The Bay Area -- Peninsula
 

We are contemplating a huge move from the East Coast to the Bay Area. Hubby's potential new job would be in South San Francisco.

Give me your thoughts on towns on the Peninsula side of the bay -- schools, commute, housing prices, etc.

Well, one of the first things you need to consider is how long of a commute time to/from work your hubby can tolerate. After deciding that then look for areas to live in while taking the commute time into consideration. Then, of course the quality of the schools and the housing costs. I'm sure you're already aware that the Bay area is one of the costliest in the nation? In other words, a half-million dollars doesn't get you much out here.
Good luck and I'm sure you'll get a lot more replies.

Housing prices - some of the highest in the Bay Area (unique location -- no way to spread out!).

Towns - some great, some not as great. Personal favorites - Burlingame (where I live) and Palo Alto (the latter being quite a bit farther from South San Francisco). There's also the residential enclaves of Hillsborough (adjacent to Burlingame - very high end and extremely expensive homes, great schools) and Atherton (also farther from SSF). Lots in between -- give us more of an idea what you're looking for -- for example, older home or subdivision? Ages of kids (are elementary schools important, or is it middle school or high school?), etc.

DMLove -- Burlingame is one of the towns we are seriously considering. Our children are young -- 5 and 3 -- so we're in need of preschool for the little one and elementary school for the older one. Of course, we'd like to move somewhere where the schools will be good throughout high school so we aren't forced to move.

How long is the commute from Palo Alto? How do the schools in, say, San Mateo compare to Burlingame?

TAW -- I'm aware that the Bay area real estate prices are high, but we are moving from an equally high-priced area. The relocation counselor said we might be the only people who *don't* have sticker shock from moving there!!

I got so excited, I didn't answer your other question, TAW. I'm not sure what kind of home we're looking for. Hubby says he wants new construction. Our current house is 100 years old and required an extensive renovation, but we aren't up for that again!

If you can afford it, the municipalities around and including So SF are the best in the SF bay area. Burlingame, Millbrae, Daly City, San Mateo, Belmont and if you are quite rich, you can't beat Hillsborough. These are some close ones.

lisettemac, you're moving from NY, are you not?

email me at [email protected] (which is the email address I don't mind "publishing"). I will put you in touch with people whose kids have been in the schools more recently than mine (my son graduated from college this year). I can "talk" to you about the towns, though.

Disclaimer: I've lived in San Bruno (right by SFO) for 13 years now and love it. San Bruno has a variety of ethnic groups (Palestinian, Fijian, Hispanic, Italian) and a small town atmosphere.

Schools are generally excellent, with a few exceptions (San Bruno and South San Francisco districts are lesser than others on the Peninsula). East Palo Alto is considered to be a poorer section and more "dangerous" than other areas of the penisula, as are parts of Redwood City and San Mateo.

If I had the money and was in your position, I'd seriously consider Burlingame as a good combination of pricing, community, etc.
Commute is on one of two freeways - 101 down the eastern side of the peninsula and 280 down the middle of the peninsula. Both run into South San Francisco, but your husband's job will most likely be on the 101 side. 280 is a better commute for the most part.

Consider the coastal towns of Half Moon Bay and Pacifica as well. They are more affordable and have their own charms. Commute can range from hellish to decent depending on where you are.

Really, your best bet is to come out here and visit. Check out the local web sites http://yelp.com and http://sfbay.craigslist.org to get an idea of what people like in various towns and how much housing costs in the areas that interest you.

I live in Palo Alto, grew up in Menlo Park, teach in the area and know the place quite well. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about the mid-peninsula. [email protected]

When our kids were little we lived in Foster City, Belmont and Burlingame. I would agree that Burlingame is your best bet unless you have Hillsborough money ($2.0M or more to spend for your house). The area just west of El Camino at 3rd in San Mateo is also quite charming and worth a look.

I'd stay away from the longer commutes, especially if the job is off of Hwy 101.

