Millbrae is the northern-most city on the peninsula before you run deep into the fog belt. That means it is the most convenient city to live in (proximity to SF) and still avoid much of the foggy days of the city. This can vary as some parts of Millbrae stretch into the foggy-ish areas but overall the weather here is awesome and the combo of great climate and some of the best commuting options with BART, Caltrain, next door to SFO airport, and a very short drive to San Francisco makes the location damn near perfect. 


A Sunny Day is a Happy Day

The Best Thing About Millbrae?

Proximity to SFO is a big plus to those flying a lot but some locals complain about noise and air quality due to the flights. Flight patterns in many cases take planes north out of the airport and come in from the south. That means most should miss Millbrae but regardless just know going in that being near the airport means there’s going to be some racket and air issues from all those flights.


The Airport

The Worst Thing About Millbrae?

Millbrae is for sure a suburb but it’s one with a pretty active downtown commercial district. This includes lots of boutique shopping and casual dining options. [**Shanghai Dumpling Shop**](https://shanghaidumplingshop.com/) and [**Millbrae Pancake House**](https://www.millbraepancake.com/) are two of the family favorites. The fact that excellent but chill and casual spots are two of the local favorites should give you sense of the laid-back vibe of the city. There’s also plenty of shopping, some big-box and some family-run one-of-a-kind options. 
Outside of the dining and shopping options much of Millbrae is residential living on the rolling hills that give the city its name (Millbrae is Scottish for rolling hills). Families enjoy the peaceful, quiet and kiddo friendly blocks and parks that fill the city. The city hosts a hugely popular 
annual art and wine festival, held over Labor Day weekend that is much beloved by locals for its live music and a excellent selection of food, wine, and art. The city also hosts a weekly farmer’s market and a variety of different holiday festivals. ​​​​​​​There is also the beautiful Bayfront Park when you feel like a stroll along the water,  and Central Park, 13 acres of wonderful open green space for kiddos and doggos to run, tennis courts, playgrounds and fields for soccer and other sports.
One of the great appeals of Millbrae is its absolute perfection as a transportation hub to the rest of the bay area and the world. The Millbrae train station/transportation hub is one of the largest on the west coast and brings together options for getting pretty much anywhere you’d like to go. The city is also in the process of building a massive mixed-use center around the hub, in the vein of more transit friendly cities in Europe and Asia-Pac.


Lifestyle of Millbrae

Children in Millbrae are served by the Millbrae School District which rates a [**B+ on niche.com**](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/millbrae-elementary-school-district-ca/) for academics. Several of the elementary school options rank up at the A level, including Green Hills, Taylor and Spring Valley, so if you’re into that kind of thing check out how the neighborhoods align with the different schools. At the high school level Millbrae is part of the San Mateo Union High School District and that grades out at an A+ on niche.com with [Mills High School](https://www.niche.com/k12/mills-high-school-millbrae-ca/) in Millbrae in particular a shining star for academic performance.  

Schools in Millbrae

Millbrae is pricey, like all bay area cities, but what it has the others don’t is being an epicenter of transportation. There really is no other city like it if you want to ride public transportation (including airlines which are kind of public transport?) to get everywhere in the bay area and west coast. You could make a case that moving to Millbrae puts you in the center of an emerging transportation model more akin to European cities. 


Be On The Go! 

Why You Should Move Here Now?

Bayside Manor is a small neighborhood on the east side of the city with just six square blocks of residential development that includes the BART and Caltrain station although the quiet, tree-lined streets protect the area from the noise of the station. 
The neighborhood was established in 1945, and many of the homes from that era remain. Modest, single-story homes, originally built for government workers and WWII vets but now filled with a mix of multi-generational owners, and first time newer tech-scene/bio-tech workers. 

The homes are mostly two and three bedroom and between 1,000 and 1,500 square feet and mostly small lots. Many homes have front porches and nice shade trees that bring residents out on warm days and nights. Prices are lower for the city at averages around $1.4m, a good price considering its access to Bayside Park, the best recreational spot in the city. Commuters also love the neighborhood since the BART/Caltrain stations is just a ten-minute walk. 


