St Helena is in Napa County, there are lots of vineyards, shopping, etc. It is also close to Santa Rosa, Petaluma, San Francisco, and a short trip to Bodega Bay if you like the ocean. Also, it's about 3 1/2 hours or so from Reno and Tahoe. Homes there range from $250.00 on up to over a million dollars. Like any city, there are condos and mansions. Yes, we do have a water shortage but we will be getting help from the government soon. In fact where I live we are on voluntary cut back only. The shortage is hitting the farming community very hard. I used to live in New York, it is expensive, in my opinion more expensive than Napa or Sonoma County. I love the Napa/Sonoma area so much that I live there half the time and in Sacramento the rest of the time. I suggest you think about what you like to do for entertainment, do you like being outdoors, prefer big city life. If your family is in NY can you live so far away?