Kevin

However, unless you build yourselves, finding new construction in Burlingame will not be easy. Over the last few years, when the market was hot (it's still not cold, just not as hot), contractors bought junky old houses as tear-downs and built some very nice new homes. I don't know of any that remain on the market.

>>unless you have Hillsborough money ($2.0M or more to spend for your house). <<

A 2 million house in Hillsborough will be a tear-down.

Stu Dudley

In fact, I know of a house in Hillsborough that's going for 10 times that amount that will be torn down!

Thanks all!

Iamq and dmlove, I will e-mail you from my personal account.

I am moving from Greenwich, CT, so I am familiar with the $2mil teardown. But just because someone else can afford to tear it down, doesn't necessarily mean that it is a house that couldn't be spruced up and lived in!!

If your from Greenwich, I highly suggest you looking further north to Suasalito , Tiberon, Belvedere and Mill Valley. Such your used to NYC traffic, your husband would find commuting to South San. Fran. a piece of cake.
Mill Valley is such a great spot to bring up a family.

Stay on the peninsula from SF to Palo Alto. Marin is foolish if your job is in SSF.

Stu Dudley

S.S.F is rougly 27 miles to Mill Valley. This is hardly a tough commute for anyone coming from outside NYC.

I like Marin, but I think that 27 mile commute sounds pretty awful, and anyhow commuting over the GG Bridge and down 19th Avenue or Van Ness through the city everyday would make that 27 miles feel like 50. Stick to the peninisula.

Ocean

I've driven that route a thousand times. Getting through SF during rush hour is not fun.

Stu Dudley

Most of the peninsula cities are not very attractive. In my opinion, the only cities that have character and nice downtown areas rather than a succession of stripmalls, are Palo Alto and Woodside.

Apparently, RBCal, you've never been in Burlingame.

No kidding, dmlove! Burlingame has not one, but two nice shopping avenues, not to mention miles of charming, walkable neighborhoods.

And it's only gotten better since they started "sprucing up" Broadway!

I've been to every town and city on the Peninsula including Burlingame.

The only strip mall that I know of in Burlingame is at the extreme north end at the Millbrae border. In fact, there is almost no commerce on El Camino Real - which (along with a section in Atherton) is perhaps the only section without an abundance of commerce between SF and as far south as I've ever traveled on El Camino Real. Burlingame Ave is as nice as University Ave in Palo Alto, IMO. Broadway is being spruced up quite a bit, and 3rd & 4th ave in San Mateo is getting better & better each year. I don't know of a better grocery store than Draegers in the Bay Area - I just returned from my daily dinner shopping there 15 mins ago. I hate strip malls and I hate heading south on El Camino Real because there is mall after mall after mall with ugly commerce in between. However, heading north through Burlingame (I live on the Burlingame/San Mateo Border) is a much more pleasent experience - it's mostly Eucaliptus trees all the way to Peninsula hospital and then the strip mall on the Millbrae Border.

Stu Dudley

Burlingame and Millbrae--especially Burlingame--are lovely with tree-lined streets and quaint shopping streets that, unfortunately, only upscale areas within the central Bay Area can support anymore. I'd say for charm, stick close to 280 (instead of 101--and the commute will be easier too) and you can look anywhere from Burlingame down to Palo Alto. School districts in the area are, right now, also almost uniformly good. Some variation, of course, I think it would be hard to find a mediocre school district.

I have to disagree about where the "charm" is in Burlingame and Millbrae. Going "up the hill" (toward 280) in Burlingame is actually somewhat less charming that the areas closer to the "flats" because that area was developed in the 50s/60s, as opposed to the 1910s. In Millbrae, the charming residential areas go all the way from just west of El Camino (about 2 minutes to 101) to the top of the hill (280). Same with San Mateo. There are also nice residential areas in Burlingame that are east of El Camino, but although they look really nice, they are surrounded by "less nice". I'll reply more thoroughly to your email.

I can understand people enduring a commute that has evolved into torture over the years, but to plan this as a new living situation is not commendable by me. Marin to SSF each day is a horrible idea.
Stu. So draegers is still there? I lived on Elm st. in San Mateo 25 yrs. ago.

