I grew up in Belvedere, and my brother still lives
-
2/7/2007
It's a great place to live if you can afford it.
According to the Marin County Independent Journal's recent "Guide to Marin", the average cost of a house in Belvedere is $2.6 million.
According to Wikipedia, Belvedere has the highest per capita income of any city or town of 1,000 population or greater in the entire United States.
Belvedere consists of two islands and a lagoon adjacent to the Tiburon Peninsula. The second, smaller island (Corinthian Island) is shared with Tiburon.
The islands are thickly wooded, with beautiful homes and lovely gardens overlooking San Francisco Bay.
Narrow, winding roads are pressed in by foliage, which occasionally gives way to breathtaking views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito and Mount Tamalpais.
Residents can drive to San Francisco in about 25 minutes or take a commute ferry. There is also a ferry to Angel Island, which has a cove for mooring boats and a state park.
The San Francisco Yacht Club is in Belvedere. The Corinthian Yacht Club (at the tip of Corinthian Island) is in Tiburon. The Belvedere Tennis Club is in Tiburon, which is also home to the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
Houses on Belvedere Lagoon have their own boat docks. Some houses on Belvedere Island (on Beach Road and West Shore Road) also have docks. The first houses, many of them mansions, were built in the late 1800s on the southeast slope of Belvedere Island. Belvedere has a good selection of "mid-century modern" style houses notable for a design that lends itself to "indoor-outdoor" living.
There are no restaurants or stores in Belvedere (you must drive or walk to Tiburon.) There, many of the restaurants are built on pilings over the water. Watch out for the seagulls going after your food if you are eating on one of the outside decks. Sam's Anchor Cafe is not a cafe, but an old-time bar with a decent restaurant and a great Sunday brunch.
Belvedere is very quiet at night (you will hear foghorns and the bells on buoys out in the bay.) The weather is sunny most of the year. The fog that covers San Francisco generally does not get to Belvedere.
Crime is very low to nonexistent in Belvedere. Public schools are good to excellent, and there is a good choice of excellent private schools. Growing up in Belvedere, I found that the people who lived there were very interesting and generally nice.
Andrew | San Diego, CA