Why San Carlos CA Is The City Of Good Living

Ever wondered where you can find the perfect blend of suburban charm, panoramic views of the bay, and just a super high quality of life? There's a good reason why they call this ‘The City of Good Living’. In this video, I'm going to share with you why people love living here, what it costs to live here from a real estate perspective, and everything else that you're going to want to know about San Carlos.

San Carlos is perfectly situated in the southern part of San Mateo County. We’re just north of Redwood City, and we're just south of Belmont. What's really nice about San Carlos, we're super close to Silicon Valley, anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. If you want to hop up to San Francisco, you're looking at about a 30 to 40 minute drive. San Carlos is in between the 101 Freeway and 280 all the way up in the hill, like many other communities in the area. It's such a fabulous place to live. You arguably have the best weather in the whole peninsula. Redwood City nearby does have this claim to fame of ‘Climate Best by Government Test’. But San Carlos is really fantastic. It's actually a little bit warmer the more south you go from Burlingame and San Mateo.

San Carlos is a really good blend from a weather perspective, topography,  you have the flatter areas, the hillier areas, and there's just a ton of nature throughout San Carlos. With its top rated public schools and fantastic downtown, there's so much that San Carlos has that a lot of people love. It's at the top of a lot of people's lists. So from a price point perspective, you can buy a home in San Carlos anywhere from the mid $1 million range up to $5 million at the higher end. So there's other towns that have higher ceilings on price point, but San Carlos is right in that sweet spot.

For anyone who is looking to buy a home, a two-bedroom home is going to be in the mid $1-millions up to the high $1-millions. A three-bedroom home is going to start in the high $1 million range and then go up to the high $2 million range. And a four-bedroom home is going to start in the mid $2 million range. And part of it's going to depend on where you are in San Carlos. So if you're in the flatter areas, that's going to be a much higher price per square foot than if you’re in the hillier areas. And that's not unique to San Carlos. That's just how it is on the peninsula, because in the flatter areas you're going to be closer to downtown. So if you're within walking distance of Laurel Street, which is the downtown area in San Carlos, that's going to be a little bit more expensive than if you're in some of the hillier areas. So if you're in Howard Park or White Oaks, that's going to be a much higher price per square foot than if you're up in the hills in the Beverly Terrace area, basically west of Alameda, east of 280 and on both sides, north and south of Brittan.

Like many other towns in the peninsula, there's a ton of commercial office space and lab space in San Carlos. And it's only growing. So up and down the industrial road corridor, you're seeing a lot of different companies in the biotech space that are taking up lab space. But one company that you might have heard of that was found in San Carlos was Tesla. We also have Oracle here, Checkpoint Software. There's a lot of businesses that are moving to San Carlos primarily because of the location, but also because of the zoning there that's a lot more friendly than maybe a couple of other towns where you can build offices. And I think people really like that because from an office employee perspective, you can just walk to downtown and you're very close to restaurants and you're close to the freeway. It's very convenient for working in San Carlos.

San Carlos is at the top of a lot of people's lists for buying a home in San Mateo County for many reasons, but primarily because of its awesome small-town community feel. Only a few other towns rival what San Carlos has. There's so many cool events that happen throughout the year. So there's an Art & Wine Festival, there's the Halloween Spooktacular, there's Hometown Days Festival. And on Eucalyptus Avenue in particular, people go all out for the holiday lights around Christmas time. Actually, the city makes traffic go one way then. And then around Halloween, that's one of the best spots to go in San Carlos for trick or treating.

For a town of 30,000 people, San Carlos actually has nine parks, which is pretty impressive when you think about that, for such a small area of land. Each park is a little bit different. Some are really large and flat parks and some are smaller, cuter neighborhood parks. Right now I'm in Burton Park, which is the largest park in San Carlos. It’s walking distance from downtown. It's very close to the Howard Park neighborhood and the White Oaks neighborhood. And it's a hub for for the community, for so many different activities. The land was actually purchased in 1936, and then in 1938 to build the predecessor of what's currently the park, the city floated a 20-year bond. And what’s pretty interesting, one of the provisions of that bond in the original purchase, was it precluded the game of baseball from being played here. Which is ironic because there's baseball on both sides of me here.

There's a few other activities at Burton Park that are totally worth mentioning. So in the summer, there's Movies in the Park, which is every Saturday from June to July at Flanagan Field. And then there's a Family Campout which happens every year, and that's a Friday at 4 p.m. to Saturday morning. And then there's also Music in the Park, which is every Friday from June to August at the amphitheater here in Burtpm Park from 6 to 8 p.m..

And now let me give you a quick overview about the eight other parks that we have in San Carlos. There's Arguello Park, which is up in the hills, that has a really nice playground, baseball diamond, soccer field and tennis courts. And then there's Hillcrest Park, which is a pretty small neighborhood park Dogs are allowed, and that has a playground with swings and climbing structures. There's Cedar Park, there's San Carlos Neighborhood Park, there’s Vista Park, Crestview Park, Big Canyon Park and Highlands Park Field. So San Carlos has a huge selection of parks, and it's really nice, pretty much wherever you live in San Carlos, you can walk to a park or just hop in your car within a few minutes you’re already there.