They built a Draegers on 4th & Ellsworth about 8 years ago. It's like shopping at Nordstroms. Trags, also on Ellsworth, is still here.

Stu Dudley

The Draeger's in San Mateo is beautiful (the gift shop upstairs is fantastic).

And Lunardi's is here, too -- another really good grocery store!

Trag's was actually Rakestraw's when I was a child. It was <i>the only</i> &quot;upscale&quot; grocery store around here (though godknows, nobody used such terms as &quot;upscale&quot;!) Lucky &amp; Safeway were the only alternatives. Of course, there were in those days independent butchers, even on Burlingame Avenue.

And I agree w/the poster who disabused you of the idea that you might find a house in Hillsborough for 2M. You can barely get into Burlingame with that.

OMG, I meant Trag's.

Lunadrdi's (formerly Petrini's) is in the &quot;strip mall&quot; at the northern edge of Burlingame, that I referred to a few posts back.

Safeway has been trying to replace their &quot;old&quot; store in Burlingame with a &quot;mega&quot; store for about 8-9 years now. There are other Safeway mega-stores in Millbrae, San Mateo, and I suspect all the way down El Cameno Real to the southern edge of the Bay. Residents of Burlingame have protested and pursuaded the City Council to resist the mega store - wanting to maintain the &quot;village&quot; atmosphere of Burlingame.

Stu Dudley

The original Draeger's in Menlo is pretty darn nice, but I really miss the old, smaller one. It was such a great grocery store with REAL customer service. It might be snootier and glitzier now, but it is nowhere near as a good a shopping experience as the old, original store.

We have a Piazza'a here in Palo Alto that is my favorite grocery store in the area. It is small, but the service is excellent, they offer a lot of products that can't be found elsewhere and the butcher is fantastic!

With all the great grocery stores in the Bay Area - we're spoiled.

My in-laws in the mid west shop at Walmart. They love to walk through Draegers &amp; remark that they can get iceberg lettuce at Walmart for half the price.

Stu Dudley

Another comment about Burlingame.

I just got back from the gym. On the way there, I drove past Burlingame Ave &amp; the area was swarming with parents hauling &amp; pushing young kids on strollers. It must have been Santa's night on the Avenue. The street was blocked off to traffic &amp; I suppose there were lots of activities for all the kids. Burlingame does a lot of stuff like this (I assume other cities do too). In Sept there's a big street fair and a few art-in-the-park weekends.

Stu Dudley

I think some of you on this thread have gotten off the topic on this question.
You have to realize that the person is moving from Greenwich,Ct. Some of these post are personal and biased.
I grew up in Greenwich. The last placed I would want to live would in would be in the SSF area.Its not helping thigs by those putting ones two cents in about how great there town is.
Lets stick to the topic shall we.

The OP asked for &quot;thoughts on towns on the Peninsula side of the bay&quot;. Her exact words. Which is what information the responders are giving. Thought can be personal, and I think the OP may be looking for that.
FYI, Redwood City has a revitalized downtown area and a couple of nice parks I'm familiar with. There's another post that mentions Burlingame, great Caltrain access and a Park very close to downtown.

&gt;&gt;The last placed I would want to live would in would be in the SSF area&lt;&lt;

Gee - I don't think anyone has suggested SSF.

The 2-3 million dollar homes in Burlingame &amp; San Mateo Park (where I live), 5-20 million $ homes in Hillsborough suggest that some &quot;discriminating&quot; people think this is a nice place to live. 15-20 mins from San Francisco, 5 mins from the airport, 1 3/4 hrs from Carmel, 1 1/2 hrs from the wine country, 20-30 mins from the coast, moderate temps, enjoyable &amp; active neighborhoods, good schools, low crime, great restaurants &amp; groceries, no &quot;box stores&quot; - what else do you want? BTW, I have 3 redwood trees in my back yard, 3 huge Canary Palms in my front yard, a few birch trees, and over 40 redwoods in the immediate neighborhood - this is not a tacky/bland/concrete/strip mall bedroom community here. Come on over and take a closer look.

Stu Dudley