Pacifica for a family? (San Jose, San Francisco: houses, neighborhoods, middle school)

[beccatree]

We are looking into options to shorten a commute to South San Francisco (we currently live in San Jose). Pacifica sounds appealing in many ways, but I'd like to know what it is really like to live there with a family. Our kids are 9 and 11. Our oldest will be starting middle school next year. I hear the schools are pretty good there - although I would be very, very interested to hear from people whose kids have gone through middle and especially high school there. It sounds like there is a huge difference between Terra Nova and Oceana for high school.

We drove up there a few weekends ago and looked at open houses. I see there is a big difference in the types of neighborhoods as well. We liked Vallemar and Linda Mar (though I hear Linda Mar is not great for commute? How bad is it, really?)

Any other info? I want to know what the kids do when they are older...hang out, etc. Also anything else about the community would help. It will be strange to move somewhere with older kids! When they were little, they were a built in conversation-starter and friendship-maker!

[comingbacktocali]

the api scores for the Pacifica elementary schools are all pretty decent. you may want to see if there is a Pacifica fb page to get info first hand from parents. we live in nearby Brisbane and are part of the same high school union as Pacifica. i mostly hear about kids going to terra nova over oceana but i am not sure why. you will also have the option of shasta charter school currently located in daly city.

my kids are 9 and 11, too. when we arrived here we made many friends through the library, dance, soccer, etc. 2 weeks after moving here we felt like we already knew half of the town, although Pacifica is certainly bigger than Brisbane.

[beccatree]

Thank you, comingbacktocali! I think Terra Nova is much bigger than Oceana so that may be part of it, plus Oceana seems to have a unique program that may not be for everybody (may not even suit both my kids - but my older one would do better at a smaller, more personal school, so that is why I am thinking of it for her). What high school do folks in Brisbane usually choose? I would think Terra Nova would be a long drive for you guys. Brisbane is another town we might look into, so at the risk of getting off topic, I'd be happy to hear more about it from you. Have you been happy with your move? I don't know anything at all about it - it's another area we might head over to and drive around sometime.

[comingbacktocali]

i'm not sure about percentages but i would say that kids are pretty evenly distributed between terra nova, shasta charter, and private schools (bay, international, crystal springs, sacred heart, to name a few). i think there are other charter school options in san mateo county you can get into as well.

i am a huge fan of brisbane. definitely a hidden gem. 2 miles from SF city limits, 10 minutes to the airport, a nice quiet village feel with nice views and excellent weather. it's worth taking a walk or drive through town. there is a very large and active mother's group here where you can basically connect with nearly all families in town. my kids walk to school, library, dance, etc. and my husband cycles to work in SSF. i'd be happy to answer any other specific questions you had.

[beccatree]

Thanks so much! I don't have any specific questions (yet) about Brisbane. It's interesting that the majority of the kids don't seem to go to public school for high school. I do see that JUHSD doesn't have the greatest scores. Brisbane sounds so great - I will definitely check it out. If it's ok, I may message you some questions after we do that!

Still hoping someone from Pacifica will chime in on that area.

[comingbacktocali]

Sure,ask me anything via pm.