commuting to Benioff Childrens Mission Bay (San Mateo, Palo Alto: 2015, transfer to, neighborhood)

[skraj011]

we will need to commute to and from Benioff Children's Mission Bay during standard rush hour times.The towns we are considering living in are:

1. Piedmont
2. Orinda
3. Albany
4. Mill Valley
5. San Mateo

Our primary considerations (in no particular order) will be 1. Minimizing commuting time, 2. School quality, 3. Weather, 4. Walkability, and 5. Diversity

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[HappyinCali]

Originally Posted by skraj011

we will need to commute to and from Benioff Children's Mission Bay during standard rush hour times.The towns we are considering living in are:

1. Piedmont
2. Orinda
3. Albany
4. Mill Valley
5. San Mateo

Our primary considerations (in no particular order) will be 1. Minimizing commuting time, 2. School quality, 3. Weather, 4. Walkability, and 5. Diversity

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Of all those, I believe, only Orinda has its own BART station. That will cut your commute meaningfully, because you can use public transportation to get there once you are in the city.

You will definitely have to drive from San Mateo and Mill Valley or take a bus, which still gets stuck in traffic.
From San Mateo, I guess you could also just drive to Millbrae and take Bart from there.

If I were you and commuting time was my #1 issue, I would select Orinda.

Orinda also has the best public schools in the Bay Area

It is not very diverse. Mostly white with some Asian.

Weather is amazing.

[calicoastal]

Being close to Caltrain would be much more convenient than BART as BART doesn't stop near Mission Bay in SF. Also, driving across the Bay Bridge or through SF during commute hours would be torture.

My first two choices would be Burlingame and San Mateo (Baywood and Highlands areas). You could catch an express train to SF at either (San Mateo gets more express trains than Burlingame), and you have great schools K-12, excellent weather, walkability, and diversity. Add in Hillsborough if it is in your budget. Palo Alto is another option as well, though the train ride will be 40 min to SF instead of 20-25.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by calicoastal

Being close to Caltrain would be much more convenient than BART as BART doesn't stop near Mission Bay in SF. Also, driving across the Bay Bridge or through SF during commute hours would be torture.

My first two choices would be Burlingame and San Mateo (Baywood and Highlands areas). You could catch an express train to SF at either (San Mateo gets more express trains than Burlingame), and you have great schools K-12, excellent weather, walkability, and diversity. Add in Hillsborough if it is in your budget. Palo Alto is another option as well, though the train ride will be 40 min to SF instead of 20-25.

Agree with this as well. Commute time might be similar in Orinda via BART, but you'll also be packed in like sardines on BART as well. Not ideal for someone who is working at a hospital all day to have to stand in a hot BART train next to a bunch of other people with no room to breathe in rush hour times. The peninsula is a much better choice and Caltrain is better than BART.

[HappyinCali]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Agree with this as well. Commute time might be similar in Orinda via BART, but you'll also be packed in like sardines on BART as well. Not ideal for someone who is working at a hospital all day to have to stand in a hot BART train next to a bunch of other people with no room to breathe in rush hour times. The peninsula is a much better choice and Caltrain is better than BART.

MY main issue with CalTrain is reliability. Based on anecdotes, it seems to have a lot more delays than BART. If you are a doctor who needs to be in at a certain time for surgery or anything like that, Caltrain's reliability seems to be less than ideal.

[calicoastal]

Originally Posted by HappyinCali

MY main issue with CalTrain is reliability. Based on anecdotes, it seems to have a lot more delays than BART. If you are a doctor who needs to be in at a certain time for surgery or anything like that, Caltrain's reliability seems to be less than ideal.

Caltrain's on-time performance for financial year 2015 was 93%. BART's was 89%.

[HappyinCali]

Originally Posted by calicoastal

Caltrain's on-time performance for financial year 2015 was 93%. BART's was 89%.

That's really helpful. thanks a lot. I am curious what the delays are, though. Again, anecdotally, I have heard about severe caltrain delays. They also run fewer trains.

But it appears, I am wrong, so the OP shouldn't listen to me

[smashystyle]

Originally Posted by HappyinCali

Of all those, I believe, only Orinda has its own BART station. That will cut your commute meaningfully, because you can use public transportation to get there once you are in the city.

Both Albany and Piedmont are near BART stations. Depending on where you live, you can be closer to a BART station in either city (especially Albany) than you might be in Orinda. What I don't know confidently is how quickly the parking lots fill up at the respective stations in the morning.

I agree that the commute on Caltrain from the Peninsula is likely to be easier, although Caltrain doesn't stop right next to the hospital, so you're stuck with a walk or a MUNI transfer.

[mini_cute]

Originally Posted by smashystyle

Both Albany and Piedmont are near BART stations. Depending on where you live, you can be closer to a BART station in either city (especially Albany) than you might be in Orinda. What I don't know confidently is how quickly the parking lots fill up at the respective stations in the morning.

I agree that the commute on Caltrain from the Peninsula is likely to be easier, although Caltrain doesn't stop right next to the hospital, so you're stuck with a walk or a MUNI transfer.

There is no BART station near Mission Bay so OP would need to transfer to Muni after riding Bart which also has delays cause it gets stuck in traffic all the time, especially during ballgames. So it isn't really that reliable either.

The closest transit station is the 4th and King Caltrain station. It would be just a 20 minute walk from there to the hospital. I know because I used to live next to Caltrain and walk the Mission Bay neighborhood all the time.

I think the best scenario is to live in San Mateo near Caltrain, take your bike into SF, ride to SF, get off 4th and King, bike the last mile to the hospital. If there are any delays on Caltrain or issues with riding the train that day, it is feasible to drive from San Mateo to Mission Bay. Sure, there may be some traffic, but it is doable.