Sir Denis Eaton-Hogg

Make sure you use the school report site mentioned further up and search by property zip-code to ensure the property you are looking at is within catchment for the schools you like. The catchment zones can be very specific and 2 blocks one way or the other can put certain schools out of reach.

Also remember that Bay Area weather is weird, with lots of Micro climates that change rapidly is amazingly short distances. Not sure if it bothers you too much but its something to think about. For example the weather on the other side of the Caldecott tunnel (highway 24) in Contra Costa County is sometimes as much as 10 or 15 degrees warmer and usually at least 5 degrees warmer than the City or Berkeley/Oakland Area for example. The Berkeley Hills act as a break trapping much of the cooler air and fog that comes in off the Pacific.

Just my tuppence worth but, the mix of outdoor options, city/urban/metro environments in close proximity and good public transport makes the Bay Area a great location to call home...

Sir D

Sir Denis Eaton-Hogg

Two other things...

1)Realtors are DESPERATE for business, call up a few offices local to the areas you are looking at and speak to the staff, tell them what you are looking for and ask for their listings that fit your needs. They will send over details and work pretty hard to find properties that fit your needs. I have found US realtors a lot nicer to deal with than UK Estate Agents, in terms of customer service anyway. We even managed to get an agent to go and look at properties we found on Craigslist and give us an honest opinion. They are there to help. Most of the realtors still managing to make a living in this area do so because they are good.

2) Don't discount Google Earth... seriously.... it allows you to look at houses and locations relative to noisy freeways, cement rendering plants etc. Obviously its no substitute for local knowledge and a site visit but it can be really helpful in allowing you to 'walk a neighborhood and work out where local shops and amenities are in location to a property you are looking at and give you a general idea of the lay of the land.

welshbaloney

Can't comment about the schools but you could try one of the coastside towns like Pacifica or a little further over the hill (Devil's Slide - the new tunnel should be open in a year or so) Montara or Moss Beach...

surly

Nice if you don't mind being socked in by fog for most of the summer. Plus not a great commute, although there's no such thing as an easy commute in the SF Bay Area.
San Bruno or along the 280 corridor, not the 101, and rent baby rent especially on a H1B Visa. We rented for the first 3 years here.
Google maps street view is a good indicator as previously suggested.
An alternative it might be worth considering the East Bay, Berkeley or possibly Pleasanton or Danville, nice towns with good schools. Aviod Dublin IMO.

Folinskyinla

I moved away from The City at the end of 1977. But out of curiosity, I "zillowed" the first house I ever owned. http://www.zillow.com/homes/map/196-...ancisco-CA_rb/. It was blue when I owned it.

Seriously, http://www.zillow.com is a fun web site to play with.

Giantaxe

And that, in a nutshell, is why it pays to rent first... so much of what constitutes "good" or "bad" is in the beholder's eyes. What's a good fit for person A's situation may be a lousy fit for person B.

You've also not provided a price range. US towns tend to be more stratified price-wise than UK town, in my experience.