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We used to live in So Cal until 2008, when I took a job in NJ. I am now looking at relocating again, for a job in South San Francisco. We would love to move to a small, town that has a nice downtown, where we can walk to restaurants, coffee shops, book stores, library, park, etc. Our kids are in college, so schools are not a consideration, other than for protecting our investment. We can spend $1.3 - 1.5 M, and don't mind a place that needs some TLC as long as it has good bones. Nice, friendly people and a sense of community would be a plus. I don't mind driving to work, but would like to live right in the heart of town. Spouse is retired. What are our options of towns with walkable downtowns?
Nearly all the towns in the Peninsula have cute little downtowns. You can pretty much move down the line ... Burlingame, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City ... Of those, Burlingame would be my pick but prices may be higher than your budget. San Mateo or San Carlos would be my second choice; San Carlos is probably more in line with what you're looking for, but you'd have the most options, price-wise, in San Mateo (it's also much larger). San Mateo is also closer to SSF and the Caltrain stops are much better (more frequent service). Redwood City has the worst schools, by far, of that bunch and is also the farthest from SSF but it's the cheapest right now (relatively speaking).
I took a quick look at the listings, and there are a half-dozen houses at least, in the OP's range. There's even one under 1 mill.
The quality of anything in Menlo Park at 1.5 will be drastically less than the quality of a similarly priced home in, say, Redwood City or Belmont or San Carlos, which are nice towns with downtowns (well, Belmont does not have a downtown, but you can drive). Even Millbrae and Burlingame (both of which have spiked in last 5 years) offer better value than Menlo. Obviously, Palo Alto is even one step higher than Menlo, with top tier southern cities like Los Altos, etc, somewhere in between Menlo and Palo. Note that Menlo's downtown is very small. You could try San Mateo. Your range could put you in walking distance of downtown. Don't expect the homes or the lots (which affect expandability) to be large. Redwood City has the most upside, IMO, the schools will improve. It may be your best bet for $ value; you could get a fixer for $1m to $1.3 and renovate. (Yeah, funny, a "fixer" for $1m - welcome to the Bay Area and the Peninsula).
Ruth, you may not be aware of the differentials in appreciation in recent years, which doesn't surprise me since you're not local.
Note that ANY listing under 2m will have multiple bids and pricing is often deliberately low to encourage bidding. I.e. expect to need to bid 1.7 for that 1.5 listing if you want to get it.
What type of home do you want, how much square footage, would you take a condo, etc. A condo could be a great move, especially if you give up desire to walk to downtown. Walk to downtowns are dramatically overpriced, since so many people say they want them. Meanwhile, you usually wind up having to drive to a supermarket anyway, since they are rarely in suburban downtowns, so you wind up walking only when you want to go to a coffee shop. Pay x00,000 more just to be able to walk to a coffee shop seems crazy to me. Bookstores are dying out in the burbs. Even downtown Palo Alto doesn't have one (Town and Country shopping center does, but it's a strip mall.) Libraries are often not in suburban downtowns here, though they may be nearby.
Last edited by Chuck5000; 05-16-2016 at 03:11 PM..
I took a quick look at the listings, and there are a half-dozen houses at least, in the OP's range. There's even one under 1 mill.
Anything listed at $1.3m is likely to sell for at least $1.5m, probably closer to $1.6m. That's the game here. If you want to spend under $1.5m, you need to be looking at listings between $1.1m and $1.25m. We just bought a house so I've been looking at the recently sold weekly.
Also, the cheaper parts of Menlo Park are zoned for subpar schools. And that commute would be brutal. The farther south the OP is, the closer he should try to live to 280 because 101 is a nightmare. Still, it does have a cute downtown; I'll give you that.
The quality of anything in Menlo Park at 1.5 will be drastically less than the quality of a similarly priced home in, say, Redwood City or Belmont or San Carlos, which are nice towns with downtowns (well, Belmont does not have a downtown, but you can drive). Even Millbrae and Burlingame (both of which have spiked in last 5 years) offer better value than Menlo. Obviously, Palo Alto is even one step higher than Menlo, with top tier southern cities like Los Altos, etc, somewhere in between Menlo and Palo. Note that Menlo's downtown is very small. You could try San Mateo. Your range could put you in walking distance of downtown. Don't expect the homes or the lots (which affect expandability) to be large. Redwood City has the most upside, IMO, the schools will improve. It may be your best bet for $ value; you could get a fixer for $1m to $1.3 and renovate. (Yeah, funny, a "fixer" for $1m - welcome to the Bay Area and the Peninsula).
Ruth, you may not be aware of the differentials in appreciation in recent years, which doesn't surprise me since you're not local.
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It's not about the differentials in appreciation. The OP asked about small towns with a cute downtown, and Menlo Park fits the bill, and has affordable properties. She can check out the listings for all the recommended areas, hopefully visit the towns, and then decide which she prefers, and whether it's worth it to her to spend more money for a bit less house in a location she finds charming, or whatever. That's not for us to decide. Menlo Park's downtown is charming because it's small and a pleasure to walk, with a lot of locally-owned shops, greenery, the train depot. It's an option. That's what the OP was asking for: options that fit her preferences and her budget. Censoring options that fit the OP's wish list really isn't appropriate to a city relo forum.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 05-16-2016 at 05:03 PM..
