Millbrae - what is it like? (San Jose, San Francisco: for rent, house, elementary schools)

[yana60]

We are considering Millbrae as one of our options in the Bay area - moving from the East Coast in 2 weeks to start new jobs. We have never been to that town but have been to Burlingame and liked that.

Can someone tell us a bit about Millbrae - how is it as far as:

walkable downtown
family lifestyle
kids activities, etc.
professional folks
diversity
elementary schools
parks
climate/fog
etc?

Any areas better than others for rent?

Thanks a lot!

[sonarrat]

Millbrae has two parts: a flat part between Magnolia Ave and the airport, and an increasingly hilly part to the west. The higher up on the hills, the better, but then you'll have to drive down to downtown because the one and only bus up there has been cancelled recently. The strip of El Camino Real through the town is nothing special, just a hardware store, a KFC and a couple odds and ends like the storied Millbrae Pancake House. East of El Camino Real is barely worth mentioning other than the BART station on Millbrae Ave and the In 'n' Out Burger across the street from that. Broadway is the official downtown street and it has some good restaurants and shopping. It's definitely not a singles type of place though, it's very family oriented. The town does have good-performing schools and lots of parks, but the climate is on the cool and foggy side, moreso the higher you go up on the hill.

[yana60]

Oof - cool and foggy...that's dissappointing. Thanks for the input, this was very helpful. I don't think it will be our top choice but depends what else is available/affordable in the area. Thanks!

[twins4lynn]

Originally Posted by yana60

We are considering Millbrae as one of our options in the Bay area - moving from the East Coast in 2 weeks to start new jobs. We have never been to that town but have been to Burlingame and liked that.

Can someone tell us a bit about Millbrae - how is it as far as:

walkable downtown
family lifestyle
kids activities, etc.
professional folks
diversity
elementary schools
parks
climate/fog
etc?

Any areas better than others for rent?

Thanks a lot!

Millbrae is very nice, very suburban, solid middle/upper middle class, with lots of families. They have a nice little downtown area (the downtown area is not on El Camino, it's one block west of El Camino and runs about 5 or 6 blocks. There are activities for kids through the Rec & Park, etc. Diversity...well, Millbrae is very asian . The schools are very good and Mills high school is the home school for the area (and the top HS in SM County). The climate in southern Millbrae is similar to burlingame and in northern Millbrae (boardering San Bruno) it's cooler. It is not a foggy area unless the whole peninsula has fog.

[grapemonk]

I also disagree that Millbrae is foggy. The fog line is north of I-380, and Millbrae is just south of that. I've seen many summer days where it's hot and sunny in Millbrae, and you can see the wall of fog at I-380. In fact, when Millbrae was established, it used to be marketed as having great weather for those wishing to escape the foggy city.
It's true that there's more morning/evening fog, and it's a few degrees cooler than further down the peninsula (such as San Carlos and further south); but the weather is closer to that on most of the peninsula rather than that in San Francisco.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by grapemonk

I also disagree that Millbrae is foggy. The fog line is north of I-380, and Millbrae is just south of that. I've seen many summer days where it's hot and sunny in Millbrae, and you can see the wall of fog at I-380. In fact, when Millbrae was established, it used to be marketed as having great weather for those wishing to escape the foggy city.
It's true that there's more morning/evening fog, and it's a few degrees cooler than further down the peninsula (such as San Carlos and further south); but the weather is closer to that on most of the peninsula rather than that in San Francisco.

I worked on the Burlingame/Millbrae border, and frequently walked a mile from the Millbrae station bus stop to work. This is the part of town that would be considered the sunniest. It was still frequently windy and overcast, though you're right that fog is much more common in SSF.

[JohnCWare]

I live near 280 in Millbrae. It is cool, compared to everyplace further South. Often 10-15 degrees cooler than San Jose. However, its 10-15 degrees warmer than San Francisco most of the time. It does get VERY windy on occasion. We've found there are several plants and trees we'd like to have in our yard that just won't make it, although they thrive down on the flat-land. Bougainvillea and Lemon Tree, for example. However we have an amazing view down over the flatlands, on to SFO, and the bay and East Bay beyond. We wouldn't trade the views for anything. We get maybe 10-20 really foggy days per year, however its really kind of magical as it makes our house feel like we are floating in the clouds. And, by mid-morning it has usually burned off. Very often, we see fog rolling over Skyline towards 280, but it doesn't make it to us. I'd also add that freeway access is important and expands your range for career choices, and easy access to 280 is very convenient.

[comingbacktocali]

i've been in millbrae every day this week and i can vouch for the downtown area NOT being cool and foggy! it is warm, sunny, and beautiful! millbrae is very nice - great library, park and rec, great schools. it is very asian. i mean seriously asian. downtown has a trader joe's, cafes, restaurants. easy access to caltrain and 101. good 280 access if you are on the hill side. it is quite similar to burlingame, which it borders.

[ServoMiff]

You guys realize this was a 5-year old thread, right?

[Scott456]

OP, first of all, why don't you tell us the reasons you are considering Millbrae?