If you're curious about what it's like to live in San Carlos or any other town in the peninsula, make sure to hit that subscribe button. My name's Raziel Ungar and I love working with nice people, perhaps like you, who are thinking about buying or selling or making a move within San Mateo County. Right now we're on Eucalyptus in the Howard Park neighborhood in San Carlos, and Eucalyptus is one of the best streets in the whole peninsula. Like I mentioned, this is Christmas Light Central, it's Halloween Central. It's a really sought-after street and the homes on this block and really just in Howard Park in general, they're among the most expensive in San Carlos. You're going to look anywhere from high $1 million range up to $4 million plus. There's actually a new-construction home that is going to be completed later this year. The asking price on that is $4 million. So it's a little bit less than maybe other areas like Burlingame or parts of San Mateo. But San Carlos is still very expensive when you think about that in context to its neighbors.

The other thing I love about the neighborhood is you see a wide variety of architecture, so you'll see some ranch-style homes—this isn't unique to Howard Park, but just San Carlos in general—you'll see some bigger two-story homes like this beautiful home behind me here. Most homes, though, in the flatter areas of San Carlos, are going to have attached garages, which in my opinion is a huge selling point because most people would prefer to have an attached garage than a detached garage. And when you look in some other towns nearby, you just see a lot more detached garages than attached. So that's a nice thing. If you choose to buy in San Carlos, you are likely to get an attached garage.

Alright, now let's talk about the White Oaks neighborhood. White Oaks is walking distance also, just like Howard Park, to downtown. It’s super flat. It's just south of Brittan. And homes in the neighborhood have really high price per square foot, primarily because it's flat and walkable. You're going to see a bunch of newer homes that started to pop up in the last few years and then also next door to some older homes. And that's just how it is with many older homes and older neighborhoods on the peninsula. During the G.I. Bill, right after World War II, many of the lots were chopped up. And so I actually had a listing last year on Orange where it was a super cute home, it was 790 square feet on about a 3,000 square foot lot. And it's very rare that you'll see something like that. That actually sold in the low $1 million range. So that's pretty unusual. From a positive perspective, because most lots are going to be 4,000 to 6,000 square feet, in all the neighborhoods in San Carlos, the lowest average lot size is still greater than 5,000 square feet. But it is interesting because in other towns, you're not going to see lot sizes that are that small. So it's just cool, if you want a condo, but you're looking for a cute small house, you're

Now, I want to chat with you about the Alder Manor neighborhood. What's interesting about this is there's no certain type of architecture that you're going to see in Alder Manor. There's traditional and ranch-style homes. There's Mediterranean homes that are closer to Alameda. And then once you get up into the hills, you'll see some homes that are on multi-level. The yard might not be on the same level as the kitchen. So it's a little bit of a Belmont feel, but it's certainly uniquely San Carlos. Some of the homes might have views, which is pretty cool. And then you see a wide variety of prices that are going to start probably around $2 million and go up closer to $4 million.

Last year, the median home price for a home in Alder Manor was about $2.8 million and the average was about $2.9 million. In terms of location, it's very convenient for getting on Edgewood Road. You're very close to Edgewood Park and also Eaton Park and Big Canyon Park are also super close by. However, if you're in the Alder Manor neighborhood, you're not as close to downtown. So if you want to get anywhere, you're going to have to hop in your car and drive five or six minutes. Okay, so this is a first-world issue, it's not a big deal, but just something to be aware of.

If you're in the flatter areas, we're going to get a higher price per square foot. That's a little bit more sought after from a demand perspective. So if you go up in the hills, you're going to get a little bit lower price per square foot, but you're just going to have to drive a little bit more.

The Beverly Terrace neighborhood is actually the largest neighborhood from a geography perspective in all of San Carlos. And because it's so big, you see a huge variety of architecture. You’re going to see a centuries old cabin. You're going to see something maybe a little bit modern, a little bit more traditional, like ranch style homes. Typically, the prices range from about $2.5 to $3 million, but you're going to see a bunch of homes that are more expensive than that, and then other homes that are on the smaller side. But typically in the flatter areas that you're going to see the smaller homes and in the hillier areas, that's where you're typically going to see the larger homes.

Now let's talk about the Clearfield Park neighborhood. This is actually the most affordable neighborhood in the whole city. It's certainly not cheap, but it's just in comparison to other neighborhoods, you're going to get a little bit better value here because of that, location might not be as prime as some other spots. You're going to be a little bit closer to El Camino and the 101 freeway. So you might get a little bit more noise. However, you can get some really cute, awesome homes that start at 1,000 to 1200 square feet. And prices are going to range from the low $1 million range up to about $2 million. So when you compare it to, say, buying a two-bedroom condo right off of Laurel, where you could easily spend $1.2 to $1.4 million, when you spend a few hundred thousand dollars more and you get your own house and you own the land, that's not a bad option either.

