Help me find a San Fran suburb

[Anonymous]

We are moving to SF area in January (DH got a new job) where should we live? I am looking for a suburb that has a lot of families, good schools and where we can get a decent sized house for about 1.1 mil. Is there anything out there?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

What do you consider "decent sized"? $1.1M sadly does not buy you much in most areas with good schools and reasonable commutes to Downtown SF.

Key questions:
- How big a house do you need? (Not want, but need!)
- What is the longest commute you'll consider and where do you need to commute to?
- How old are your kids, and what do you consider "good" schools?
- Any other specific considerations?

[Anonymous]

maybe san rafael or novato. commute is not great though

[Anonymous]

The question is what is a reasonable sized house to you? Houses in the bay area are smaller than houses in other parts of the country in general.

The next question is how far are you willing to commute, and do you have the sort of job where a little bit of regional geographical flexibility is necessary. For example, if your DH works in tech and getting a job in the peninsula in the future is not out of the question, the East Bay or Marin would not be a strategic place to live. Are you planning on looking for work too, and is your work geographically flexible and/or centered more in one region of the bay area? If both of you intend to work in SF, living in Marin or the East Bay would be fine. IMHO it's easier to find houses in East Bay and Marin suburbs in that price range than closer to SV that have decent schools.

East Bay: Berkeley and Albany sometimes have 3 bedroom houses in that price range (although be prepared to move fast and wave contigencies), El Cerrito/Kensington is a nice area for families although the schools historically are not as good (this is starting to change), Alameda, Castro Valley, Fremont. Over the hill there's Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and Moraga. Then a little further down there's Fremont.

Marin: San Rafael is probably the best suggestion, although it is a bit of a commute to SF driving to the ferry. Other options might be Mill Valley, Larkspur, Kentfield, Ross, etc. but you have to get lucky to find anything in the 1.1 million range. And that assumes you are OK with a ferry commute and only planning on targeting downtown SF for jobs.

Closer to Sillicon Valley there's Fremont (I know it was East Bay, but it's accessible to the South Bay), and parts of San Jose have decent schools (I think Almaden and Cambrian and Campbell?) but those areas are hell to commute to the city from. The Pennisula mostly has either unaffordable property or terrible schools.

If the only employment area you are targeting is downtown SF and you are OK with a 45 minute train commute (plus getting to the BART station by car or bike), and you want stereotypically good suburban schools with nice access to nature, I would suggest Walnut Creek or Lamorinda (Lafayette/Moraga/Orinda).

[Anonymous]

1. Don't call it San Fran. Nobody does that except people from DMV.

2. Where will your husband be working? How long a commute is he comfortable with?

3. Check Walnut Creek, though you may not be able to afford it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much!!!

[Anonymous]

Terra Linda

[Anonymous]

Corte Madera, Alamaden Valley San Jose....where is the job?

[Anonymous]

Terra Linda

This made me smile. I grew up in Terra Linda. Graduated from TLHS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The question is what is a reasonable sized house to you? Houses in the bay area are smaller than houses in other parts of the country in general.

The next question is how far are you willing to commute, and do you have the sort of job where a little bit of regional geographical flexibility is necessary. For example, if your DH works in tech and getting a job in the peninsula in the future is not out of the question, the East Bay or Marin would not be a strategic place to live. Are you planning on looking for work too, and is your work geographically flexible and/or centered more in one region of the bay area? If both of you intend to work in SF, living in Marin or the East Bay would be fine. IMHO it's easier to find houses in East Bay and Marin suburbs in that price range than closer to SV that have decent schools.

East Bay: Berkeley and Albany sometimes have 3 bedroom houses in that price range (although be prepared to move fast and wave contigencies), El Cerrito/Kensington is a nice area for families although the schools historically are not as good (this is starting to change), Alameda, Castro Valley, Fremont. Over the hill there's Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and Moraga. Then a little further down there's Fremont.

Unfortunately, they don't anymore. We've been looking for a 3/2 for 2+ years at the $1-1.1Mish point and there's not much out there. (Plenty that gets listed, but not much closes in that range unless a lot of work is needed.) The market is finally starting to soften (though not much help for us since we also need to sell a house!) so it might get better by winter, but right now in the inner East Bay (Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland and El Cerrito neighborhoods with strong elementary schools [and even some without!]) most houses that get listed in the $800K-$1M range ultimately sell for well above that, and starter 2/1s are pushing $1M. It may be better farther out, though. I'd try Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill, and maybe parts of Moraga if you don't need to be close in. Castro Valley is still doable at that price point for larger homes. Fremont not so much, since it's part of the catchment area for some tech companies' incentive programs. (But if you're moving for a tech job, check out what home buying supports they may offer.)

I'd also seriously consider renting first in the city you're considering--both to get a feel for neighborhoods and because I strongly suspect the CA housing market is headed towards a correction, or at least a flattening, in the next year or two. Speaking from experience, it's no fun to buy at the peak.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing anywhere near SF or San Jose for 1.1M with good schools. The peninsula and SJ are now more expensive than SF. It would take your DH 2 hours each way to get to work. East bay is more affordable but you still wont find anything at 1.1M and good schools. Traffic from EB is a nightmare now.

[Anonymous]

OMG.. I'm so glad I moved out of there years ago. But I soooo miss the weather and the good food.

[Anonymous]

Our best friends live in San Carlos. They love their kids schools. Their neighborhood is very pretty-and seems super friendly when we’ve visited and our friends always have things up on FB like block parties, etc. They commute both into city and Palo Alto. It’s where I’d move....

[Anonymous]

There is nothing anywhere near SF or San Jose for 1.1M with good schools. The peninsula and SJ are now more expensive than SF. It would take your DH 2 hours each way to get to work. East bay is more affordable but you still wont find anything at 1.1M and good schools. Traffic from EB is a nightmare now.

This is not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our best friends live in San Carlos. They love their kids schools. Their neighborhood is very pretty-and seems super friendly when we’ve visited and our friends always have things up on FB like block parties, etc. They commute both into city and Palo Alto. It’s where I’d move....

There are almost no sfh in San Carlos for 1.1mil (OP's budget), even along the tracks. But yes, the Peninsula is a great place to live. I used to live there. But the schools are meh, for that much money. Not worth it IMO.