Many home buyers that are looking for property on the Peninsula are moving out of San Francisco. There are various reasons:

1. Closer to Silicon Valley job
2. Moving from apartment/condo to single-family home
3. Lifestyle change from “City” living to a suburbia
4. Starting a family: looking for great schools and safe neighborhood to raise kids
5. Better year-round weather
6. Combination of the above

There are a lot of reasons that people choose where they ultimately purchase their home, and the Peninsula offers many choices.

Starting with the northern-most Peninsula cities, Daly City, South San Francisco, San Bruno and Pacifica (on the coast) are close to San Francisco for those people that work in San Francisco or who don’t want to be too far away from the City. Although South San Francisco is considered more industrial, affordable homes can be found.  

Above San Bruno, courtesy of cocoi_m

Millbrae is the first city that has better weather (outside the fog bank) and great schools. Many home buyers are looking in Millbrae to purchase their home. They may still work in the City or in Silicon Valley. The commute to both areas is easy.

Burlingame, known as the “city of trees,” is the next city if we continue moving south down the Peninsula. The weather is good and it offers a wide range of apartments, condos and single family residences.

Hillsborough is a unique community with outstanding  schools, police department and emergency services for its exclusive residents.

San Mateo is the next city, moving southward, and offers a wide variety of housing, schools and community. Its easy access to San Francisco, the East Bay and Silicon Valley make it a popular hub to the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Foster City is a planned city built on marshland on the San Francisco Bay that offers apartments, condos and single family homes amongst tree-lined streets. It’s a thriving community that has been very popular since 1971.

Belmont is about half way between San Francisco and San Jose, which makes its location very desirable. Along with it’s great schools, rolling hills and rural community setting, Belmont is a very desirable community for raising a family.

San Carlos, known as the “city of good living,” offers great weather, a quaint downtown and outstanding schools. This city offers home buyers a wide variety of home styles, hills or flatland and a central location on the Peninsula for commuters.

Redwood City is the heart of San Mateo County government and has been experiencing the revitalizing of the downtown area with great restaurants, cafes, entertainment and shopping. Redwood probably offers the largest diversity in living, with very low-cost housing to very high-end properties in the western, hilly areas of Emerald Hills and the Farm Hill Road areas to Redwood Shores on the Bay.

This is just a sample of the most popular destinations on the San Francisco Bay Area peninsula. For more insider information, check out our Local Explorer, or drop me a line if you have questions.

Downtown Redwood City, courtesy of pbo31