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Old 05-29-2007, 05:09 PM
 
101 posts, read 305,059 times
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My husband has accepted a job offer at Mills Peninsula Hospital and he'll start in June. We've been looking into real estate and find not much of anything under $1.5 that won't require major work. We have two kids age 5 and 2. I'm also expecting a baby in mid August. So we have to rent for year while we look at houses. I'm wondering if anyone could suggest an area to live that is not outrageously overpriced but still within driveable distance of the hospital? I looked into South San Francisco and San Bruno but I wasn't sure about safety or elementary schools. I'm considering renting a condo San Mateo since there seems to be the largest number of rentals available there. Can anyone give me insight into this area and what may be suitable for us?
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Old 05-29-2007, 10:09 PM
 
101 posts, read 305,059 times
Reputation: 149
Correction... I mean he'll start work in August.
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Old 05-29-2007, 11:38 PM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,382 posts, read 51,991,511 times
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I grew up at the edge of San Mateo, Burlingame & Hillsborough (known as "San Mateo Park"), and it was a great place to live! Of course that was eons ago, but it's still a very nice area for the most part. Burlingame doesn't really have any "bad parts", except maybe around Broadway Ave... San Mateo is very mixed, on the other hand, with a wide range of neighborhoods. My personal favorite, aside from the now over-priced San Mateo Park, is the San Mateo Hills area - that's basically anything west of Alameda de las Pulgas, and in the higher numbered streets (i.e. 39th & Alameda). It's also pretty nice along Hillsdale Blvd., and right at the Foster City border. Speaking of which, Foster City is a great little town, which is very safe & family-friendly.

San Mateo has a very good school district, and I think they let you choose among them. Bayside Elementary is particularly good, and when they get older, Borel Middle & Aragon High are probably the better ones. So if they do have district restrictions, you should look in whatever neighborhood gets you into those. But the others are fine too, so I think you'll be pretty safe with any school - except maybe Shoreview, which is in the worst part of SM. Foster City & Burlingame also have excellent schools, but I believe Foster City doesn't have it's own high school (they're sent to San Mateo). I went to private schools, aside from a few semesters at Park Elementary and SM High, so sorry I can't give more firsthand advice!

San Bruno, SSF & Daly City are okay, but I think your instincts are correct... these towns have lots of "iffy" neighborhoods, and I don't think the schools are very good in comparison. So I think you're on the right track, depending on exactly where that San Mateo condo is located. My family lived there for 15 years, from the time I was 6, and we all have nothing but fond memories.
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Old 05-30-2007, 08:08 AM
 
101 posts, read 305,059 times
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Thanks for the insider info gizmo. It really seems like a great place to live. We'd love to be in Hillsborough or Burlingame. Maybe after a couple years of saving up. It was suggested to me to not live east San Mateo (east of 101?). I couldn't imagine any area there being dangerous especially since I have LA to compare it to. I'm imagining that 'not so good' neighborhood means a little less white collar and more working class. Is that correct?
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Old 05-30-2007, 12:27 PM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,382 posts, read 51,991,511 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saimamom View Post
Thanks for the insider info gizmo. It really seems like a great place to live. We'd love to be in Hillsborough or Burlingame. Maybe after a couple years of saving up. It was suggested to me to not live east San Mateo (east of 101?). I couldn't imagine any area there being dangerous especially since I have LA to compare it to. I'm imagining that 'not so good' neighborhood means a little less white collar and more working class. Is that correct?
You're welcome, and I think you'll be quite happy in any of these places!
East San Mateo is considered the "bad" part, but there are a few spots that are nice (Foster City Blvd. & Hillsdale Blvd., mainly)... the worst areas are right around Delaware, East Poplar-East 5th, and in the neighborhood known as Shoreview. I hate to sound un-PC, but most of the locals refer to these parts as "Little Mexico", LOL. You'll occasionally see people dealing/using drugs on the street, loud music, bumpin' cars, and that sort of thing... I wouldn't call it super dangerous, but it's probably not where you'd want to live (unless you had no other choice). As with most of the Peninsula towns, El Camino is typically the "dividing line" between desirable and not-so-desirable - with the exception of Burlingame, which has very nice places around Burlingame Ave. & Peninsula Ave. And of course, Foster City is ALL east of El Camino, so they don't count. Anyway, I'm glad I could be of assistance, and feel free to PM me if you'd like more info on that specific condo. Good luck!
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Old 05-31-2007, 12:35 AM
 
25 posts, read 161,039 times
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just a word of advice; if your husband is going to be working for that hospital, make sure to get a good lawyer. My mother (a former employee) found out the hard way that Mills Peninsula is extremely corrupt. i'm not allowed to say much more than that because of legal reasons and also the suit we had with them has been settled already, but please trust me. i do not want your family(and so many others) and especially your husband to go through what my family and especially my mom went through because of Mills Peninsula.
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Old 05-31-2007, 05:28 PM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,382 posts, read 51,991,511 times
Reputation: 23833
I don't know anything about Mills being corrupt, but I guess any hospital has it's bad apples! I do know that it's otherwise a great hospital... they took care of my father after he shattered his foot, and also took excellent care of my friend's father during his final months (he died of leukemia - and happened to be a doctor himself, who was at one time employed by Mills). But regardless, I guess it's always a good idea to keep yourself legally protected, right?
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Old 06-05-2007, 11:30 PM
 
101 posts, read 305,059 times
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p-town, i'm sorry about your mother's experience. I know through my husband that politics, corruption and greed can definitely exist in the medical world. I hope he can steer clear of that. He actually turned down a job at UCLA because of some shady situation there. But we're pretty optimistic about Mills Hospital and the practice he will join. Gizmo, I've contacted some real estate (leasing agents) about homes and condos. We find that there's not much of a rental market out there and things go really quick. We're flying out there June 11th till 13th to find a place. We find there's rentals available more often in San Mateo, in the Hillsdale Mall area and in Foster City. So we may just have to settle with that for 6 months until we buy a home in Burlingame/Millbrae.
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Old 06-06-2007, 12:00 AM
 
1 posts, read 4,027 times
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Default San Mateo Village

Saimamon,

we r sad to be leaving the bay area (San Mateo) but excited to be heading back to LA. Check out the San Mateo Village area. It is a very quiet, friendly and safe area east of ECR (El Camino Real) and south of Hillsdale BL.

It is very close to the new Franklin Templeton Center (Whole Foods and etc) . Speaking of which, the Franklin Templeton Center also has new housing in the developement. Just off the 101 at Hillsdale Bl. It would be a very short commute to Mills. Good luck!!!
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Old 06-10-2007, 05:38 PM
 
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
256 posts, read 1,404,344 times
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I actually moved from the Village area of San MAteo about 2 yrs ago.... Shoreview and east of 101 i have never heard of called as "little mexico" although there is a high tongan/hispanic community there. It is far from a bad area and it is not a common occurance to see people drug dealing and things of the sort. That is a bit far fetched.... Along Norfolk st. between kehoe and hillsdale is the safest area over there though. I would say your best off with Foster City with the way you are talking and what is interesting you. FOSTER CITY is very nice. And it would be a great place for kids. I believe living in Foster City your kids could still go to the Burlingame schools.
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