What should you know about San Mateo, California

1.Geography

With an estimate population of more than one hundred thousand people, and a total area of 15.9 square miles, San Mateo is one of the largerst suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula.
To the north, lies the city Burlingame; to the east, Foster City and San Francisco Bay; Belmont to the south, and Highlands-Baywood Park and Hillsborough to the west.
Twelve point one (12.1) square miles of the total area is land, and 3.8 square miles is water.
Natural habitats in this zone include: mixed oak woodland, riparian zones, and bayland marshes.
Endangered species such as the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, the Point Reyes bird’s beak, the marsh plant and the California clapper, inhabit the marsh areas.

1.a Climate

San Mateo has a Mediterranean climate: summers are warm and dry, while winters are damp with mild temperatures. The July high is around 73 degrees and the January low is 42.
The Montara Mountain creates a natural shield from the Pacific Ocean, but during the summer, ocean weather passes through the San Bruno Gap and the Crystal Springs Gap, bringing gusty winds and fog to the city (from late in the afternoon through early morning).
The number of days with any measurable precipitation in San Mateo is 59, and the average rainfall is 23 inches per year.
Residents enjoy approximately, 265 sunny days every year.

2. Economy

San Mateo is an excellent place for start-ups, retailers and restaurants, thanks to its ideal location, access to talent and foot traffic.
Working in technology, health care, financial services, government, and retail trade fields are some of the most popular occupations in the community. That’s why Escondido’s economy is considered very diverse.
Companies in San Mateo include: Franklin Templeton Investments, Roblox, Fisher Investments, SolarCity, Solstice, Sony PlayStation, Marketo, GoPro and NetSuite.
Top employers in the city are: County of San Mateo Medical Center, San Mateo-Foster City School District, San Mateo County Community College District, Franklin Templeton Investments, San Mateo Union High School District, City of San Mateo, San Mateo County Behavioral Health, Marketo Inc, Fisher Investments, and Mills-Peninsula Health Services.

3. Education

San Mateo Foster City School District manages 20 public schools with a population of nearly 12,000 students, from preschool through eighth grades. The school district offers Transitional Kindergarten TK classes located in the following elementary school campuses – Audubon, Baywood, Brewer Island, Foster City, George Hall, Highlands, Laurel, LEAD, Meadow Heights, San Mateo Park, and Sunnybrae.
Middle schools operated by SMFCSD include: Abbott Middle School, Bayside S.T.E.M. Academy, Borel Middle School, and Bowditch Middle School.
SMFCSD also manages the North Shoreview Montessori School (K-8), located at 1301 Cypress Avenue.
The San Mateo-Foster City School District offers twelve Magnet school programs available to everyone: eight elementary (K-5) and four middle school (6-8) programs. Each school emphasizes a particular theme (Science and Technology, bilingual and bi-literate; Literacy, Enrichment, Academics & Digital Arts), giving its students the opportunity of focusing in his/her unique talents and interests, and acquire skills that will help prepare them for success.

San Mateo Union High School District operates three high schools in the city: San Mateo, Aragon and Hillsdale; one Middle College, located at College of San Mateo (one of the three colleges in the San Mateo County Community College District); and it also manages an adult school (San Mateo Adult School) behind the campus of San Mateo High School.
The College of San Mateo, a community college, offers numerous programs including traditional, semester-length and short courses in addition to distance education; as well as a comprehensive selection of academic support services.
Students from San Mateo attend the following private high schools: Junípero Serra (one all-male Catholic high school), Notre Dame High School (one all-female Catholic high school located in Belmont), and the Nueva Upper School (an internationally recognized independent school with nearly 50-year of service, focusing exclusively on gifted and talented education and innovation).

3.a Library

The City of San Mateo operates three libraries in the city; all three are part of the Peninsula Library System: the Main Library, the Hillsdale Library, and the Marina Library.
Some of the great programs offered by these branches include: Homework Help in subjects like Biography, Health, History, Literature and Science; Learn a new language (over 70 languages to choose from using interactive online drills and audio lessons); a citizenship prep course containing 100 instructional videos with interactive exercises to study for the Naturalization Test, and the Storytime program for infants.

The Discover & Go program supplies San Mateo Public Library card holders with free passes to local museums and a wide variety of other cultural institutions. Users can make reservations online by date or by venue and they can print passes at home or at the library.
Other amenities and services in the Main Library are:
Teen Lounge,
Plasma Screen TV,
Books, graphic novels, magazines, and audiobooks,
6 computer stations.
Group study rooms and the outdoor patio nearby.