Bayside Manor

Capuchino sits at the north end of Millbrae and enjoys an abundance of green space owing to the 34-acre [**Capuchino High School**](https://www.smuhsd.org/capuchinohigh) campus, the fairways of the adjacent Green Hills Country Club and the pronounced greenery that fills the blocks and yards. While the neighborhood is certainly suburban it is unique in that it is the only area outside of downtown with its own commercial strip. This gives it a unique and vibrant energy other more purely suburban neighborhoods are missing. The streets are winding and non-gridded and this combination of rural, suburban street-design and small collection of restaurants and shops marks Capuchino as different than its neighbors. 

Capuchino High School is here (technically in San Bruno but pretty much in the neighborhood) and that makes high school for your kiddos really easy. There are multiple elementary schools that border Capuchino with [**Green Hills**](https://www.millbraeschooldistrict.org/greenhills) to the south among the best. The neighborhood is full of post-WWII homes, smaller ones on the east side and bigger as you move up the hills to the west.  Prices align with that distinction as well. The flat section of Capuchino to the east is filled with mostly three-bedroom ranches and sell for ~$1.8m and the larger, generally remodeled homes up the hill with be in the $2m+ range. 


Capuchino

Glenview Highlands lives up to its name and is primarily made up of contemporary homes with wonderful bay views. The neighborhood is filled with new-ish single-family homes, generally three to five bedrooms and as with most neighborhoods in the hills, is  pricey with a median sale price of $2m+. 
It borders the 280 freeway which means lots of lush greenery surrounding the streets, and excellent commute options north to SF or south down the peninsula to Silicon Valley. [**Lion’s Park**](https://www.sanbruno.ca.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Belle-AirLions-Park-16) is in Glenview Highlands and is popular with families due to a nice Baseball/Softball field, Football field, Soccer Field, playground and tons of room for the kiddos and doggos to run around and play. 


Glenview Highlands

Green Hills became a neighborhood in the mid-1970’s when it shifted from being a flower-growing/florist commercial area to a beautiful residential area. Named after the country club and elementary schools that are part of the area its newness means it is less dense than the rest of the city. Care was taken to built cul-de-sacs and plenty of private space for larger homes and lots. Green Hills comes with its own park (aptly named Green Hills Park) where lots of younger kiddos play on the playground and open green spaces and its own greenbelt that runs through the golf course and provide the city’s only above ground natural creeks. 

Homes are mostly built around and most have all pitched roofs and wood siding. They have the “Lake Tahoe” sort of look common to late 1970s California design and provide a stark contrast to the prevailing ranches of other neighborhoods. As noted, this area ain’t cheap and the media home price is ~$2.5m. Many find it worth the price as the elementary school is top-rated and much beloved by locals. 


Green Hills

Mills Estate sits on the southern edge of the city, on the Burlingame border and it carries with it much of the fancier Burlingame neighborhood feel and home prices. Mills Estate was established in the mid-50’s and some of those older homes are still here but its popularity is due to the newer, larger, more upscale homes that offer amazing views of San Francisco Bay. Families pay the price for the area in part for the homes and in part due to the fact that Mills High School and Franklin Elementary, two A-rates schools,  are both in the neighborhood. Median sale price for Mills Estate is $2.77m so that ain't cheap, but it’s less than neighboring Burlingame (it’s confusing but there is a neighborhood called Mills Estates next door in Burlingame, note the “s” on the end) and you not only get the great schools but also Mills Estate Park and [**Spur Trail Park**](https://www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/departments-services/public-works/parks-division/spur-trail-phases-i-ii), a beautiful paved trail that offers hikers great views and nice bucolic paths for walking. 


Mills Estate

Meadow Glen is a neighborhood created for first-time buyers, right after WWII and while the median sale price is now ~$1.7m, it retains that entry-level reputation due to its often smaller 3-bed, 1-bath homes, all within an easy walk of downtown. Couples and small families, all comfortable with smaller homes, but who demand good walkability and a nightlife, appreciate the walkscore of 91!. In addition to shopping and restaurants, you’re also less than a mile from the BART/Caltrain station, so a big bonus for commuters. 

