San Mateo - Near 101 (Redwood City, Burlingame: sale, apartments, renters)

[celzcali]

Hey everyone. Wife and I are looking to rent a small home on 5th East Ave between Humboldt and Grant. We have heard some things about gangs / crimes the closer you to get to the 101. Ideally I would like to be able to walk to the Caltrain station from the house each morning and evening.. but have been hearing multiple POVs on the crime in the area. In addition, it would be ideal to be able to walk to and from the downtown area from the house.

We spoke with the current renters and they said they have not had a problem, but we also don't know if they are just saying whatever to get us in.

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[calicoastal]

This area is not bad at all, it actually has some pricey luxury apartments and new developments nearby. San Mateo in general has low crime for the Bay Area, it's a city of 100k people and had no murders last year. Maybe you are thinking of Shoreview, east of 101? It had a reputation years ago but even that area is OK.

[celzcali]

Thanks man. I appreciate your thoughts. Stupid crime maps always seem to make things look worse than they are....

You seem to know the area pretty well.. we are getting a small 2 bedroom house with a nice size back yard for the dogs. Also has off-street parking (uncovered driveway for $3150. I work in the city, wife works in San Mateo. from what we have been seeing this seems to be a pretty good deal?

[DoggieMatic]

Originally Posted by celzcali

Thanks man. I appreciate your thoughts. Stupid crime maps always seem to make things look worse than they are....

You seem to know the area pretty well.. we are getting a small 2 bedroom house with a nice size back yard for the dogs. Also has off-street parking (uncovered driveway for $3150. I work in the city, wife works in San Mateo. from what we have been seeing this seems to be a pretty good deal?

Crime: Everything is relative. Not knowing what you're used to, no one could tell you that crime is high/low in that area. But in terms of San Mateo City, the exact area you mentioned is an enclave of relatively low crime & relatively quiet at night. SMPD & SMFD are usually not overtaxed to where you might have to wait long for service. However, the house you're interested in is just a block or two away from higher-crime areas -- most of it being property crimes of opportunity, but also muggings, stabbings, etc. plus the usual domestic violence & drug/alcohol fueled insanity. I don't know if you're new to the State & Bay Area, but you cannot assume that just because a house is for rent or sale at what seems to be a large amount of $$, it means that it's a very nice house in a very nice area -- I learned that the hard way when I moved from a very nice apartment in SM to a house in Redwood City.

With that in mind, $3150 for what's safe to assume at 2 bedrooms & no garage is an older, smaller house probably built in the 1940s or 1950s in that neighborhood sounds pretty high to me, especially if it doesn't include any utilities (power/gas, water, trash & 'gardener'), but keep in-mind that I escaped the political & cost of living insanity that is the SF Bay area & state of California almost 6 years ago.

I know that if the rental market is still the same as when I was living in San Mateo County (San Mateo specifically), you need to act fast if there's a rental house you like, but I encourage you to keep checking (Craigslist & the few realtors willing to spend time helping someone find a rental) because I do think that for that much $$, you can find a better deal -- nicer house in a nicer neighborhood of San Mateo or another city.

Have you explored the city much? The nicest section is roughly the NW quadrant of the city, on the W side of El Camino Real). For your $$$ range I think you may also find a good, dog-friendly property in Burlingame, San Carlos, Redwood Shores, Belmont, etc. The biggest trade-off you may need to make is proximity to a Caltrain station. If you're close to the Caltrain tracks, it'll take you a while to get accustomed to the diesel locomotive noise, let alone the horns they blow in the vicinity of car & pedestrian walkways, due to the number of idiots that do get hit by the trains. Other than the noise if you live nearby, Caltrain is a fantastic resource, especially if you can walk or ride a bike to a station.