Moving to the Bay Area (Locals needed) (San Francisco, Oakland: houses, neighborhoods)

[CityOnDown5250]

Moving to the Bay Area soon with the family. love it out there. love every bit of California, especially NorCal. i would like to know information about the towns we are considering.
So far, we're not exactly sure if were going to move into San Francisco or a surrounding suburb. but here are the places we are considering moving to: San Francisco (SeaCliff, Sunset District, Pacific Heights), Saulsalito, Burlingame, and Palo Alto. as you can tell, were looking into a more wealthy area. if you could, please answer the following about each town/neighborhood:
1. what is it like to live there? (overall vibe)
2. how are the schools?
3. how is the commute into SF? (i know for Marin County there isnt a public transportation, its either ferry or drive)
4. whats the best part about living there? (for each neighborhood/town)

we aren't really looking into the east bay so much, mainly due to the commute. are there any wealthy towns in the east bay? how far is the commute from danville? do most people use the BART or CalTrain?
are there any other towns worth checking out? thanks

How is living in Russian Hill?

[BayAreaHillbilly]

If you care about public schools, don't choose The City. Most affluent folks in The City send their kids to private schools. Of course there are some good individual schools but there is a lottery system to get in them.

You ought to expand your horizons a bit in terms of suburbs. There are several additional affluent well groomed ones besides those you listed.

[twins4lynn]

Originally Posted by CityOnDown5250

So far, we're not exactly sure if were going to move into San Francisco or a surrounding suburb. but here are the places we are considering moving to: San Francisco (SeaCliff, Sunset District, Pacific Heights), Saulsalito, Burlingame, and Palo Alto. as you can tell, were looking into a more wealthy area. if you could, please answer the following about each town/neighborhood:
1. what is it like to live there? (overall vibe)
2. how are the schools?
3. how is the commute into SF? (i know for Marin County there isnt a public transportation, its either ferry or drive)
4. whats the best part about living there? (for each neighborhood/town)

I'll tackle Burlingame .

Burlingame is a very nice place to live . Safe, attractive, has two nice downtown areas. They have parks with plenty of recreation programs for the kids (as well as adult programs), and a lovely public pool, Burlingame Aquatics (if you don't have your own pool). The schools are excellent at ALL levels - elementary, middle and high school. Schools receive LOTS of support from parents (heavy parental involvement). The commute driving to SF would take about 35 minues during rush hour, and you can use 101 or 280. There is also a transportation hub in Millbrae (near the Burlingame border) where you can take BART or CALTRAIN. There is also bus service (SanTrans?) throughout the peninsula.

As someone already said, public schools in SF are through a lottery system (regardless of where in SF you live), so you never know where you'll actually end up at.

[18Montclair]

I didnt know the sunset district is considered wealthy?

[sonarrat]

You're wrong about public transportation from Marin County.. Golden Gate Transit runs frequent bus service into SF. It's pretty expensive for a bus, but then again, it crosses a $6 toll bridge.

Personally, I'd be considering Burlingame. It's close enough to drive without much trouble, the schools are fantastic and the quality of life is superb. My favorite thing about it is actually the eucalyptus trees which live all around the city, but are most prominent around El Camino Real.

[aklein]

1. what is it like to live there? (overall vibe) Don't know much about SF or Marin but do know about the East Bay and Peninsula
2. how are the schools? Have you been to www.greatschools.net? Burlingame great schools, Belmont, San Carlos, Foster City, Redwood Shores, parts of San Mateo and parts of Redwood City, Palo Alto, all great schools
3. how is the commute into SF? (i know for Marin County there isnt a public transportation, its either ferry or drive) Commute to SF from Peninsula not too bad from Palo Alto maybe 45 minutes, San Carlos 30 minutes, Burlingame 20 minutes depending on traffic of course. You can take Cal Train depending where you work in the City
4. whats the best part about living there? (for each neighborhood/town) San Carlos/Palo Alto have cute little downtowns with shops and restaurants in walking distance to a lot of housing. Belmont you are in the hills so you get a nice view of the bay, more rural not a lot of sidewalks. Foster City a suburban community close to the water. Redwood Shores a suburban community near the bay with newer houses.

we aren't really looking into the east bay so much, mainly due to the commute. are there any wealthy towns in the east bay? Yes, Piedmont in Oakland is very affluent as are Lafayette, Orinda and Moraga. About a 45-hour commute to the City. There is a Orinda Bart and Lafayette Bart station. how far is the commute from danville? At least an hour plus. do most people use the BART or CalTrain? There is no Bart from Danville you have to go to the Dublin/Pleasanton Bart which is at least a 10 minute drive.
are there any other towns worth checking out? thanks

[hsw]

Much depends upon one's budget, lifestyle (city vs leafy suburbs up in hills), office location, etc; most affluent families w/kids choose private schools nearby, whether one lives in SF or in Peninsula suburbs

Realize that much of region's economy and wealth, both offices and homes, is based between Palo Alto/MenloPk and SJ

Many newly-built houses in elite parts of PacHts or PresidioHts or Woodside are >>$10MM

And traffic tends to move rather briskly on SF Peninsula; but bridges and tunnels tend to be chokepoints in any city in world...and post a major quake, travel across Bay may be far more difficult if key bridges damaged

[Momma_s]

These two sites helped us learn more about the schools in the Bay area...

School Rankings for the City of San Francisco, CA

GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community

[ecvMatt]

Originally Posted by CityOnDown5250

3. how is the commute into SF? (i know for Marin County there isnt a public transportation, its either ferry or drive)

Lots of people take the bus from Marin to SF everyday in order to get to work, many of them are my friends.

[WCmomMD]

I grew up in the Sunset. That is not an affluent neighborhood in San Francisco. The more affluent neighborhoods in San Francisco are Pacific Heights, the Marina, Seacliff, the St. Francis Woods. The public schools in San Francisco are by lottery system, but there are plenty of good private schools.

You asked about affluent neighborhoods in the East Bay... Piedmont and the Oakland Hills (such as Rockridge) are probably closest as far as commuting distance to San Francisco. Piedmont public schools are excellent. From the Rockridge BART station, it is 25 minutes to downtown SF. Past the Caldecott tunnel, there are affluent suburbs with excellent public schools in Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Alamo, and Danville. I listed the cities in order of their distance from SF. Moraga, Alamo, and Danville are a little bit of a drive to get to Walnut Creek BART. From Walnut Creek BART, it only takes 35 min to get into financial district in San Francisco.