COMMENT BY
Rowan from San Mateo, CA
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
San Mateo, CA
COMMENT
Beautiful, family friendly,great sun and food
I have lived in San Mateo since 2013. It has seen tremendous growth, lots of new restaurants which have become progressively more high-end though there is ample mom-and-pop ethnic shop still. It is an honest vibe not at all pretentious like Burlingame for Palo Alto. People actually know each other. The high schools are top-notch, middle schools are about average. The elementary schools are Hit or Miss depending on where you live.Crime is low, weather is fantastic and there is excellent escapes into the mountains 4 hikes mountain biking as well as trips to half Moon Bay, Tahoe napa-sonoma, Russian River. The tech surge is definitely developing the area between the heart of silicon Valley and San Francisco. There are tons of jobs here.it is also 10 minutes from the airport yet sees none of the airport noise because planes are landing how across the bay instead of directly overhead and the takeoff is in a different direction away from San Bruno and Millbrae typically. About the only downside I can see is if you live really close to the train tracks you will hear train noise and horns which usually is only annoying during morning and evening rush hour for a couple hours. There is a Union Pacific rail that has a particularly loud horn but it is extremely rare and predictable. With Caltrain becoming electrified in the next couple of years it should become a whole lot quieter. Overall we love San Mateo.