Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 12-26-2016, 08:18 PM
 
34 posts, read 69,922 times
Reputation: 26

Advertisements

I'm considering a position in Foster City and would be relocating from the east coast.

Are there any areas nearby with a nice little downtown that includes a health food store, coffee, sushi and is highly walkable?

Foster City apartments look too cookie-cutter with amenities I don't care about and they don't look like places I'd enjoy going home to (other than the waterfront views, maybe). I prefer character, charm, walkability and local, independent businesses. I often live in historic or very old apartment buildings or houses... I have no kids/ do not have to worry about schools.

San Jose and San Fran are too far.

Everyone has different tastes and I'm not knocking Foster City. It's just not my style, from what I gather from a distance, though I'm sure I'd enjoy the trails.

I'd like to figure out what other small communities would be worth checking out when I'm out there.

Thanks for reading!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 12-26-2016, 08:43 PM
 
10,920 posts, read 6,857,856 times
Reputation: 4942
San Mateo has a great downtown (best on the peninsula, imo, because it's the most "complete" with that neighborhood feel that you get in SF/Oakland neighborhoods...I do live here for a reason), and is very close to Foster City. One could even easily bike to work if they lived in San Mateo and worked in Foster City. I think this is your best option, if you can afford it (see below).

After San Mateo, Burlingame is another great option. The downtown is along Burlingame Ave, but there's a small commercial district along Broadway. Burlingame on the whole is a little more expensive than San Mateo (like for like housing) - the main differentiator is school quality, with Burlingame's being better (but SM's aren't bad)...but you don't need to worry about this.

After San Mateo/Burlingame, there are other options (such as San Carlos or Redwood City), but they're not as nice of downtowns, are more expensive, or are too far to be worthwhile).

Also, what is your budget? San Mateo is "reasonable" for the peninsula region, but this region has blown up in the last few years, almost doubling in prices in some cases...so, this is a big factor...hard to recommend without knowing your budget and what you can afford. Check out Craigslist listings.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-26-2016, 09:11 PM
 
34 posts, read 69,922 times
Reputation: 26
Fair point about rent! When looking at Foster City, based on what I was seeing, I was aiming to keep it under $3k, but ready to go as high as $3500.

I'll have to look at San Mateo rents and reassess. If I can't find a place I'd like to live or am going to feel poor, it's best to recognize it before moving out there and simply not do it.

Incredibly painful, those rents. I wonder how high they can go.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! I have a lot of researching to do and this is exactly the help I needed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-27-2016, 10:23 AM
 
Location: East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
23,266 posts, read 23,621,950 times
Reputation: 23690
Palo Alto has a great downtown also and worth checking out.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-27-2016, 02:24 PM
 
Location: SF Bay area
222 posts, read 380,338 times
Reputation: 177
Totally agree with Hockey Mac, San Mateo is by far your best bet. I love Burlingame, but it has a lot more (upscale) chain stores - your Sur La Table, Pottery Barn, Sephora....and Redwood City is half old cool funky and half brand-new "outdoor mall" with chain restaurants. Palo Alto is great, but not worth the extra expense and commute time in your case.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-28-2016, 01:24 AM
 
5,891 posts, read 3,194,152 times
Reputation: 5548
Don't overlook San Carlos and Redwood City. You can get a nice 2BR apartment up in the hills for your price range.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-28-2016, 04:34 PM
 
34 posts, read 69,922 times
Reputation: 26
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccm123 View Post
Palo Alto has a great downtown also and worth checking out.
I will keep it in mind.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-28-2016, 04:48 PM
 
34 posts, read 69,922 times
Reputation: 26
Quote:
Originally Posted by butercup View Post
Totally agree with Hockey Mac, San Mateo is by far your best bet. I love Burlingame, but it has a lot more (upscale) chain stores - your Sur La Table, Pottery Barn, Sephora....and Redwood City is half old cool funky and half brand-new "outdoor mall" with chain restaurants. Palo Alto is great, but not worth the extra expense and commute time in your case.
I have been researching on and off all week, and I agree. San Mateo and Burlingame look the best on paper. It will come down to finding a space I feel comfortable in. It's good to have backup locations (San Carlos, Redwood City) in case I just can't find the right living space in San Mateo.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-28-2016, 08:03 PM
 
3,229 posts, read 6,252,981 times
Reputation: 4878
Quote:
Originally Posted by JR-In-Troy View Post
It's good to have backup locations (San Carlos, Redwood City) in case I just can't find the right living space in San Mateo.
Check out downtown South San Francisco for an alternate location. Downtown SSF has a wide variety of various ethnic restaurants. It the only place I have seen a Korean,Vietnamese,Thai,Chinese and Japanese restaurant all on the same block.

Downtown SSF does not have a health food store but neither do the other downtowns. You would be closer to the Rainbow Coop in SF which is the best health food store in the Bay area.

In SSF you are also close to a Bart station that could take you to downtown SF in 21 minutes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-28-2016, 11:22 PM
 
24,323 posts, read 26,692,720 times
Reputation: 19740
San Mateo
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top