Please tell me about Foster city? (San Francisco, Oakland: renting, condos, crime)

[Chochan]

I got a possible job offer at Foster city, which is south of SF, but I know nothing about the place.
Can someone tell me about the neighborhood, housing, ethnicity, cultural amenities, crime rate, etc, of the area? Is it a good place to raise a family? If not, where would you recommend to live and commute to Foster City?
Thanks!

[gizmo980]

I grew up just a few miles away, in west San Mateo. Foster City is a great little town, which is built along man-made "canals", and also sits right on the Bay. Crime is really low - practically nonexistant - and it's the kind of town you can walk around safely at night. They have lots of great shopping too, mostly mini-malls with the "big box" stores like Petco, Target, Toys 'R Us, etc., and plenty of great restaurants... Mimi's at Bridgepointe is yummmmy.

As for cultural activities, there isn't a whole lot - an ice skating rink (guess that's more recreational, lol), Hillbarn stage theatre, and a few other random things. But for most of that, you'll end up driving to San Mateo, Burlingame, or up to San Francisco... SF is a fairly short drive, only 20 minutes or so without traffic. It's also right next to the San Mateo bridge, which gives you easy access to the East Bay - Oakland, Berkeley, etc. Oh, and there is a brand new & beautiful Jewish Community Center in Foster City, which my father actually helped to develop. It's open to everyone on the Peninsula (Jewish or otherwise), and has tons of amenities... swimming pools, workout center, daycare, summer camp, learning center, youth/teen center, and more! Here's their website - http://www.pjcc.org/

Foster City is somewhat culturally diverse, but it's basically 1/2 Caucasian and 1/2 Asian... different countries of origin for the Asian community, but the highest number are Chinese. It's considered an upper-middle class neighborhood, and is very family-oriented. There's lots of housing available, especially in the developments around the waterways... but of course you pay a price! It's not the most expensive part of the Peninsula, though definitely not the cheapest either!! If cost of living is too high, you can look around San Mateo or Burlingame for something more affordable... it's a quick commute to FC from either of those towns. Are you looking to buy or rent? And if you're going to buy, would you want a house or condo? Renting is tough in Foster City, and you'll pay at LEAST $1300-1600 for a one-bedroom. Finding a condo is easy, but will cost between $400K-700K+ in any part of town... (continued below)

[gizmo980]

Here are a few examples of the housing costs in Foster City... kinda scary, but unfortunately normal for this area!

One of the cheapest condos, at $448,000; 1 bed-1 bath, 1053 sq.ft.:

http://homepics.realtor.com/image2/http/sanjose/listings/large/025/654158.jpg (broken link)
http://homepics.realtor.com/image2/http/sanjose/listings/large/050/654158b.jpg (broken link)
http://homepics.realtor.com/image2/http/sanjose/listings/large/052/654158d.jpg (broken link)
http://homepics.realtor.com/image2/http/sanjose/listings/large/054/654158f.jpg (broken link)

This one's $519,000, 2 bed-2 bath, 1042 sq.ft. - I love this condo!

http://homepics.realtor.com/image2/http/sanjose/listings/large/063/667185.jpg (broken link)
http://homepics.realtor.com/image2/http/sanjose/listings/large/059/667185c.jpg (broken link)
http://homepics.realtor.com/image2/http/sanjose/listings/large/061/667185e.jpg (broken link)

And this is the cheapest single-family home; $899,950, 4 bed-2 bath, 1900 sq.ft.:

http://homepics.realtor.com/image2/http/sanfrancisco/listings/large/074/316558.jpg (broken link)

[Chochan]

Thanks for the detailed info, very nice place.
I gotta think twice now about this opportunity in Foster City... $900000 for 2000 sf house! It would be hard to us to dowsize from a 4000 sf house as we have kid and dogs

[erikkarma]

i live in hayward, which is just on the other side of the bridge from foster city. foster city isn't too bad as far as crime goes. like most of the penesula, it has some very nice neighborhoods, and few that are more middle class. there are a few rougher areas, but that's true everywhere in the bay area, even in some of the richer places. as far as commuting, you don't want to commute from the east bay if you can help it. i work in south san francisco, and the $4 bridge tolls each way every day can really add up.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by erikkarma

i live in hayward, which is just on the other side of the bridge from foster city. foster city isn't too bad as far as crime goes. like most of the penesula, it has some very nice neighborhoods, and few that are more middle class. there are a few rougher areas, but that's true everywhere in the bay area, even in some of the richer places. as far as commuting, you don't want to commute from the east bay if you can help it. i work in south san francisco, and the $4 bridge tolls each way every day can really add up.

Foster City has a bad neighborhood?? You may be right, but I've never seen one... I grew up just across El Camino, in San Mateo Park, and took skating lessons in Foster City for many years. The border around Delaware St. isn't great, but that's not technically in FC (it's San Mateo). Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's all quite safe!

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by Chochan

Thanks for the detailed info, very nice place.
I gotta think twice now about this opportunity in Foster City... $900000 for 2000 sf house! It would be hard to us to dowsize from a 4000 sf house as we have kid and dogs

Yes, it would be extremely difficult to get something that size (4000 sf) for less than a million! But like I said, there are more affordable areas nearby... parts of San Mateo are do-able, though not exactly "cheap", and you could get to Foster City in less than 10 minutes from there. Other possibilities might be Redwood City (just stay west of El Camino), Belmont, parts of Burlingame, and San Carlos. If you're really desperate for a better deal, you can even live across the bridge in the Hayward area - about a 15-20 minute drive without heavy traffic & 30-45 minutes with traffic. You can get something decent there for less than $500K, but it might be a condo/townhouse rather than a detached home... that's still pricey, but cheaper by our standards. Anyway, good luck!

[gizmo980]

Okay, maybe not... I just did a quick search in the Hayward area, and couldn't find anything near 4000sf for less than $800K! You could get a 3-4 bedroom home with around 2500sf, but it'll still cost between $600-750K. As my father would say, "you need to do a cost-benefit analysis", and figure out if the salary at this new job would be enough!