Seeking advice on where to live in South San Francisco/ San Mateo area (San Jose: fit in, apartments)

[sujv3]

Hi everyone,

We are moving shortly to the Bay Area from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Family of four, two kids - 3 & 1 years. Hubby will be working in South San Francisco.

I welcome any advice on the best areas to look at for living.
Here are my main criteria -
1. Proximity to Kaiser Permanente, South San Francisco, off El Camino Real (Hubby is not a doctor). Preferably not more than 20 minutes drive, though hubby is open to 30-40 minutes total commute if by train.
2. Proximity to train station/possibility of parking at station.
3. Good pre-schools and daycare options.
4. Good school districts (of course!!)
5. Sorry to sound classist, but middle-to-upper-middle class neighborhoods.
6. We're looking for 2 bedroom/2 bath apartments/townhouses/houses (3 bedroom if we're lucky to have it fit the rent!). Maybe a common pool, and either good play areas or parks in the vicinity.
I have heard that $3000-4500 is the range to expect. Comments on this too, please. We'd like to stay at $3500-4000.
7. Mixed neighborhoods - We are Indian, but we'd like to have a good mix in our neighbours. Indian-dominated neighborhoods are great, but not compulsory.

Some of the areas I lined up only through Googling (and based on a very helpful post on this forum) -
Belmont, Millbrae, Foster City, Burlingame.
Also - Pacifica, Daly City, San Bruno, Hillsborough, Broadmoor and Brisbane.
Highlands-Baywood Park seems super-expensive.
Please offer opinions on all these and preferences too. And any other areas if you think are better.

We have family in San Jose, Cupertino, Mountain View and San Francisco. So we're trying to avoid across the Bay (Oakland/Berkeley etc.) unless it's a better option than any of the above and based upon our criteria.

Thank you so much for your time.

Sujata

[Chuck5000]

For 3500 to 4500 and a 2 bedroom, just so you know you'd be at a "middle middle" class level, not an upper middle class level. Although your unit will be fairly nice (not luxurious, not huge), you may have neighbors that do not appear to even be middle-middle class. This can't be avoided, although you can get lucky.

The Bay Area is full of neighborhoods that are very high priced that have housing that would otherwise be considered lower-middle class.

You have a long list of wants - and it's all do-able. But you may have to compromise on some of them at 4500 or less. Which are you most willing to give up? Check GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community to get an idea of how the school districts are performing.

You should avoid Pacifica, Daly City, South SF - all have a large working-class populations.

Of all the towns you listed, I'd do Burlingame, but you likely will not find anything under 5k - I don't think there are many condos. Hillsborough is out of your range. Millbrae might be right for you - it has BART as well as Caltrain - that is very desirable. San Mateo is also possible, but in the less expensive areas, and I don't know how you would rate it re: class. It's very mixed.

[twins4lynn]

I did a search on craigslist for 2 bedrooms apartment rentals under 4K/month in Burlingame and Millbrae and there were quite a few, even a couple of homes. One thing to note - there are no bad areas in either of those cities that you should avoid.

Millbrae is about 20 minutes or so during heavier traffic (commute time) to SSF Kaiser Permanente driving on El Camino. Burlingame will be a few minutes more, depending upon the location in Burlingame you start at.

Both cities are close to Cal Train and parking is available. BART is in Millbrae (but obviously very close to Burlingame).

Both cities have good schools at all levels.

SF bay area apartments / housing rentals - craigslist

[sujv3]

Thank you Chuck 5000 and twins4lynn. Will definitely consider both your opinions. Thanks for the info on Pacifica in terms of class, was seriously considering the area.
Am going to right away look at the links you have sent. Glad to see both of you recommend Burlingame and Millbrae. My husband checked out Burlingame a bit while there recently.
As far as compromise, i guess it would be the school district for now, given my older one is just over 3. And if driving distance is around 20 mins, we can compromise on the train too. Would either of these help with the search?

[Chuck5000]

Note also that in the Bay Area, the quality of older construction apartments (there are always some available under 3k, sometimes going up to 4k in a really expensive town) is almost always not that nice. It's possible prices have gone down since the last time I checked, but as of 4 months ago, you need 5k for Burlingame

If you saw a single family house for under 5k in Burlingame and probably Millbrae, I'm pretty sure it has some or all of the following: a) very poor location, on a main road, or near 101; b) unrenovated, old appliances, windows; c) on a tiny lot, d) only has one bathroom with 2 bedrooms, both of which are probably small; whole house is probably under 1200 sq feet, meaning probably one living room, no 2nd family room, no basement. Might not have a garage (not really needed)

New apartments (maybe 1985 or newer) are good. Sometimes you will see much older apartments that are kinda nice and have been updated.

