only happened when I was able to soak in more of the city’s unique culture, having finally moved past the abject awe of the stoplights.
I’d say the most standout moment from the second season of my “Becoming a Novato Local” reality TV show was realizing just how close I now lived to so many amazing locations. Traffic notwithstanding, Petaluma is only a 15-minute drive to the north, the resplendent West Marin and its national seashore a short 45-minutes away and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge literally a 22-minute drive to the south.
It was also my second year living here in the North Bay when I realized that many born ’n’ raised Marin locals consider Novato to be…well, less than stimulating may be the polite way of phrasing it. This revelation floored me, for obvious reasons. After all, it is rather hard to consider anywhere in the North Bay as boring when you’re from a town that only has a single poorly-stocked general store that hasn’t changed much since it was established in the mid 1850s. But also, if anyone understands the itch to leave a small-feeling hometown behind, it would be me.
On to year three, the year that mattered the most in terms of getting settled into a town I now truly adore—and not just for its stoplights. No, the best moments of living here in Novato are those spent appreciating its not-so-hidden treasures, plain-sight yet out of mind delights no one hypes nearly as much as they could. So, all aboard the Novato hype train, ’cause we’re about to take off.
Stop number one on our Novato appreciation tour is the nature, which never fails to stun me in its idyllic beauty. Whether that means climbing up Mt. Burdell to see the sun rise and/or set, doing a moderate loop around Deer Island Preserve, exploring the many winding and wonderful trails of Indian Valley Preserve, a simple afternoon spent under the trees at Pioneer Park or a day partaking in the countless pleasures of Stafford Lake Park…it’s all so glorious, accessible and plentiful.
The second stop is downtown Novato, of course. I mean where else would one have the worth of its soul weighed by the iconic Copperfield’s owl? Jokes aside, it’s amazing to have such a well-stocked local bookstore with such informed and friendly staff, many of whom now seem to remember my incredibly specific and niche reading preferences.
And Marin Mystic Treasures, which welcomed me in and gave me a sense of community and belonging alongside gorgeous crystals, of course. And then there’s Dr. Insomniacs and its swirling eyes, Blue Barn and its incredible sandwiches and fries, Finnegan’s and its casual, upscale vibes, Mantra and the delicious wines, the ever-inviting BeerCraft, antique and thrift shops galore and so much more.
Even well into my third year living in Novato, I’m still discovering new (to me) treasures. Only last month, I tried Flour Chylde’s gluten-free desserts, sandwiches and otherwise delicious treats for the first time…I’m not even gluten intolerant, but Flour Chylde is good enough that that doesn’t matter at all. Oh, and then there’s Masa’s sushi, with a sublime selection of sake and a chirashi bowl I’d write poetry to (if my editor would let me). Plus, just outside of downtown is HopMonk Tavern, with its epic events and stunning venue, inexplicably tucked into the Target parking lot…I mean, who knew?
Long story incredibly short, Novato is a place I am very happy to call my home. The longer I spend as a resident of this uniquely lovely city, the more I see and appreciate the individual threads that weave together to become the picture of a thriving community. And, as that one man wearing the unicorn onesie downtown last fall said to me over his shoulder as he walked away from me, rainbow tail fluttering over his very short shorts: “No more NOvato—it’s YESvato now.”
