San Mateo has a lot to love and our two favorite things are in a virtual dead heat. Coyote Point Recreation Area is a haven for outdoor lovers. It sits on the Bay and has picnicking, swimming, windsurfing, bicycling, running, fishing, boating, and sailing. It also has a Magic Mountain Playground and a hands-on science center. It’s hard to believe when you’re this close to the Pacific but having a body of water where doing all these activities in a safe, beautiful space is an incredible benefit to families and young professionals. 

We’d say the same thing about having a legitimate downtown for going out to eat, drink, karaoke, consuming coffee and pastries, and doing some walkable boutique shopping. Suburban towns that have downtowns as fun as this are just different, and generally better places, and the combo of a downtown and amazing water-based outdoor recreation makes San Mateo tough to beat. 

It’s ridiculous to complain about housing prices when you’re a city in between two cities with the most expensive housing prices on the planet (San Jose and San Francisco) but we can’t help it. San Mateo is supposed to be the more humble and affordable neighbor of the fancier towns of Hillsborough and Atherton but the popularity of the downtown and the upgrades to housing over the years have put San Mateo in the upper echelon for housing prices. 

One thing San Mateo does have going for it though is plenty of apartment and condo options that put young professionals and couples in the mix. That means the area has a lot more energy and younger residents than the nearby bedroom communities. 


LookyLOO Review of San Mateo

San Mateo is a suburb but the variety of things to do here make it feel much more like a legit city than most ‘burbs. It’s not for nothing that Tom Brady came up through the San Mateo sports scene. This is a sports town with the schools and leagues hugely popular with families in the area. The sports culture extends to an overall sense that the city lives in the outdoors, either enjoying the water in the Bay to the east at Coyote Point or in the hills, trails and golf courses to  the west. When you combine this outdoor culture with the bar/restaurant/cafe and boutique shopping available downtown you get a pretty magical mix of opportunities for recreation for such a small city. 

To see what locals get up to for fun in San Mateo check out the [calendar of events](https://www.burbio.com/lists/yonkers-community-calendar). 

We highly recommend visiting San Mateo and staying in the community in a [VRBO](https://vrbo.com/affiliate/p4JS4ZC) rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our [partnership with Expedia](https://expedia.com/affiliate/9NZ8LBQ) as well.

Lifestyle 

San Mateo is right up at the top of the school rankings in the area and state with an A+ score on [niche.com](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/san-mateo-union-high-school-district-ca/). In keeping with that sense of San Mateo having it all the school district gets A’s across the board for: Academics, Teachers, Diversity, College Prep, and Clubs & Activities. Seriously, if your kiddos are into it they’ll find a way to participate in these schools. They offer both tons of AP but also IB and Gifted student programs for the go-getters in the community. You can hardly go wrong in the neighborhoods for great schools but the highest-rated schools, including [Aragon High]( https://www.smuhsd.org/aragonhigh), an exceptional high school, tend to be towards the southern end of the city. 


Schools 

Look, if you’re moving from New York then even San Francisco is going to seem boring to you. If however, you’re coming from another suburban area or smaller city then San Mateo is going to be wonderful due to the extensive mix of downtown and outdoor things to do. Add to that the fact you are smack dab in the middle of the peninsula between San Francisco/Oakland and San Jose means you have easy access to plenty else to do. That easy access is greatly enhanced by the fact that the Caltrain system runs right through Downtown San Mateo. This means you can walk to the station and train up to SF or down to San Jose. 


City-ish Life in the ‘Burbs

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**bayareainquiries**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

Come check it out! Doesn't have to be a permanent move, but trying to live somewhere different for a while is a major eye-opening experience.

You'll have no shortage of outdoor activities here, and the weather is far better year round than what you're used to. Just plan to have to take a bit longer to get to serious mountains and snow, but otherwise virtually any other activity you enjoy in Denver should be quite accessible here.

Food, especially (but not only) Asian cuisine, is great in the area. Though I realize Denver is a big city with diverse food, it's really amazing how much great food is available even in this 100k population suburban city and its surrounding neighbors. Plus for your own cooking, California gives you better access to fresh produce than pretty much anywhere else in the country.

The location of San Mateo is ideal geographically too. Less than 30 minutes of travel gets you to the coast, San Francisco, forests, or the heart of Silicon Valley depending on which direction you go.

The real negative, which you're probably aware of, is the cost of living. It's mind-blowing expense in and around San Mateo, even moreso than many other parts of the Bay Area.

