Looking for housing in the SF Peninsula

[BaldingStoic]

Hi, A few months ago I moved from San Diego to the SF Bay area for a new job.  All is great except for housing.  I'm in corporate housing now, but need to find my own place in a Sep/Oct time frame.  Originally I was planning to buy a home, but with simple no-frill houses going for ~1.5 Million I just can't bring myself to tie up so much in real estate and am now considering renting. Would love suggestions. 

I have 3 kids (ages 3, 6, and 9) so school district is important.  I work in Foster City so prefer nearby areas such as San Carlos. Belmont, San Mateo, Foster City, or Redwood Shores. Quite flexible of costs depending on quality of the home (expecting to pay between $4,000 and $5,500).   Also, on the off chance that someone local reads this, who's looking to rent out a place or sell direct without a broker, please feel free to follow-up. 

Best, Toby

[Mother Fussbudget]

I owned a house in Fremont for 4 years, and commuted daily across the bay to Menlo Park.  But that was YEARS ago.  These days you're probably better off renting in that UHCOL area (Ultra-High-Cost-Of-Living).  All the best.

[ysette9]

Renting is the way to go and Craigslist is the place to find it. I think the locations you have listed are pretty good, with places like San Carlos likely having better schools than Redwood Shores. You can also consider the Roy Cloud area of west Redwood City (near 280) which is also good (from what I hear) but I have been advised to avoid the rest of Redwood City in general.

Can you commute using 280 instead of 101? 280 is a much better freeway overall. Generally speaking, the more west you go, the more expensive it will be but also the nicer the neighborhoods and schools will be.