Now, let's talk about the Cordes neighborhood. This neighborhood has it all. You have some great views. You have amazing schools. Well, all of San Carlos has amazing schools. You're really close to downtown. And then you have a housing inventory which is very diverse, like the rest of San Carlos. It's not one neighborhood has a certain type of home versus another neighborhood, where you do see that in other towns. I love that about San Carlos, that the variety of architecture is pretty different throughout the whole town. Even block-to-block. Homes in this neighborhood are pretty close to Arguello Park, Arundel Elementary School and Tierra Linda Middle School. And those homes tend to be a little bit newer. A lot of them are less than 50 years old, which I know it's funny when we talk about ‘new’ on the peninsula, but hey, that's certainly not old. Old would be 80, 90, 100 years old. What's cool about the neighborhood is you do get some larger lots and some homes with some pretty good views. Those homes are going to range in asking price from mid-twos, all the way up to high threes or even $4 million.

Just to give you an idea of a home that I sold recently in the White Oaks neighborhood, this was a three-bedroom home, two baths, had a swimming pool in the backyard, totally original. This was a home that sold a little over $2 million several months ago. I think if it came on the market today, it would sell a little bit higher. But just to give you an idea, this one needed quite a bit of work, but it was about 12, 1300 square feet, which is nice. So a starting price point is going to be around that to get into the White Oaks neighborhood. And then you can buy new construction, that's going to be $4 million plus. But the sweet spot is really in the low to high $2 million range.

From a schools perspective, San Carlos is known for its excellent public schools. There's a number of elementary schools in San Carlos: There's Arundel Elementary, Brittan Acres Elementary, Heather Elementary, White Oaks Elementary, and then there's also Arroyo and also Mariposa. And then from a middle school perspective, there's two: There's Central Middle School and also Tierra Linda, and then four high schools: If you live in the northern part of San Carlos, then you're going to go to Carlmont, which is a mash up from a title perspective between San Carlos and Belmont, so that's Carlmont. And if you live in the southern part of San Carlos, then you’re going to go to Sequoia High School in Redwood City.

There's so many things to love about living in San Carlos. One of my favorite things about San Carlos is the downtown area, Laurel, where I am right now. Laurel Street just is about four or five blocks long. And right now we're shooting this on a weekday, but if you were to come back here on the weekend, there's so much action. Over the last few years, the parklets have become very popular. San Carlos has them, downtown Burlingame has them, downtown San Mateo, Palo Alto, so it's not unique to here. What is unique is that San Carlos has chosen to block off a portion of the downtown where people would just walk around, and that's pretty cool. I'm sure they've lost a few parking spots, but I think it's more than made up for by this awesome vibe that's been created. But just looking around me, you can see like even the trash cans are maintained by the Rotary Club of San Carlos. There's a sign up here that says ‘A Great Place to Be’, San Carlos. So it's a really relaxing spot to come.

Two of my favorite places to eat in downtown San Carlos are Town Restaurant, which is an institution that's been here forever, and then also The Office, which has great ambiance and great food. But what's nice about living in San Carlos, if you're going out on a date night, it's not like, say, “Oh, let me go down to Palo Alto” or “let me head a little bit north.” There's so many options within San Carlos. You can check the box, you can go to a different restaurant every night. During the week, you can go to a different lunch spot every day. And same with breakfast spots. So it's very family friendly. There's all different types of flavors and foods and cuisines that you can experience in San Carlos. And that's something that I just love about being here.

And of course, what downtown is complete without a farmer's market. So San Carlos has a really nice farmer's market that is year-round, rain or shine on Sunday mornings right here in downtown San Carlos on Laurel.

One of my favorite places to go to on the whole peninsula is Hiller Aviation Museum. This is a pretty sweet museum that's been around for a really long time. There's actually a real airport right there. Doesn't serve the big Boeing airplanes, but definitely a lot of small craft. And you can go get lessons there with Diamond Aviation. They have kids’ summer camps. Our son actually went to summer camp there and he had a blast. They also have drone flight simulators, different exhibits, a huge focus on STEM. So anyways, check it out if you're visiting San Carlos, Hiller’s a great spot to go. It's even a good spot to host a birthday party.

And of course, for a town of 30,000 people, San Carlos has its own fabulous public library. There's so many good activities that are happening there. There's a Qigong club, there's a Cuban club, there's family storytime, of course, which happens dozens of times throughout the year. There's a Lego Club, monthly trivia night and even a tech tutor drop in. So it's a pretty cool spot. It's a hub of the community.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about San Carlos. If you'd like to get a sense for what it's like living in San Mateo County, check out all my videos. I'm super excited to share with you what it's really like to live here. I grew up here and it's such a fabulous place to call home.