Rob

I"ve needed to travel to or through different parts on a half dozen occasions, and my subjective opinion is that overall, I would not want my wife or kids to walk there alone, day or night. I have also checked crime stats for Bayview, and they seemed to support my subjective sense. Sad to say, because undoubtedly most of the people there are wonderful folks. But the bad seeds seem to cause more trouble than I care to risk encountering by going there very often. Only my perception and opinion (I'm an ethnic minority, if that matters to understanding my viewpoint). Like others said, in the future, it may improve and be a good investment from that standpoint. Best of luck, rob. - Fri Jun 20 2008, 11:04

I don't think anybody mentioned Pacifica yet (suburb of SF). I'll mention it because I live here, and I see homes coming up listed right around 500 right now. Of course, I don't know what you mean by decent, but I would say they are good livable homes (not new 'executive' homes - have to go further out for that), and Pacifica is a great, safe, friendly, scenic area. Best of luck, rob. - Fri Jun 20 2008, 00:59

Hi Katie, I just answered this similar question to someone coming from Minnesota. I'm not an agent, just a person who used to live Midwest and came to Bay area with your same question a few years ago (I even lived in South Dakota, too). I agree with the person who said the Peninsula is the best bet, because you don't get stuck with a bridge commute. I personally chose Pacifica to be near beach, trails (galore!), mountains, and it has a nice homey small town feel while still being near SF. It does have fog, mostly in July and August, but on and off throughout summer. Pacifica was also more afforable than nearby San Bruno and Millbrae (mainly becaues of fog). The mid and lower peninsula cities (Foster City, Belmont, Burlingame) have some really nice areas, but pricier for similar houses, so I made the decision to get more house and yard for my money, and traded eternal sunshine summers. Note: southern Pacifica (namely Linda Mar and Vallemar areas) is sunnier, but further away from highway access. Will add 10+ minutes to commute to SF compared to Manor and Fairmont areas. Good luck with your search. NoCal is great - you will love it here. -rob - Fri Jun 20 2008, 00:51