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


Housing Prices

Reviews of San Mateo from Locals

Young professionals, young families and retirees flock to the Downtown neighborhood homes, condos/apartments. Many of them, like [**two50 Downtown**](https://www.two50downtown.com/) and and [**55 West Fifth**](https://www.equityapartments.com/san-francisco-bay/san-mateo/55-west-fifth-apartments) offer immediate access to the nightlife and also are loaded with in-building amenities. Living above or near the commercial spots is a huge draw for those who want a social life within walking distance of their home. There is a wide array of restaurants, cafes, and shops along 3rd Avenue and B Street and Central Park, mentioned earlier, is also adjacent to downtown so you get walkable access to outdoor play. 



Young Professionals/DINKs/Young Families/Retirees

Downtown San Mateo

This neighborhood is known for the beauty of the large luxurious homes, tree-lined streets and larger manicured lawns and gardens. Most of the residents are families and they get direct access to the excellent Central Park, a popular spot for outdoor activities, featuring playgrounds, picnic areas, and sports fields. Nearby, you can find various dining options, including Japanese cuisine at Fuki Sushi and Italian dishes at Il Fornaio. Home prices here start at $2.5m and go up from there. It’s worth it for many though to access amazing schools like [**Aragon High School**](https://www.smuhsd.org/aragonhigh), that is in the neighborhood and just a walk or bike-ride away. 


Families

Baywood/Aragon

Hillsdale is a family-centric neighborhood with some subdivisions with smaller ranch, bungalow and Craftsman style homes that are in the $1.5m-$1.7m range. While this is still incredibly pricey it is more accessible to the dual income younger families that work in the tech industry in the Bay Area but really want their kiddos in the San Mateo school system. Some of the homes in the area have been expanded from their original 1,100-1,500 sq foot sizes to much larger and those will pop up over $2m and appeal to bigger/more established families.  
Lots of the subdivisions here have cul-de-sacs, really built for kids to play in the neighborhood. Living in the neighborhood also puts you right in the midst of the [**Hillsdale Shopping Center**](https://hillsdale.com/), one of the premier mixed-use outdoor mall facilities in the Bay Area. With fine-dining, luxury theaters, bowling and bocce, upscale and boutique shopping and a variety of coffee and fast casual food options there’s kind of everything for everyone here.  


Hillsdale

San Mateo

**Excellent_Object2028**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

IMO San Mateo has the best weather in the area (and possibly anywhere). The weather is coastal moderate like SF but without the fog and cold summers. Summer highs are around 70-80 degrees while winter lows are around 50. Our house doesn’t even have AC and it’s not needed. It’s sunny most the time and great for outdoor activities pretty much year round

**bayareainquiries**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

Come check it out! Doesn't have to be a permanent move, but trying to live somewhere different for a while is a major eye-opening experience.

You'll have no shortage of outdoor activities here, and the weather is far better year round than what you're used to. Just plan to have to take a bit longer to get to serious mountains and snow, but otherwise virtually any other activity you enjoy in Denver should be quite accessible here.

Food, especially (but not only) Asian cuisine, is great in the area. Though I realize Denver is a big city with diverse food, it's really amazing how much great food is available even in this 100k population suburban city and its surrounding neighbors. Plus for your own cooking, California gives you better access to fresh produce than pretty much anywhere else in the country.

The location of San Mateo is ideal geographically too. Less than 30 minutes of travel gets you to the coast, San Francisco, forests, or the heart of Silicon Valley depending on which direction you go.

The real negative, which you're probably aware of, is the cost of living. It's mind-blowing expense in and around San Mateo, even moreso than many other parts of the Bay Area.

**NP_10**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

Bay area is known for its outdoors/hiking! It's a variety of kinds. Maybe different than Denver but still some of the best in most major city areas!

coastal hikes

smaller mountain/woods hikes (smaller mountains compared to Denver, but very much accommodates every experience level)

dessert-y hikes

a couple hrs to 'big' mountains

Basically every major type of environment, CA has

San Mateo is very centrally located in the Bay area! So it's not a far drive into SF, to Oakland, to San Jose. Definitely traffic but Denver has that too.

San Mateo is in a pocket of the Bay area that has some of the BEST weather, imo. Not crazy hot, not cold, not foggy. Really pleasant YEAR ROUND. Be warned though, a lot of places in the Bay area don't have AC. Newer places do, and if not, people have window units. Not a huge deal though unless you hate any heat.

San Mateo has good restaurant options, especially Asian. And again, it's not that far to go to restaurants in SF, etc.

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