We used to live in So Cal until 2008, when I took a job in NJ. I am now looking at relocating again, for a job in South San Francisco. We would love to move to a small, town that has a nice downtown, where we can walk to restaurants, coffee shops, book stores, library, park, etc. Our kids are in college, so schools are not a consideration, other than for protecting our investment. We can spend $1.3 - 1.5 M, and don't mind a place that needs some TLC as long as it has good bones. Nice, friendly people and a sense of community would be a plus. I don't mind driving to work, but would like to live right in the heart of town. Spouse is retired. What are our options of towns with walkable downtowns?
Thank you!
I'd check out: San Mateo, Redwood City/Burlingame, San Carlos, Palo Alto, Menlo Park (probably listed in order of desirability to me)
San Mateo is my favorite (yes, I live there in downtown, and might be biased because of it - but I did extensive research before moving there, and I've spent a considerable amount of time in each). SM has the best location (imo) since it's near the bridge for East Bay Access/92 for Half Moon Bay Access, and is about halfway between SJ and SJ (~25-30 minute to each). Along with PA, it has the best transit access (most frequent Caltrain service), and BART is pretty close (~10 min drive, 15 min bus, or 9 min train ride).
Its downtown is probably the most functional of the peninsula downtowns (code word for most livable), and the most affordable on the peninsula outside of Redwood City. But it is not as "cute" in some ways as the other downtowns on the peninsula. Nor are its retail options, especially of the chain variety, super great (I personally find that to be a positive, but others might prefer the "outdoor mall" variety).
It has a few grocery stores, tons of restaurants/bars, a movie theater, a (very nice) library), many banks, a very large park, and a some retail (hardware store, a couple of bookstores, coffee shops/cafes, etc.). I also prefer its grid structure over the single "main street" style of most other peninsula downtowns - it's the closest thing you get to a SF or Oak/Berkeley neighborhood feel on the peninsula, which is something I really like (my GF, who grew up in SF, feels most comfortable in downtown SM than any other regional downtown - so there's something to that I think).
After San Mateo, I really like Burlingame, just about a mile from where I live in downtown SM (close enough that I do walk there occasionally). It's a bit pricier than SM (mainly because its schools are better) and its downtown (Burlingame Ave) is more upscale with a more "manicured" feel to it. It does the "cute and small town" thing probably a bit better than SM - but it's become consistently more busy since I've moved here half a decade ago.
I really like Redwood City - the most gritty option on the peninsula, but its downtown is REALLY coming along (the last 5 years have been seen immense change). You'll get the most "bang for your buck" here, but that also means you'll have to deal with the grittyness and growing pains of the area. Some people don't mind this (some even prefer it) - I recommend a visit to make sure you'd be ok with it. If you're going for a house, the nearby houses/neighborhoods won't be as nice as other peninsula downtowns.
San Carlos is a nice city, but its downtown is the smallest of the bunch that I've listed - for what I'm after (a nice walkable downtown), it's a bit pricey for what you get. But it's a very safe and nice city, so many people that live there don't care that much about that aspect. Still worth a look since some of the homes there can be quite nice (especially if you're just "up the hill" - some great views up there).
Palo Alto and Menlo Park are the least desirable to me, mainly because their housing prices are just straight absurdity (the peninsula is already absurdly expensive...PA (and Menlo to a lesser extent) take that to more extreme levels). But they do have really nice downtowns. PA's is a bit bigger and livelier (especially Thurs - Sat), but Menlo's is really nice and walkable. If I were you, I'd only look there if you found something perfect...still worth checking out.
You can easily check out all of these peninsula downtowns in a weekend, or even a single day. Just start at one end and head through each. Burlingame is the northern end, and Palo Alto is the southern end. It's easiest to stay on El Camino Real the entire way since all downtowns are just off of it. If you did do it as a drive in one day, I'd throw in Milbrae and Mountain View just to add some extra things to see.
Affordability: Redwood City, San Mateo, San Carlos/Burlingame, Menlo Park/Palo Alto (veryyyyy expensive)
1 - 1.5 million will get you something in most of these cities - Redwood City will get you the most and PA will get you the least. You'll just have to start looking at listings online to see if any of these places will work for you.
I personally don't envy anyone looking to move to the peninsula (or the Bay Area) today...but I suppose you can't predict the "best time", so taking a look couldn't hurt.
One final note: if you will be working in SSF, remember to consider the commute. I also work in SSF for one of the big biotech companies there, and the commute from south of 92 can easily add A LOT of extra time. That's mainly because 92 is a big feeder to the East Bay, and 101 around it gets really backed up in the evening/morning. It might not make much sense to live so far away only to have to fight traffic that is not going where you're going anyway...I know if I had to commute from/to San Carlos or points south, I'd be annoyed with that everyday.
Especially if going south won't make things more affordable (if anything, they could make things way less affordable, depending).
I do bike (9-11 miles), or take the train, most days - but most people aren't into that type of commute, so you should pay attention to this aspect since you'll likely be driving to work daily.
Last edited by HockeyMac18; 05-16-2016 at 06:10 PM..
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