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. 


Coyote Point or Downtown (we can't decide)

The Best Thing About San Mateo

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. 


Housing Prices

The Worst Thing About 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. 


Lifestyle of San Mateo

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 of 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 in San Mateo

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 your 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. Meaning 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?

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

**Moving to San Mateo **
**Thoughts on living in San Mateo as a 20 something year old (M29) moving here from NYC?**

Good call living in San Mateo if that is where your work is. The shorter your commute, the happier you will be. San Mateo isn’t the most exciting city, but it has a decent downtown with a good variety of restaurants. It is also easy to get to the ocean from San Mateo. Use Caltrain when you want to go to the city for fun on the weekends. There’s plenty to do around here, especially if you enjoy the outdoors!

**Moving to San Mateo**

I live in San Mateo for years and it has transformed into a nice suburb for young people. Very safe and quiet, a fairly big and diverse food scene and weather is not too hot or cold. No bridge to cross and easy access to the coast. 20 min to sf downtown. BTW, whoever recommended Oakland just wants you to get to robbed or car jacked. Only good areas of Oakland are in the hills. The apartments are in the flats and lake Merritt and those areas are quite dangerous.

**Living in San Francisco vs San Mateo
I've accepted a job offer near San Mateo and am looking for housing. I was leaning toward living near San Mateo Central Park because it's walkable to downtown, the gym, and the bus to work; my hobbies I can pursue in either city. However I often hear opinions about San Mateo being too "slow" or "boring" for younger people (I'm in my early 20s). I have a friend who signed an offer with the same company and he is looking for housing in SF instead. I was wondering how much I really will be missing out by not living in San Francisco in exchange for a shorter commute.

In your opinion what are the tradeoffs between living in San Mateo vs living in San Francisco?**


Answer:

I don't know the specifics of your arrangement, but if you have to commute, and if the job is going to be for a while, then I'd definitely live in San Mateo just for the commute.

You can always go to SF for events, but if you lived in SF, the commute will be mandatory.

San Mateo downtown is fairly lively and has a fair amount of young people, and you'll be close to other suburbs that offer similar experience. Depending on how you get on with your coworkers and where they're located, it could even be advantageous.

If going to big, major events all the time or having a very busy nightlife (even on weekdays, for example) is a big deal to you, then SF might be more appealing.

San Mateo, California

Mateo

Looklyloo Score: 87

We're on it!