San Bruno is a suburb with a small commercial district/downtown but it punches way above its weight class for public transport options. The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system stops here and will take you down to SFO airport, up into San Francisco, across the bridge to Oakland (and the Oakland Airport) or Berkeley, or around the bay and down to towns in the east bay including Dublin/Pleasanton, Fremont, and even North San Jose. You can also take the Caltrain stop from San Bruno down the peninsula to Redwood City, Palo Alto, San Jose, and even down to Gilroy. There’s no better suburb to live in if you want to avoid driving around the Bay Area traffic. Oh, and if you do want to drive you’re right on the edges of 101 and 280, the two major freeways in the area. Finally, and to many the best part, you’re just a mile from SFO, the major Bay Area airport. 

If you live a mile or two from an airport you’re going to hear the planes. Most residents seem to have gotten used to it or know about it when they move in, or live on the western side of the city and don't hear it as much, but just good to know going in that planes taking off make some noise. 


LookyLOO Review of San Bruno

San Bruno is an interesting, maybe even quirky place. Mostly thought of as a suburb but with a fair number of apartment/condo complexes to supplement the single-family homes, it has a mix of young professionals/couples and families. 

This diverse mix of locals shares a funky downtown running along El Camino and San Mateo Avenue. The boutique mom-and-pop offerings include [Kava Bar](http://www.kavabarsanbruno.com/)), a cool spot serving Fiji’s national drink, Neelan Pacific Market, and Fiji Market, family-owned markets offering international spices and foods. There are also truly one-of-a-kind shops, including a Hula dance school, [Paradise Hooka Lounge](https://paradisehookahlounge.com/), martial arts centers, and any number of other non-chain experiences that make San Bruno feel like an old-school downtown neighborhood. 

There are of course plenty of suburban lifestyle happenings here. The outdoor experiences available are pretty amazing given the suburban settings. You have the Santa Cruz Mountains bordering the western edge of town, and a half dozen more wonderful outdoor parks and hiking trails inside the neighborhood borders. Raising the kiddos here means you'll get as much outdoor play as your heart desires and all the common little league sports happen within the parks and rec system San Bruno offers. 

Lifestyle 

The San Bruno Elementary School District scores lower than the districts south of San Bruno with a B- on [niche.com](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/san-mateo-union-high-school-district-ca/). Depending on the neighborhood, however, you can find a school that bumps up into the B+’s so just keep an eye on that if you’re watching the school scores. At the high school level, San Bruno is part of the San Mateo Union High School District which jumps to an A+ on [niche.com](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/san-mateo-union-high-school-district-ca/). Peninsula and Capuchino are the two public high schools in the city with Capuchino the higher performer in part due to their IB and AP offerings and in part due to the diversity of students and supportive administration. 


Schools 

We like the quirk of San Bruno. It’s quiet (notwithstanding the airport) relative to other bigger neighbors but has a diverse population in all the ways that's possible: age, race/ethnicity, etc., and that diversity is supported by local restaurants and shops that come from a diverse community of quirky shopkeepers. If you’re looking for cookie-cutter, posher neighborhoods then you can find them. If you’re looking for something with more flavor, put San Bruno on your list. 


The Cool Quirk

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**yeougom**
7mo ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

I live in San Bruno.

San Bruno is right at and below the fog line, but if you live south of San Bruno Ave, you will have sunny weather but just north of you the fog rolls over the northern part of San Bruno and of SSF. It’s a gradient of wind and temperature from San Bruno down the peninsula, but I think as long as you live below the fog line in San Bruno, feels very similar in weather to Millbrae and Burlingame.

Depending on your location, the airplane noise can range from loud to kinda notice it. Check out the noise maps online. eastern parts of San Bruno gets the most noise and the southern and western San Bruno gets the least noise.

San Bruno/Millbrae downtown isn’t as cute as the other downtowns in the peninsula. Still safe with good eateries, but won’t feel like well groomed burlingame ave downtown.

Presumably the public schools in San Bruno are just ok, but not great. Though I don’t know much about this.

The good things about San Bruno is that the commuting is really nice to both SF and down south. The 280 and 101 (and 380) are easily accessible.

For more reviews of what living in San Bruno is like from locals, check out [The Reviews](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/san-bruno/reviews).


Reviews of San Bruno from Locals

San Bruno’s downtown district is not a classic suburban/town “downtown” with a grassy square and community events happening every Saturday. Instead it centers around the commercial district between Huntington Ave and El Camino Real. As noted in the lifestyle section it’s filled with cool restaurants, boutique shops, a Hookah Lounge and even a 105-year old casino, [**Artichoke Joe’s**](https://artichokejoes.com/). There are plenty of apartment and condo options in the neighborhood, along with some single-family homes, but it’s truly ideal for young professionals or couples who want to be right on the BART and Caltrain station lines for commuting to work or play and have a few options for nights out when you want to stay local. 


Families/Young Professionals/DINKs

Downtown

Portola Highlands is a small, secluded neighborhood in San Bruno’s western hills that is much beloved by locals who appreciate how the homes often back up to the protected open spaces on the hills. The area has one street entrance via Sneath Lane that circles the neighborhood and gives it a private vibe, particularly when combined with the elevated position of the homes. 

