Family moving to SF, where to live? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: rentals, house prices)

[JSmom23]

Hello, I'm looking for some advice. My husband may be taking a job in Brisbane, we are currently in Chicago. We're a family of five(kids are 12, 10, and 3). Looking for a nice family neighborhood with good schools. Our house budget will be between 1.5 and 2.5 million--I can NOT believe how expensive homes are in the area! Unreal. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[sonarrat]

Hillsborough is pretty much family heaven. For $2.5 million you might have the cheapest house on the block, but it'll still be at least 2500 sf on a quarter-acre (they won't review building plans for less than that), if not much more.

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[humboldtrat]

Check out Burlingame or San Mateo. A little warmer climate and away from the airport noise. Both towns are nice, safe, middle to upper middle class towns with good schools. Some areas of San Mateo are better than other areas. And housing is much more affordable than in neighboring Hillsborough.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Check out Burlingame or San Mateo. A little warmer climate and away from the airport noise. Both towns are nice, safe, middle to upper middle class towns with good schools. Some areas of San Mateo are better than other areas. And housing is much more affordable than in neighboring Hillsborough.

They're not really more affordable though. The difference is accounted for in the lot sizes. You can find properties just as expensive as a Hillsborough "starter" in San Mateo Park and Burlingame, but they'll have lots half the size or less. Pound for pound, Hillsborough is competitive with its neighbors, let alone with the postage-stamp lots you get in San Francisco proper.

[hsw]

Would strongly consider renting, not buying, in PaloAlto

House prices are soft and falling, even in elite suburbs on SF Peninsula

PA public schools are arguably among 2-3 best in CA

Also look at any rentals in LosAltosHills (in PA school dt)

Commute from PA/LAH on 280 fwy up to Brisbane is one of fastest (and most scenic) urban commutes in world

Socio-economics of the crowd in PA and nearby suburbs is viewed by many as far more desirable than those of areas like Hillsborough/Burlingame....most of tech and financial titans (and Stanford faculty) live in PA area and have their kids attending the nearby PA public/private schools

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by hsw

Also look at any rentals in LosAltosHills (in PA school dt)

Commute from PA/LAH on 280 fwy up to Brisbane is one of fastest (and most scenic) urban commutes in world

Great!! That's about a 75 mile round trip commute every day.

[oskarv]

Everything is San Francisco is small (unless you're extraordinarily wealthy), so since you'll be south of the city anyway, I'd recommend looking into homes in the cities of Pacifica, San Mateo, Redwood City and pretty much anywhere else in the Peninsula (the area south of San Francisco.)

[gizmo980]

Try San Mateo Park or Burlingame... you basically get the same environment as Hillsborough, without the exorbitant prices and snobbishness. I grew up in San Mateo Park & went to school in Hillsborough, so I do have some insight on those neighborhoods. Foster City is another nice family-oriented town, surrounded by water and convenient to the freeways & SM Bridge.

[JSmom23]

Thank you, everyone. It does look like we'll be downsizing our home. I'm in sticker-shock at the home prices. What about further inland, like Walnut Creek? Is the commute horrible to Brisbane?

[sonarrat]

In a word yes. Almost anywhere in the East Bay you will hit Los Angeles-grade Traffic Where You Are, When You Are. If you're going that route you should minimize the pain by looking at Piedmont, the Oakland hills, or even Berkeley.