Where to live? (San Jose, San Francisco, Richmond: lawyer, budget, travel)

[MercySunshine]

My husband and I are moving to the Bay Area from Boston later this year. We are trying to decide on a place to live but need help narrowing down our choices. We are looking for the following:

low crime rate
Diverse (I’m black and he’s Irish)
2500+ sqft (4 bds & 3 bths??)
good public school district (we plan to have children within the next year or two)
within the city or no more than a 30 minute drive into the city
close to shopping & entertainment
low on the snob factor (I’m a lawyer and he’s a contractor)

The areas we are considering are Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Sausalito, Tiburon and Belvedere. Our budget is $2 mil.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by MercySunshine

low on the snob factor (I’m a lawyer and he’s a contractor)

The areas we are considering are Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Sausalito, Tiburon and Belvedere. Our budget is $2 mil.

These areas are not low on the snob factor and $2 mil might not be enough for a 4 bed/3 bath. Check out the Marina Green area, close to the water. San Francisco's Marina Green and the Presidio Park. North Beach is also very nice North Beach - Little Italy - San Francisco. Both areas are close to downtown shopping, restaurants, etc.

[MercySunshine]

Do Marina Green and North Beach get a lot of fog?

[humboldtrat]

All of San Francisco gets fog much of the time. In the center of SF are several hills such as Twin Peaks, Mt Sutro, Mt. Davidson, etc. These hills help block out the wind and fog to a certain extent in the eastern part of the city such as the downtown and the southeast part of SF. The worst place for fog and wind is the western half of the city such as the Richmond and Sunset district (and you can go days without seeing a sunset in the Sunset). The top of hills, such as Nob and Russian Hills that you mentioned are also open to wind and fog.

The areas in Marin County (Sausalito, Tiburon) would get the least amount of fog out of the places you mentioned - but then it can be a hassle commuting across the Golden Gate bridge into the city.

As Mark Twain once said: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco".

[MercySunshine]

I was in San Fran a few weeks ago and admit that I’m not a fan of the fog. Leaving Boston (with its dreary winters) I want to move some place that will get sun most of the time. Setting budget aside, where in Marin would be the best place to live considering my other requirements above. How bad is the commute? My husband and I would be working 7 - 4 most days.

[humboldtrat]

Anywhere in Marin that's about 10 miles inland from the water would be fine. Places such as San Anselmo, Kentfield and Mill Valley are nice, safe upscale towns. Further north (but making for a longer commute), places such as Petaluma and Novato are also nice.

The commute along Hwy 101 in Marin county and crossing the bridge during the morning and afternoon commute hours can be a slow crawl much of the time.

Also consider the Peninsula (area between SF south towards San Jose). Burlingame is a nice upscale town with good schools for example. And going further south, San Mateo, San Carlos, the western part of Redwood City are nice suburban areas. The further south you go on the peninsula, the warmer and sunnier the weather gets. There is also a commuter train between San Jose and SF (about a 30 min trip from San Mateo to SF) caltrain.com - home and 2 freeways (Hwy 101 and I-280) between San Jose and SF - so the commute is usually OK.

[MercySunshine]

okay, so based on what I've read here and in the Newcomers handbook, I've narrowed it down to the following towns:

Noe Valley

Glen Park

Potero Hill

San Brno

Burlingame

San Mateo

I would appreciate any thoughts, insights, etc. Again I am looking for: (i) low crime; (ii) sunny/good weather; (iii) easy comute into city; (iv) good public schools; (v) 4 bed/3bth; (vi) no snobs; (vii) entertainment/shopping close by; (viii) under $3 mil.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by MercySunshine

I was in San Fran a few weeks ago and admit that I’m not a fan of the fog. Leaving Boston (with its dreary winters) I want to move some place that will get sun most of the time. Setting budget aside, where in Marin would be the best place to live considering my other requirements above. How bad is the commute? My husband and I would be working 7 - 4 most days.

Have you considered the inland East Bay like Lamorinda area (Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda) or Walnut Creek? WC is about a 30-35 minutes drive into SF w/o traffic and a 35 minute BART ride. Lamorinda is even closer, about 5-10 minutes closer to SF than WC. And it will get more sun than anything in SF or around the Bay as the hills blocks the fog more. Great schools, WC has lots of shopping and entertainment, and the snob factor isn't any worse than Marin County or parts of the Peninsula.

[capoeira]

Your good public schools requirement may eliminate any San Francisco neighborhoods. San Francisco does have some excellent public schools,there is just no guarantee you will get into them. You can be assigned to any school in the city,maybe one across town and in a bad neighborhood.

S.F. PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Lots of toddlers, fewer school-age kids in S.F.

[humboldtrat]

The northern peninsula also gets wind and fog and I would eliminate San Bruno since it's next to SFO airport and there is a lot of jet noise. I would skip the idea of living in the east bay as it would be further away from San Francisco and the commute would be longer.

I would go with Burlingame, San Mateo or maybe even Hillsborough. Hillsborough is an upscale town (about the 6th highest income per capita in CA) but maybe you could find something for under $3 mil. The schools are good in these 3 cities.