Maedas left Bay Area rat race behind for family-friendly pace
by Sally Ryen(Enterprise staff writer)

    If the Davis Chamber of Commerce doesn't hire the Maeda family to act as the town ambassadors, it's missing a bet. Ann and Ed Maeda moved to Davis with their children, Darren and Richela, in June 1996. They firmly believe that greater forces were behind their finding the perfect home on the perfect street in the perfect town. "The pace of life in the Bay Area is very fast," says Ann. "We were each working 50 or 60 hours a week so both kids were in after-school day care." "We loved the Bay Area and what it had to offer, but at some point you want to spend more time with your kids," added Ed. "We had a minimum 30-minute commute one way to get to their activities. Time was so tight that we would eat dinner in the car, on the way home." The self-employed couple did a lot of research on where they wanted to live: elsewhere in the Bay Area, the state of Washington and Davis, where they had visited friends.

    They chose Davis after Ed spent time checking out the Chamber of Commerce, the schools and the city of Davis programs. They say their decision was based on the quality of life found here, safety, activities for families and kids, the public schools, and the sense of progressiveness. They sold their home and happily moved into a home on St. Elias Place in the West Davis development of Aspen. "For a long time after moving here, we took a breather and reassessed our lives, thinking about what's important," Ed says. They immediately liked the small-town feel, bike paths and youth sports programs.

    They found "tremendous parallels" between the Davis school district and the Palo Alto School District, where their children attended school before. Except here, Darren and Richela ride their bikes to Patwin Elementary instead of carpooling or taking the bus. Their first year at Patwin, the Maeda kids had two teachers Ann feels were important in making them feel welcome: Darren was in Louise Zabriskie's fourth-grade class, and Richela was placed in Leslie Zais' first-grade class. Zais shares a Hawaiian background with Richela, which made their connection very strong, happily continuing this year when Zais moved up to teach second grade. Ann says school has been an important place to make friends, but even more so the sports programs. "Those connections have been key to feeling like this is home," she says.

    But the superlatives really come out when the Maedas talk about their street. They truly believe St. Elias Place is the best street in Davis, enthusing over the ice cream truck, the boy who put on plays in his garage, the kids attending each other's games, drama productions, music recitals, you name it. Ed volunteers at the Community Mediation Service for the city, serving as a mediator in neighborhood disputes. He's joined the Davis Aquatic Masters. Ann sees everyone she knows as she walks their Samoyed, Alika, along the greenbelt that runs next to their home.

    The only fly in the ointment is-no, not the heat, as everyone expects from the Bay Area transplants-the north wind. Ann and Ed are still amazed at the three-day cycle that sometimes threatens to plunk the city of Woodland on their front doorstep, but they're getting used to it. When you talk to the Maedas, you marvel how perfectly everything worked out for them. But once you get to know them, you have the feeling that Davis is the one who lucked out.

posted September 22, 1997, Davis Enterprise/September 25, 1997, Winters Express