where to live..have a job opportunity in Foster City (Fremont: to rent, HOA)

[lenreg]

Hi

There may be a job opportunity for DH in Foster City and we have just started to look around for where we might possibly move to. Problem is we don't know where to start.

We have 3 kids (ages 12, 10 and 3) and a dog. We want a safe area with a good school system. Also looking in area which the commute will not be more than 45 min. We are looking into single family homes or even townhouse. 3 to 4 bedrooms. Price range 250K-650K.


Any suggestions?

[mayorhaggar]

DH = designated hobbit? Ok, I know, it's Dear Hubby/Husband, I kid.

Use this to find good school districts:

California School Performance Maps

Unfortunately the Peninsula and Silicon Valley areas are generally pretty expensive, especially in burbs with good school districts. Might be able to get a townhouse on your budget but with 3 kids that could be tight. I'd look into Fremont, Castro Valley, and maybe Dublin, but you might need to put up with more like an hour's commute, which is pretty average by Bay Area standards.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

My condolences. Welcome to sticker shock. Now comes the difficult challenge.

Do you accept crap schools, a one hour (or greater) commute (and the schools will still not be that great), rehome your dog, or cram into a cottage. If you are lucky you can find an HOA in a condo complex that allows the pet, that way you may be able to eke out something with both good schools and an OK commute.

[lenreg]

thanks.. so if my priority is the good commute and good schools, which specific areas should I be looking at? which areas should we definitely avoid?

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by lenreg

thanks.. so if my priority is the good commute and good schools, which specific areas should I be looking at?

For good schools + good commute your budget needs to be over 900,000!

Good areas include Burlingame,Belmont,San Carlos,Millbrae,parts of San Mateo. Example tiny house with good schools and good commute:

Burlingame example

[lenreg]

Originally Posted by capoeira

For good schools + good commute your budget needs to be over 900,000!

Good areas include Burlingame,Belmont,San Carlos,Millbrae,parts of San Mateo. Example tiny house with good schools and good commute:

Burlingame example

which parts of San Mateo?

[jaypee]

Originally Posted by lenreg

which parts of San Mateo?

San Mateo Highlands ... in and around Alameda de las Pulgas.
However, San Mateo schools aren't as good as, say, Burlingame.

If I were you, I wouldn't be in such a rush to buy. Foster City elementary and middle schools are good so I'd look to rent there instead.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

You should post on the SF forum.

Foster City is a suburb of SF.