Kimi,
You've found a great resource in Trulia Voices. Congratulations on your transfer to the HMB Ritz - a beautiful place that I enjoy visiting and is a tremendous community resource. I did similar research when I moved our family of 4 across the country (Ann Arbor, MI) - schools were a priority for me also; we lived there for 3 years. My children are now 19 and 17 and doing quite well.

I have first-hand familiarity with the local schools and educational resources and still volunteer when I can. Having lived on the Coastside for almost 20 years, I really enjoy helping families find the most suitable situation, whether it be for renting or purchasing here.

Thanks also to Robert and Pam...I know them both well! I also know Nate and am glad you're getting several answers.

The website, Coastside Real Estate and Lifestyles is all about our local community - tons of good information and still growing. I provided a link below to the Schools page; you may also want to check out the "Have/Need Rental" page. You can also find me on LinkedIn. Best of luck and welcome.

Marian Bennett

Hi There,
Robert beat me to it but I was going to suggest you speak to my colleague Marian Bennett who is a great agent and very knowledgeable about Half Moon Bay plus compiles a rental list on her blog whose address is below. I met her through our Homescopes.com blog and I am in Sonoma County. Marian's blog is below.

Hi Kimi. I'm the manager of the Coldwell Banker offices on the San Mateo Coast coast, near the Ritz Carlton. We have a list of area rental properties you can check out by calling or emailing one of our agents. I suggest you talk with Marian Bennett who knows the local schools intimately. She's also a great source of information for newcomers to the coast. Part of her website is devoted to rentals and there's one that will be available near the RC in September. She also does a blog about coastal life in the HMB area which you'll find informative since each of our several communities has it's own personality. I'll put her website with rentals below. Welcome to the community!

Good morning Kimi -

Congratulations on the new transfer!

I know you will love it here. Half Moon Bay and the rest of the Coastside is a wonderful place for a family to live.

I happen to have helped Ritz employees, who are now close friends, with home and rental information in the past and I am currently working with two families who are currently looking for a home.

My wife worked there for about a year in the spa and loved it (she now owns her own spa in HMB). She really liked being in close vicinity to the hotel because of the long hours that she worked. The closest community "over the hill" or north to San Francisco is an average of 20+ minutes. Keep in mind that there is off-site parking that can add another 15 minutes to your "commute"

Rents on the coast for 3bd/2 bath homes are anywhere from around $2400 to $3500 depending on the condition and the location. Depending on when you are moving I might have one available for you : )

Schools are good but as suggested below, refer to http://www.greatschools.net for recommendations and quality information. I have a packet available for you from the Cabrillo Unified School District should you need one.

As mentioned above I have some close friends who live on the coast and work at the Ritz. If you would like a few names your future coworkers to speak to in person about how they feel about living and working on the coast, I would be more than happy to provide their information for you.

Nate

There's definitely myriad of possibilities, depending on your needs relative to distance from your work, any unique needs of your kids, and where you ultimately would like to settle should you decide to purchase. http://www.greatschools.net is a good starting point to start familiarizing yourself with the local schools, but I would recommend looking not just at API scores, as many schools offer different programs depending on the needs of the kids. Off the top of my head, there's good schools in pretty much every city in the local area, from cities like Burlingame, to San Mateo, to San Carlos/Belmont, Redwood City, Menlo Park, and more. All depends how far you want to be, distance-wise, from your work. There's also plenty of good private schools out there, if that's a route you wanted to take as well....best of luck!