Families and singles also love the fact that you have at the neighborhood's southern edge direct access to Central Park and the [**Millbrae Recreation Community Center**](https://www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/departments-services/recreation). Great for the kiddos to play and recreate. If you’re single, a couple without beans, or a young family looking to stay active in the downtown area and recreation spots like Central Park, then put Meadow Glen on your shortlist. 


Meadow Glen

Millbrae

**How are the neighborhoods in Millbrae?**

No areas to avoid. If you move to the Peninsula it is all easy going. Just two or three major lanes to drive.

I-280 (ontop of the hills) pretty much a private highway to get to your house on the hills or your weekend getaway to north/south/coast.

US-101 (the daily commute/grind).

El Camino (the main road to get to your local shops). Along the Millbrae/San Bruno section of El Camino, they have added a TON* of crosswalk lights. That has slowed drivers down a ton. So it makes crossing El Camino easier/safer somewhat. The traffic has calmed a bit too.

Millbrae is just adjacent to SFO an international airport so you will encounter everyone. I would actually avoid that Caltrain/BART station area only because I already avoid it since traffic can backup due to the airport and unforeseen delays/large influx of people.

If you are wondering about crime, Millbrae is very sleepy. The only crime that occurs on the peninsula is if you wear an expensive $$$$ watch and someone follows you, they will likely snatch it. It has happened in Burlingame and on occasion Millbrae.

Other than that all the neighborhoods are very nice and good. No crime. I don't use next door. I just watch how everyone drives around me. The calmer they drive, the better the neighborhood.

For example, some neighborhoods have middle aged men out in the middle of the day riding kid's bikes!

Other neighborhoods have women jogging with dogs or with a stroller in the middle of the day!

Millbrae just has older retirees walking around during the day. Hope this helps.

**How are the neighborhoods in Millbrae?**

Agree with all the other comments. Millbrae is a very quiet suburban town, except for some busy traffic streets here and there. There's an authentic mid-20th century "main street" (Broadway) with shops, restaurants, and a farmer's market...plus, along parallel El Camino larger stores and shopping centers--within walking distance of the Caltrain station four (? I think) big grocery stores including a Trader Joe's and a Safeway. And a Walgreen's.

One thing to be aware of, some years ago Millbrae eliminated its police department and contracted public safety services to the San Mateo County Sheriff. I think the old police station was turned into a sheriff's substation. From what I hear it works OK, but periodically it's disconcerting to see a sheriff's patrol car drive by you, or a couple parked along the street--since in most incorporated towns and cities the county sheriff only performs limited specific services (like evictions), rather than generalized crime prevention and response. But just mentally translate all those sheriff's cars to police cars, and it will seem completely normal.

One other thought. Anywhere in Millbrae you will hear some airport noise from time to time. It's usually just a deep rumble of planes taking off (on many days they start their take-off run with their backs to Millbrae, so the engines are pointed towards the hills) Most people don't find this annoying at all--it's just some ambient noise, like perpetual distant thunder. But listen for it if / when you visit Millbrae, and decide if it would bother you. The end of the runway is across the freeway from the BART / Caltrain station.

**Where to live in Millbrae, and will it be nice (area/commute)**


Millbrae is an okay town, but not the nicest in the area. Burlingame is one town south and it a much nicer place to live, but is very expensive. Generally, as you go north from Millbrae the weather is more cloudy/foggy, but they are more affordable -- until you hit SF which is ridiculously expensive.

If I had a choice I'd rather live in RW City than Millbrea, it has more to do, is warmer and is about the same price. Everything between RW City and Millbrea is very expensive unless you are in a more sketchy area.

You may want to reconsider living right in the middle of both your commutes. An alternative would be for you to take CalTrain to the Millbrea BART station and then transfer over. The commute would suck more, but maybe your BF could make it up to you by making dinner or something seeing how his commute would be so short.

Millbrae, California

A Place In The Sun

Looklyloo Score: 86

We're on it!