But most old apartments all over Bay Area frequently have some or all of the following: a) no central heat b) thin walls and floors c) seismically dangerous soft-story construction d) no a/c which is usually not needed near SF proper e) poor or nonexistant kitchen ventilation - crucial for cooking; f) small windows; g) no in-unit dishwasher or washer dryer h) just generally drab and ugly.

In contrast, where I'm originally from, in the NY metro area it's very common to find not-architecturally nice or huge apartments that are nevertheless well-featured with none of the above problems.

On the peninsula, many well priced apartments are on El Camino, which is a main road. I wouldn't live on it, though it's not bad.

Sorry! I think you should focus on the 4k level as a minimum, I think you want a nice quality place. You might have to hit 5k if you want your entire list of amenities, and a quality apartment/house as I describe. I think Belmont also has a decent sized number of townhouses for rent.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by sujv3

Will definitely consider both your opinions. Thanks for the info on Pacifica in terms of class, was seriously considering the area.
?

I recommend checking out Pacifica for yourself. It is my favorite place in the Bay area and one of the few places I would consider if I stay here long term. Pacifica is also great for small kids and they would enjoy the Frontierland Park playground. Cabrillo elementary in Pacifica also has an exceptional music and arts program. Burlingame is an great choice however it comes with extremely high prices. Millbrae might be subject to airplane noise in some locations but if you are Chinese and love Chinese food you will like Millbrae. I would also consider the western part of San Bruno by Lunardis market. This is the part of San Bruno in a good elementary school district and is a very convenient choice for commuting and for visiting SF.

Foster City looks nice on the surface but look up liquefaction risk before signing a lease there. Commuting by Caltrain will not work very well since the station in SSF is not close to the Kaiser Permanente location. Once you get south of San Mateo you are adding a lot of time to the commute since the traffic on 101 between highway 84 and 92 is always horrible during commute times.

[WanderingFar]

Millbrae and Burlingame would probably be most people's picks for upscale/good schools and commutable to SSF. If you can't find anything there, I wouldn't rule out San Bruno, particularly the western and southern parts that border Millbrae (Crestmoor, Parkview Terrace). Even SSF has some nice parts with good schools (Buri Buri, Avalon, Westborough). I think some posters are painting with too broad of a brush. Bay Area middle class is going to be grittier than Wisconsin middle class and that just comes with the territory. Even "working class" neighborhoods here have homes selling above $700k with rents above $3000. It just means those areas have more economic diversity.

Moving here with a $4000 budget is humbling. It would be big money almost anywhere else (except NY and LA). But you can't be "classist" here.

[sujv3]

Thanks again folks, I really appreciate the time and effort in giving me such detailed answers.

Couple of clarifications/addition to criteria -
Washer-dryer is compulsory (2 small kids!!!)
Would be nice to have a garage - attached/detached, or at least a safe carport. Or any other storage facility if it's a complex. I'm coming from the mid-west, and will definitely have more stuff than will fit in a California residence! Don't want to get rid of everything coz we would buy a place in a year or so. I am sure this will add to the cost, so we must consider that.

Besides Craigslist, what other websites are good to look at? Also, how many weeks/months earlier is it really effective to hunt without actually being there?

Sorry, inundating you all with more and more questions, that's what comes of being so helpful

[sujv3]

Originally Posted by WanderingFar

Moving here with a $4000 budget is humbling. It would be big money almost anywhere else (except NY and LA). But you can't be "classist" here.

Oh absolutely. Since we have a lot of family there (but all mostly south of Mountain View) we have seen the huge cost differences. I don't mean to be offensive by being "classist", just that I understand a certain kind of neighborhood - including the security aspect - gets associated with certain kind of money. Looking forward to a different - and positive - living experience from Wisconsin, for sure.

[Chris Sam]

I realize that this is an old thread but others might find it valuable hence posting these details.
There is a 24 hour security guard & gated community in south Fremont called Avalon Heights.
This is one of the best places to live in the Bay Area. Its a great location for commuting, 2 Bart stations nearby(Milpitas and Warm springs). Excellent schools.
The best of the all is that its a very quiet community mostly with High net worth families. Large houses with large lots.
Average house prices are $3M+.

This community has a security guard 24x7 and the natural beauty in the area is just beyond words.