Best place to live between SF and Mountain View? (San Francisco: rental, condos)

[dreadpyrat]

Hi all, I'm considering taking a job in Mountain View. I currently live in San Rafael and absolutely love it. I want to stay as close to SF as possible.

Are there any towns between SF and MV that have a nice old town feel like Central San Rafael?

My wife and I have a 9 month old and want someplace safe, nice weather, good schools, and close (walking) proximity to shops and restaurants.

What we dont want is miles of cookie cutter homes, condos, or town homes, and we dont want fog!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Rob

[calisnuffy]

Anywhere from Burlingame on down would be a great spot. Limiting factors, are of course how much you want to spend.

[dreadpyrat]

Hi, thanks for the suggestion! We'd be renting so home prices are not something we are concerned with....it just needs to be kind of hip and happening. Are there any "old towns" on the peninsula between SF and MV?

[thecooler]

I'm currently living on the peninsula and have lived in San Rafael, so if I understand you correctly, you're looking for a town with an old downtown area that's walkable with shops, bars, restaurants. There are many towns along the peninsula that offer that. South San Francisco has one, but its pretty run down, same for San Bruno. Millbrae has a great little downtown, and being that it has a bart station and a cal train station, its a very convenient location to live in. Other towns further down that have nice downtowns are Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, San Carlos, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and finally Mountain View itself has a great downtown area on Castro St. Some of these towns have less desirable areas (though not really dangerous), so make sure to scope out the nieghborhoods before moving.

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by dreadpyrat

Hi, thanks for the suggestion! We'd be renting so home prices are not something we are concerned with....it just needs to be kind of hip and happening. Are there any "old towns" on the peninsula between SF and MV?

Hah, you obviously haven't checked out rental prices on the Peninsula yet!

Anyways, to answer your question, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Mountain View, Menlo Park all have cute and more-or-less 'happening' downtowns. Not sure how hip they are, but definitely walkable and active communities.

[Mr. Fantastic]

Stay out of most areas of Oakland, definitely stay out of Richmond even though it's slightly North of S.F. Don't be tricked by the cheap rent in these areas, they are vile and full of crime.

[mayorhaggar]

I was unaware Oakland and Richmond were in between SF and Mountain View.

I guess it's easy to make that mistake when you live in the OC.

[Mr. Fantastic]

I was unaware Oakland

You simply are uneducated on the main commuting freeways in the area.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

You simply are uneducated on the main commuting freeways in the area.

A rather circuitous commute though. Do you suppose anyone actually does it that way? Perhaps a bridge freak?

[CAVA1990]

Just based on the title of the thread with none of the subsequent qualifiers, I'd say Woodside.