Pacifica

Fairmont is a beachfront neighborhood in North Pacifica with stunning views of crashing waves, sandy beaches and tree-covered hillsides. It’s also safe, with a CAP Index score of 4, the same as the national average, and it offers a laid-back lifestyle that can sometimes be a challenge to find in the Bay Area. "It's easy to get around; there isn't any major traffic, and you're not waiting at stoplights forever. The city government is easy to navigate; you get to know people in administration. And you really don't have to leave the community to get your needs met; everything you need is right there," says Angel Lozano, a broker and owner of 10-8 Real Estate who has been selling in the area for about six years. Fairmont’s coastal location also means beautiful views and cooler temperatures than further inland. “On very clear days, the view along the horizon is endless,” Lozano says. There are several neighborhood parks throughout the area with green spaces and playgrounds. Fairmont Park and Recreation Center off Parkview Circle offers a playground for the kids and open fields for working out or playing ball. Edgemar Park near Clifton Road offers similar amenities and is tucked among several residential streets. At the nearby Mussel Rock Park, connected trails wind through the hillside, and hikers are treated to ocean views. Fairmont has several subdivisions stretching across the rolling slopes leading to the ocean. Near the shore are spacious mid-century homes with two-car garages on the first floor, second-floor living spaces and decks with impressive views. Elsewhere, there are rows of ranch-style houses with low-pitched roofs and small, landscaped yards. Some homes perch on steep, woodsy hillsides along narrow roads. Home prices typically range from $915,000 for a three-bedroom, one-bathroom fixer-upper to $1.7 million for a four-bedroom, three-bathroom fully renovated home. Those looking for something with a little less upkeep can find condos ranging from $695,000 to $1.5 million, most featuring three bedrooms and two bathrooms. A few apartment complexes are scattered throughout the community, but most residents are homeowners, about 60%. For dining, Pacific Manor Shopping Center off Manor Plaza is a popular stop for locals. Colombo’s Delicatessen is a go-to for sandwiches, and Pedro Point Brewing draws beer lovers for its dozen beers on tap. Nearby, Chit-Chat Café is popular for its coffee, sandwiches and seaside views. For something sweet, Mazzetti's Bakery is a neighborhood favorite and a Bay Area institution that’s been serving the community for over 50 years. It offers authentic Italian pastries, cakes and desserts. Safeway and Walgreens are also located in the shopping center, where many locals pick up groceries and essentials. Other services are scattered throughout the neighborhood, like gas stations, salons and houses of worship. A few miles northeast of the neighborhood is more shopping in Serramonte, where residents can find national retailers Target, Home Depot and Ulta. Kids may start school at Sunset Ridge Elementary or Ocean Shore Elementary, both located within walking distance of many homes. Sunset Ridge Elementary scores a C-plus on Niche, while Ocean Shore Elementary scores a B. Students at Sunset Ridge then often go on to Ingrid B. Lacy Middle School, which boasts an A-minus on Niche, while kids at Ocean Shore stay until they finish eighth grade. The ninth through 12th grade students usually attend Terra Nova High School, which scores an A-minus on Niche and serves about 740 students. It offers many clubs and organizations to join, including Guitar Club, Women in STEM Club and Chess Club. The Pacific Coast Highway, a well-known scenic route that extends along the coastline from Northern California to Los Angeles, runs through the neighborhood, connecting residents to Daly City and Rockaway Beach. Interstate 280 is close to Fairmont's eastern side and connects to nearby cities, including San Francisco, about 14 miles north. SamTrans bus stops line major thoroughfares like Hickey Boulevard for those taking public transportation within the Bay Area. The San Francisco International Airport is about 13 miles east for those needing to travel farther.

