This is a sobering read as I prepare to move down to the Valley for work after years of talking about, and to a lesser extent dreaming about, it. One would hope that the experience for those of us who haven't had our stint there yet would still be worth it.
What say you, veterans? And what of San Mateo? That's where my new work is, and I wonder if I'd be better off living there than San Fran proper.
I live in Burlingame which is in San Mateo county, and about 5 minutes north of San Mateo city (I work in SF and from home). We absolutely love it. We moved down here from San Francisco about 6 years ago when we had kids.
San Mateo is very convenient to San Francisco on both US 101 and Caltrane (there are stops in both Burlingame and San Mateo) and is about 5 minutes from the airport. Burlingame and San Mateo both have central downtown districts that are both very pedestrian friendly, with a ton of great restaurants. Burlingame restaurants are a tad more upscale family oriented, and San Mateo has more affordable ethnic food (especially Japanese, as there is a large Japanese community in the area).
Burlingame public schools are considered very good (I don't know about San Mateo).
Feel free to ping me directly if you have any questions.
I loved living in San Mateo. I've lived all over the Bay Area, and that still rates as my favorite. It's a reasonable drive to both SF and the South Bay (and not painful to get to the ocean in Santa Cruz either), the downtown is walkable, and moderately interesting. There's not lots of options for things, but the options are generally decent.
There is zero reason to live in San Francisco, I don't really understand why people are so hung up on it. Live nearby, but not in. You reap all the benefits of the City, without the negatives. Nobody is shitting on your doorstep in San Mateo...
What say you, veterans? And what of San Mateo? That's where my new work is, and I wonder if I'd be better off living there than San Fran proper.