The homes in Portola Highlands were mostly built in the 1960’s, which means they are larger than those on the flats of San Bruno (typically 2,000 sq ft+), and they also sit on bigger lots, meaning the kiddos have more room to play, and you have more room to breathe the fresh mountain-ish air. Another bonus for locals –  the highest rated district school, Portola Elementary, is right in the neighborhood. 


Families

Portola Highlands

Mills Park is one of San Bruno’s first neighborhoods. Built for the most part at the end of WWII it is known for modest, one-story homes that were intended as starter homes for returning GI’s and other middle class couples and families looking to escape the city. Since then many have been bought and expanded on the typically 5,000 sq ft lots. 

Locals appreciate Mills Park for its proximity to downtown, which it borders to the east, and the 280 freeway, which it borders to the west. The blocks here wind along nice curving, quiet streets so even though you’re a walk to the restaurants and shops of downtown, you also get a nice quiet, suburban feel. [**Grundy Park**](https://www.sanbruno.ca.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Grundy-Park-14 ) is smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood so the kiddos have a great big open grass area to run around, along with a nice playground and picnic areas for the whole family. 

Families/DINKs

Mills Park

Huntington Park is one of San Bruno’s first “suburban” neighborhoods, with homes built just prior and just after WWII. It is the most southern of the San Bruno neighborhoods and that is a huge plus if you’re looking to avoid some of the fog you get in the more northern and western areas. Don’t underestimate the importance of micro-climates along the coast of Northern California!

Another huge bonus to Huntington Park is the presence of the city’s most beloved green spaces, [**San Bruno Park**](https://www.sanbruno.ca.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/City-Park-3) and [**Junipero Serra County Park**](https://www.smcgov.org/parks/junipero-serra-park). No other neighborhood offers as much green space within walking distance. With that you also get a short walk to the El Camino commercial district and [**Parkside**](https://www.sbpsd.org/o/pis), San Bruno’s only public middle school, is in the neighborhood. 


Huntington Park

Crestmoor is on the western edge of San Bruno and much beloved for how it runs alongside the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains and a walk from San Andreas Lake reservoir. If you’re looking for a suburban neighborhood that gives you direct access to some of the most beautiful land in the country then put Crestmoor on your list. In addition to the mountains you also have Buckeye and Crestmoor Canyon Parks in the neighborhood so you really can’t do better for an outdoor lifestyle than Crestmoor.  Crestmoor Canyon/Crestmoor Canyon Park are in particular pretty amazing, with over 76 acres of wooded hiking trails and play spaces for families. 


Crestmoor

San Bruno

**yeougom**
7mo ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

I live in San Bruno.

San Bruno is right at and below the fog line, but if you live south of San Bruno Ave, you will have sunny weather but just north of you the fog rolls over the northern part of San Bruno and of SSF. It’s a gradient of wind and temperature from San Bruno down the peninsula, but I think as long as you live below the fog line in San Bruno, feels very similar in weather to Millbrae and Burlingame.

Depending on your location, the airplane noise can range from loud to kinda notice it. Check out the noise maps online. eastern parts of San Bruno gets the most noise and the southern and western San Bruno gets the least noise.

San Bruno/Millbrae downtown isn’t as cute as the other downtowns in the peninsula. Still safe with good eateries, but won’t feel like well groomed burlingame ave downtown.

Presumably the public schools in San Bruno are just ok, but not great. Though I don’t know much about this.

The good things about San Bruno is that the commuting is really nice to both SF and down south. The 280 and 101 (and 380) are easily accessible.

**FullMetalWombat**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉

Here is my perspective having lived in the area but south of San Bruno Avenue:

it rarely gets hot in San Bruno. Daytime temperatures are in the mid 50s to mid 70s for most of the year depending on season. There usually are not more than 2 to 3 weeks where you would really think about air conditioning and those are great times to either head a bit north or west to the Pacifica or Half Moon Bay beaches. The hotter temperatures tend to come in September. June, July, and August have a fair amount of wind and fog but mostly remain in the low 60s to mid 70s. I personally love the cool, sunny summer days when the fog line is a couple miles north in Daly City. Rollingwood is noticeably foggier than south of San Bruno Avenue so I would recommend looking a little farther south if that is an option. If we are going there though, Millbrae and Burlingame probably spend more time in your low to mid-70s sweet spot than San Bruno.

Rollingwood is not a walkable community as others have said, nor really are any of the communities closer to Skyline Boulevard. There is a ton of shopping nearby via car, so I don't think there is anything to worry about there. The downtown San Mateo Avenue (this is in San Bruno, by the way, despite the name) shopping area isn't bad and has lots of food options and ethnic markets. Serramonte is nearby with its mall and farmers market. There are multiple large Asian markets and Costcos within a 10-minute Drive. Freeway access is really easy and there are multiple BART and Caltrain stations you can drive to. Downtown Burlingame is a 15 minute drive. Downtown San Mateo is about a 20-minute Drive. I can't speak to the driving commute to downtown San Francisco these days.

**Thinking of Moving to San Bruno , California? Watch This First! |San Bruno Neighborhood Guide**

San Bruno, California

Little Italy

Looklyloo Score: 89

Reviews

What's it like to live in San Bruno?