Fairway Park includes several small residential communities — the Fairway Park neighborhood, the Vallemar community and several subdivisions near Skyline College — perched on the slopes gradually descending to the scraggy cliffs, vistas and sandy beaches overlooking the Pacific Ocean. “The whole area is really nice. You’re right on the ocean, you get great views, and the weather is cooler than in Tracy or San Jose," says Scott Orich, a principal agent with Fly Homes who has been selling real estate in the Bay Area for over 20 years. Its location in Pacifica is a draw, too. “It’s close to San Francisco, and if you go south, it’s a beautiful drive down Highway 1 to Half Moon Bay,” Orich says. All that, combined with a low CAP Index crime score (it ranks at two, lower than the national average of four), draws residents looking for a quiet, beachy community removed from the hustle and bustle but still close enough to the city to enjoy its amenities. Rockaway Beach is a popular destination for surfing and is a convenient jumping-off point to explore the vistas nearby or backpack north to Mori Point, a towering bluff that belongs to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. In the opposite direction of the beach is a range of hiking and biking trails leading into the forests of Montara Mountain and San Pedro Valley, part of the narrow mountain range between the San Francisco Bay and the ocean. The area offers various plant life, eucalyptus trees and rock formations. Fairway Park and Pacifica Heights Park, smaller neighborhood green spaces, are within walking distance of many homes. There's a broad mix of home sizes and types, including spacious Tudor-style homes with steep-pitched rooftops, Mediterranean-style homes with arched doorways and stucco walls and compact midcentury-era ranch-style homes. They sit on small, tidy front yards and line hilly streets. Sidewalks are common, though, in the areas where homes are more tucked away, there are no walkways, giving the streets a more rustic feel. Prices typically range from $630,000 for two bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms to $2.6 million for four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. Near the intersection of Coast Highway and Reina Del Mar Avenue are several local restaurants residents head to when they want to dine out. Gorilla Barbeque is a takeout barbecue joint in a converted rail car that offers a selection of smoked meats and sides. P Town Coffee & Tea is another converted rail car restaurant where locals sip “coffee in a caboose." Guerrero’s Taqueria is an authentic Mexican restaurant that has been serving the community since 1995. Sun Valley Market is also close by this intersection, offering some groceries, plus beer and wine. For a more extensive food selection, residents head south towards Pedro Point to Safeway, about 2 miles away. For other everyday needs, residents can access services like salons, veterinarians and houses of worship throughout the community. Students living in Fairway Park often start school at Vallemar Elementary School, then head to Ingrid B. Lacy Middle School and Terra Nova High School. Vallemar Elementary scores a B-plus on Niche, while Ingrid B. Lacy Middle and Terra Nova High score an A-minus. Terra Nova High serves about 740 students and has a student-teacher ratio of 20-to-1. It added a 400-seat theater to the existing campus in 2012, offering robust visual and performing arts programming. Skyline College, a public community college, is located in the area and offers its 17,000 students more than 100 degree and certification tracks. State Route 1 is the only major thoroughfare in and out of the area, which gives the community a secluded feeling. Public transportation is limited, too, with some SamTrans bus stops along SR-1, Crespi Drive and Linda Mar Boulevard. The San Francisco International Airport is about 10 miles east for the times residents need to travel farther.

Spend a morning riding the waves off Pacifica State Beach or enjoy an afternoon trekking the trails of Montara Mountain and one might just feel like they’ve been dropped right into an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. That’s the type of environment Linda Mar provides, a Pacifica neighborhood that blends prime access to recreational attractions with peaceful residential solitude. Streets all around Linda Mar offer views of the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains, and the neighborhood’s weather is known to provide a pleasant setting for outdoor adventures, with less fog than some other pockets of town. “It’s the sunniest neighborhood in Pacifica,” says Realtor and Pacifica resident Teresa Hoskins of Keller Williams Advisors. Between the beachfront on the west and the trails to the east, Linda Mar is primarily residential. The area’s winding streets are speckled with a collection of houses that were mostly built in the mid-20th century. A lot of Linda Mar’s homes are single-story bungalows and ranch-style options, but there are also quite a few split-level houses here as well. Sidewalks line most of Linda Mar’s streets, making it easy to go for a stroll to soak in views of the mountains or the coast. “There’s a lot of houses where you’ll have really gorgeous ocean views,” Hoskins says. Single-family homes in Linda Mar often sell for prices between $1.2 million and $2 million depending on size and condition. Linda Mar may be mostly residential, but residents still have close access to retail amenities thanks to the Linda Mar Center here, a 168,000-square-foot space that’s anchored by a Safeway supermarket. Soul Grind Coffee is a well-liked eatery in the neighborhood, whose location close to the beach makes it a popular pick for a sandwich and coffee after a surf session. Another hotspot by the beach is Taco Bell — but this isn’t your typical Taco Bell. This Taco Bell is housed in a charming, wooden surf shack-style building with a patio facing the water. The location is so distinct that it went viral in a 2020 TikTok and has been called the nicest and most beautiful Taco Bell in the world. It’s a major draw to the area, Hoskins says, contributing to area traffic on the weekends. Linda Mar locals can head a bit farther north from Pacifica State Beach to visit the Coastside Farmers Market at Rockaway Beach, held on Wednesdays from April through December. Coastside Farmers Market is directed by farmers and features everything from locally grown produce to locally harvested seafood. Students in the area can start at schools in the Pacifica School District, whose institutions cover transitional kindergarten through eighth grade. PSD has a B overall grade on Niche, and the Linda Mar neighborhood has three locations in particular, that all have at least a B-minus rating of their own: the K-8 Cabrillo Elementary, the TK-5 Ortega Elementary and Linda Mar Education Center, which houses a district preschool and special education program. From PSD schools, many students here can move on to the A-minus-rated Terra Nova High, which is part of the Jefferson Union High School District. Terra Nova has a robust fine arts department with classes in visual arts, drama, music and band, and dance. One of Linda Mar’s crown jewels is Pacific State Beach, which is three-quarters of a mile long and within reasonable walking distance for many. Pacifica State Beach is frequented by surfers. In fact, the waves by this beach are known to be gentler, making this spot ideal for beginners. Those looking to ride some concrete waves can hop over to Pacifica Skatepark behind the beach, across Cabrillo Highway. More fun on land can be found by traversing the almost 3-mile Rockaway Point Trail, which begins at Pacifica State Beach and runs up toward Rockaway Beach. To the west, hikers can find more to explore with spots like the Montara Mountain Trail, which traces through eucalyptus trees, coastal scrub and groves. The SamTrans bus service has multiple stops around Linda Mar and the rest of San Mateo County. SamTrans operates 76 routes around the county. Drivers in town can use California State Route 1, also known as Cabrillo Highway, to trek up and down the coast here. Route 1 also connects to Interstate 280 for trips up to San Francisco, just about 20 miles away.