What is the "Bethesda, MD" of the Bay Area? (San Francisco: real estate, low crime)

[avalanche85]

Characteristics I'm looking for include:

- Family-friendly (lots of families, lots of businesses that cater to families)
- Great public schools
- Vibrant commercial area(s) nearby
- Low crime
- <30 minute commute to Palo Alto, via public transportation would be especially great
- Whole Foods within 15 minutes
- Affordability not a primary concern

How much would it cost to buy a 1800-2000 sf house (in a condition that didn't scream "rehab me now") in these areas? Should I be posing this question to the SF/Oakland board as well?

Thanks!

[ccm123]

Palo Alto itself would fit your requirements pretty well. As is Foster City or Los Altos.

[avalanche85]

Thanks for the feedback cmm123! Out of curiosity, how long would the commute from Palo Alto into San Francisco be on a typical workday?

I'm not familiar at all with Foster City - it's an interesting looking place, right on the water there. Is the location considered a big amenity? For example, are there beaches or water activities? Running trails along the water?

[ccm123]

Foster City has a nice network of parks, which have water activities and running trails. It is a very safe, upper-middle class neighborhood. Great location.

Commute time from Palo Alto to the city, is around 35 minutes without traffic, but count on about an hour (give or take) during rush hour. You can also take Cal Train from Palo Alto to the city (about an hour).

[peninsular]

For the entire Bay Area, there are several such areas. However, those that fit your description best (Marin, Lafayette/Moraga/Orinda, Danville/San Ramon) are not within a 30 minute drive of Palo Alto. If you do take 30 minute drive to PA into account, I agree with ccm123, it's Palo Alto itself and Los Altos.
As far as your question about a 1800-2000 sq ft house, zillow Home Value Index for those cities currently is 1.69M for Palo Alto and 2M for Los Altos. I'd say this reflects pretty well current prices of a house fitting your parameters.

[peninsular]

Originally Posted by ccm123

... Commute time from Palo Alto to the city, is around 35 minutes without traffic, but count on about an hour (give or take) during rush hour. You can also take Cal Train from Palo Alto to the city (about an hour).

I think you underestimate the commute times. I live in SF (West of Twin Peaks, not very far from 280) and used to work in Redwood City. That commute on an average day was 45 minutes. To get to Stanford in the morning would take about an hour, probably more to somewhere around Page Mill. Yes, Caltrain takes about an hour from 4th and King to PA (shorter if you catch a baby bullet), but to get any place reasonable from 4th and King takes a bit of time as well.
That said, I know several people who commute to Peninsula to the city and the other way around. It's not uncommon, but it's a bit of a pain.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Foster City has a nice network of parks, which have water activities and running trails. It is a very safe, upper-middle class neighborhood. Great location.

Commute time from Palo Alto to the city, is around 35 minutes without traffic, but count on about an hour (give or take) during rush hour. You can also take Cal Train from Palo Alto to the city (about an hour).

You're over estimating the Caltrain time schedule, Palo Alto is a baby bullet stop, if you're just talking station to station, for the baby bullet it will be 37 minutes, for non baby bullet it will be 41-45 minutes during commute times, 1hr during non-commute times. Having grown up in the DC area, I would say that a place like Foster City, which is a "master-planned" suburb is more similar to such areas in the DC area, Reston is the first that comes to mind, granted Foster City has nothing like Reston Town Center, than a place with a major Metro station, and a significant built up core like Bethesda. I think the comparison to Palo Alto for Bethesda is apt. Foster City itself has very few vibrant commercial areas, more like a few strip malls, feels more like a sleepy suburb, Bridgepointe (part of San Mateo) is a large strip mall nearby, and downtown San Mateo is less than 10 minutes driving, same for Hilsdale mall in San Mateo, and 25th Ave in San Mateo.

The other place I would compare Bethesda to is San Mateo itself, which has the same exact high schools as Foster City (since Foster City has no high schools and all the kids go to San Mateo), San Mateo has a very nice downtown area, and the Whole Foods is on the southern end of San Mateo, San Mateo certainly has a lot more commercial areas than Foster City, and it has its own downtown, I will say that San Mateo is more economically diverse than Palo Alto, with more affordable areas to the east, and the hills being more pricey.

Depending on where in Palo Alto, commute from downtown San Mateo to downtown Palo Alto is 19 minutes on the Caltrain. Hilsdale (an area on the southern end of San Mateo) to Palo Alto is 9 minutes on the Baby Bullet, 15-17 minutes otherwise, but if you don't work downtown, you would need to take a shuttle from there.

20 minutes driving without traffic, double that or more with traffic. Commute taking public transportation varies a lot depending on how close your work is to Caltrain.

[avalanche85]

Thanks guys. This is all very useful information. I'm looking into all the areas that were suggested - schools, real estate, etc. I'm also looking at earthquake/fault line information. As an east coaster, the idea of living in an earthquake zone is a little unnerving. Is this crazy? Do people worry about it...like when the "big one" will strike? The commuting time matters more to me in the bay area because I don't want family members to be all spread apart when an earthquake hits.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

First, live close to where you work for best quality of life. Commuting can be a real bear here.

As far as earthquakes, we don't worry about them or expect them any more than NY expects hurricanes. Very rare. If one ever happens, you go to the nearest door jamb, and wait it out. Way less rare and scary than a hurricane or flood.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by avalanche85

Thanks guys. This is all very useful information. I'm looking into all the areas that were suggested - schools, real estate, etc. I'm also looking at earthquake/fault line information. As an east coaster, the idea of living in an earthquake zone is a little unnerving. Is this crazy? Do people worry about it...like when the "big one" will strike? The commuting time matters more to me in the bay area because I don't want family members to be all spread apart when an earthquake hits.

No, you are not crazy to worry about earthquakes, as the Bay Area is actually overdue for 7.0 or larger earthquake. Beware of Foster City...I believe it is built on landfill that was formerly part of San Francisco Bay. This kind of man made land is very vulnerable during an earthquake.