Millbrae Meadows real estate conforms to the trends of its time. Single-story homes, some with daylight basements, perch on the sides of sloping hills to take advantage of east-facing views. Some share design traits with the California mid-century modern homes of Joseph Eichler.

Homes in original condition have three or four bedrooms, two or more baths, garage between, 1,300 and 2,000 square feet of living space. Many, however, have been expanded and remodeled, adding square footage (and occasionally a second story) to their original mid-century footprints. Homes sit on 5,000 to 6,000 square-foot lots, some with bay views. Neighborhood homes now sell for between $1.375 and $2 million — a long way from the $15,450 they commanded in 1955.

Millbrae Meadows is quiet and almost exclusively residential but is still convenient for auto and transit commuters. Despite a microscopic WalkScore of 11, the neighborhood is only a five-minute drive from downtown Millbrae and 10 minutes from Burlingame’s Broadway commercial district. San Francisco International Airport, which owes its expansion to dirt from the Macco Pit, is also 10 minutes away by auto.

While similar to nearby neighborhoods in Millbrae and San Bruno, Millbrae Meadows adds a few perks like access to Junipero Serra Park and Millbrae Meadows Park and the beloved Millbrae Meadows Swimming Club (founded in 1960) plus proximity to the 280 freeway and Millbrae’s downtown CalTrain and BART station. Neighborhood children attend

It’s difficult to imagine that peaceful, suburban Millbrae Meadows is only 20 minutes from San Francisco, but it is and that’s something that separates this neighborhood from further-out suburban enclaves. Millbrae Meadows provides all of the serenity of suburban living without sacrificing access to all the perks of urban living.

In many ways, Millbrae is the embodiment today’s ever-changing Peninsula city. A small town facing perpetual growth, Millbrae grapples with issues relating to transportation, housing, education and a constantly evolving demographic makeup. So far, this town of 21,000 has met each challenge head-on, packaging a state-of-the-art BART and Caltrain station with increased downtown residential building, upgrading and expanding its downtown core and demonstrating to the world that this little town is more than a simple “suburb.” Millbrae grows; Millbrae thrives.

Millbrae occupies a market segment just below that of southern neighbor Burlingame and above that of San Bruno, with whom it shares a boundary to the north. Its residential neighborhoods include the tree-lined, pre-war streets of Millbrae Highlands and the sleek, jet-age homes with views of Mills Estates. It also has a number of entry-level neighborhoods made up of simple, neat ranch homes on 5,000 square-foot lots. It has its aforementioned downtown, its increasingly urban condominium and apartment market, and a large eastern quadrant bisected by El Camino Real and bordered by San Francisco International Airport. It offers superior transportation options, proximity to San Francisco and a close relationship with the airport originally known as “Mills Field.” In fact, the airport has been responsible for much of Millbrae’s post-war growth.

Millbrae’s modern roots should be familiar to anyone who’s studied San Mateo County. They begin in 1821, when the Mexican government granted Rancho Buri Buri to Jose Antonio Sanchez. In 1860, banker Darius Ogden Mills purchased 1,000 acres of Rancho Buri Buri. He called his new estate “Millbrae,” a combination of his last name and the Scottish word for “rolling hills.”

Eventually, most of Mills’ land was subdivided and became the city of Millbrae. Mills Field, for example, was originally built on 150 acres of Mills’ land. Mills’ original 42-room home lasted until 1954, when it burned to the ground.

Like a number of Peninsula cities, Millbrae’s greatest sustained period of growth came after World War II – in part driven by the growth of the nearby airport. Because of this, the city’s housing inventory – especially the part located at the city’s western edge — includes a large percentage of newer homes. Millbrae real estate runs the gamut, price-wise, ranging from entry level to sprawling properties that fetch nearly $2 million on the open market. Residents tout Millbrae’s friendly, small-town atmosphere and – not insignificantly – its well-regarded public schools, when speaking of their city. The city’s annual all-community events, like the Millbrae Art and Wine Festival, are also a point of pride for locals.

It is where residents care about their home town, be they tech industry newcomers, recently-arrived immigrants or old-timers whose stores date back to the days when Millbrae’s east side was full of flower fields and nurseries. This is only one of the many reasons Millbrae is the Peninsula everytown.