4. Government

The City Council functions as the legislative body that represents the citizens of San Mateo. According to the official page of the City of San Mateo, the local government is focused on achieving these goals:
Safe, Clean, and Attractive Neighborhoods.
Successful Businesses and a Solid Tax Base.
Orderly Planning, Development, and Functioning of the Community.
An Open, Participative, and Effective City Government.

5. Infrastructure

5.a Transportation

The City of San Mateo has launched the Connect San Mateo program in order to:

Offer residents an interactive, user-friendly website to explore the countless alternative transportation options available in the community.
Increase awareness of mobility options.
Increment the use of alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles
Reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions.

San Mateo is not only conveniently located just minutes away from major cities: 30 minutes south of San Francisco, 40 minutes north of San Jose, and 35 minutes west of Oakland; (Sacramento is only a 2-hour drive away), but it also provides some of the best public transportation in the state: bus, train, and rail services are available just about anywhere in Northern California.
AC Transit provides transbay bus service via the San Mateo Bridge to Alameda County. SamTrans offers local bus service within the city and the entire county of San Mateo. Caltrain supplies commuter rail service between San Francisco and San Jose. This company operates three stations in San Mateo: The Hillsdale Station, Hayward Park Station, and the San Mateo Station (located in downtown).
On weekdays, there are 41 northbound and 41 southbound trains with a stop in the city, and 18 trains in both directions on weekends.
When the San Francisco Giants play, additional trains are run to provide transportation to the crowds.
Taxicab companies licensed in San Mateo are: Luxor, Merit, Peninsula and Yellow.
U.S. Route 101, Interstate 280, and State Route 92 serve San Mateo.
Located east of the city, State Route 92 traverses the San Francisco Bay as the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, to its eastern shore in the city of Hayward.
Major airports within a 30-45 minute drive from San Mateo, include: Oakland International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and San Jose International Airport.
San Carlos Airport, a general aviation facility, is located just six miles to the south.

5.b Utilities

Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) is the official provider of electricity in the community. Residents and businesses are able to choose the percentage of renewable power they buy.
The City of San Mateo’s official water supplier is California Water Service (Cal Water), a private company that serves 21 districts in California.
Recology of San Mateo County provides residential and commercial garbage collection services. Waste can be disposed at the San Carlos Transfer Station (225 Shoreway Road San Carlos) from 6:00am – 6:00pm (M-F), 8:00am – 5:00pm (Weekends). For more information call (650) 592-0255.

6. Point of Interest

6.a Downtown

Downtown San Mateo features more than 800 shops and restaurants, many of them are located in historic buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Downtown is also home to several Japanese restaurants and shops, a large modern 12-screen movie theatre complex, multiple large and small multi-story office buildings, apartments, and government buildings. The Mills Medical Center and the Caltrain station are situated in downtown as well.

6.b Parks

The City maintains more than 15 parks throughout San Mateo, including Central Park which is considered the signature park of the community. The park contains tennis courts, picnic areas, playground, a baseball field, a recreation center, a miniature train, and a Japanese Tea Garden.
Beresford Park boasts a skate plaza and a bocce ball.
Martin Luther King Jr Park and Joinville Park have both, swimming pools. There is a fun water play structure in Ryder Park.
Many parks in the community feature children’s play areas, picnic areas with grills, basketball and tennis courts, as well as baseball diamonds.
Coyote Point Park, the best-known natural area in the region, is a rock outcropped peninsula on the San Francisco Bay. The park encompasses 670-acre and it’s a very popular spot for windsurfing and sailing. The Peninsula Humane Society is situated in the park, as well as the CuriOdyssey, formerly known as the Coyote Point Museum, a major natural history museum and a small native animal zoo.
Sugarloaf Mountain is a park and open area of mixed oak woodland and chaparral habitat, ideal for the endangered Mission Blue Butterfly.
Located on the western edge of San Mateo along the Crystal Springs Reservoir, “Sawyer Camp Trail” offers joggers, walkers and bikers, a 6 mile trail that starts in San Mateo and stretches north toward Hillsborough and San Bruno (parallel to the 280 freeway).
According to the official website of the City, San Mateo has more than a dozen neighborhood parks, nine larger community parks, six recreation/community centers, two pools, a Shoreline regional park system, several small “mini” parks, an estuary lagoon for boating, and the well-known Poplar Creek 18 hole Golf Course.

Conclusion

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6 Reasons to Move to San Mateo, CA