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