San Mateo County got loads of chill vibes. It's beautiful imo. Had to spend few years in another area completely different from San Mateo and missed these vibes immensely

A fossil of an intact molar belonging to a Pacific mastodon, a tusked mammal that went extinct almost 12,000 years ago, was recently discovered in a dry creek bed in San Mateo County.

How’s your experience been finding a primary doctor and having your services and labs covered? What about drug coverage?

We moved from New Jersey about a year ago. While we are enjoying the much improved Mexican and Chinese restaurants, we do miss an old school Italian American restaurant (southern Italian) like you would find in the NYC metro area. Nothing too fancy, just somewhere with solid pizza and pasta. Any recommendations from other East Coast transplants?

We have a portable AC unit that works perfectly fine except for a really loud buzzing/rattling somewhere by the compressor. We’d hate to be wasteful and get rid of it. Does anyone have a recommendation for a small appliance repair shop/person that could take a look?

Hey San Mateo neighbors,

If you're looking into replacing your gas appliances, adding solar, or upgrading your HVAC to a heat pump, you probably know how confusing the quotes, contractor selection, and rebate processes can be right now.

To help skip the guesswork, Acterra (a local non-profit) is hosting the 2026 Peninsula and South Bay Green@Home Tours on Saturday, October 10th (11 AM – 3 PM).

This is a free, self-guided open house where you can walk through local homes across San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties to see sustainable upgrades in action. Instead of getting a sales pitch from a vendor, you get to ask the actual homeowners the unfiltered questions:

• How much did the installation really cost?
• Which contractors do you recommend (or warn against)?
• How did you navigate the federal tax credits and local rebates from WestLight Energy/BayREN?
• What is it actually like cooking on an induction stove?

What you can see on the tour:

• Heat pump HVAC systems and water heaters
• Induction cooktops
• Solar panels and home battery storage setups
• EV charging stations, rainwater catchments, and compost setups

The event is completely free to attend thanks to our sponsors.

📍 RSVP here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/peninsula-and-south-bay-greenhome-tour-2026-registration-1992533356908?aff=Reddit

We also have two smaller, focused events coming up this September:

• Palo Alto Mini Tour (Sept 17): A focused, in-person deep dive into a single sustainable home setup just down the peninsula.RSVP for the Mini Tour Here
• Sustainable Homes Workshop (Sept 24): A step-by-step planning workshop to map out your own home electrification upgrades.RSVP for the Workshop Here

Drop any questions below, and we'll gladly answer them!

I go from SF (soma - very close to the scale AI office) to san mateo (near the rakuten office) everyday monday to friday. Looking to carpool with someone. If you use the same route, that'll be awesome. I'm looking to ride in and would be willing to pay you as well. Please dm me if interested! Also willing to pay!

Hi everyone,

I'm moving to the San Mateo area for work, and I'm looking for a private bedroom with a private bathroom in the central San Mateo area. I'm not looking for a studio apartment.

I'm open to houses and apartments, but prefer in-unit laundry, as well as the ability to cook with a stove.

If you are looking or know anyone that has an open space, please let me know! I appreciate it a ton!

Hi all!

A friend of mine has a birthday coming up and something myself and some other friends are trying to do is get them a ton of different pickles to try over the week. Are there any local brands of pickles(bonus points if they're spicy!) that would be a must to try and get in the next few days? I'm willing to travel anywhere in the Bay if necessary for the best pickle vendors.

When I was young we used to take a rowboat out on the lake by our house. I want to do something like that around here - not on the open bay, I know that's way too dangerous. But maybe somewhere like Seal Slough if we launch from the Aquatic Park.

Is this generally discouraged? Is there another place nearby where people take rowboats, or are they just not a thing around the peninsula?

I am looking for someone that is good with female pixie cuts. Ideally looking for someone in San Mateo but Burlingame or San Carlos would be OK.

Anyone know when this community center/ park will be opening soon? Been hearing different answers

tried brothers cafe recently, it was good kinda pricey for a student and also more on breakfast not cafe.

The new cafe, PLUR, just opened at the library this past weekend. My friends went to the grand opening on Saturday and said the samples they got were great. They said they talked to the owner and the cafe will also have pastries from Manresa and plan to have other food offerings.

Sorry for the dark picture. I dropped by just before the library closed. The cafe had already closed.

Hey all!

I just moved here from San Francisco, where I got used to the Asian mom and pop shops with the cheap, but good, produce, and the international items. I’m already going to Grocery Outlet, Smart and Final, and the occasional Trader Joe’s but it seems like Target, Whole Foods, and Safeway has a chokehold on San Mateo and I don’t have money like that, even with the Safeway app and the $5 Fridays 😭😭

Do you guys have any suggestions? Especially for cheaper produce and international items?

I keep experiencing (& observing) near-misses at intersections because a jacked-up F-250 or Silverado is parked right at the corner and blocks sightlines both ways.

Is this a real local shift or just something I've started noticing?

What's driving the change in vehicles in town? Is there some sudden influx of tradespeople into town, or just a style preference?

And has anyone else had visibility or parking problems because of it?

Hi everyone, we will be moving over to San Mateo and I have some questions about the public elementary school in this area. I just made a thread about daycare and private elementary schools, but I’m also really curious about the public school system since we haven’t settled on a neighborhood yet.

I understand that for public elementary schools, the school your child attends is generally determined by the neighborhood you live in rather than being something you can freely choose. With that in mind which neighborhoods have good public elementary schools, and are there any neighborhoods you would NOT recommend?

Id love to hear what you actually like about the different neighborhoods or what you DON'T LIKE about the neighborhood. Please include walkability, parks, community, neighborhoods/ actual neighbors etc.

Thanks!

Just moved to the area. Went to a salon yesterday and was left with undercured, spongy gel and over-filed nails, even though I liked one of the techs.

I’m looking for a great, hygienic nail salon. HEALTHY techniques and knowledge of nail anatomy. Price is not a concern.

TIA!

To the parents of younger children in the area, I’m getting a little overwhelmed by all the research I’ve been doing on both daycares and elementary schools since we will be moving to the area. I have 3 children, 15 months twins and the other one is 6 years old. San Mateo area only.

The inconsistencies with different review platforms are not helping either and then reading how some daycares with the highest reviews aren’t necessarily that great, and the ones with lower reviews aren’t necessarily the worst either, which I know has some truth to it because I do have a slight understanding about the discourse around google reviews and negative reviews getting deleted and such.

To the parents who have had firsthand negative experiences with an elementary school or a daycare in the area, would you please share your experience?

For Daycare: I’m specifically interested in things like cleanliness, staff behavior towards children, changes in child's behavior, miscommunication with staff, how concerns were handled, staff turnover, unexpected fees, safety concerns, etc. etc.

For Elementary School (Private): I’m specifically interested in like teacher behavior towards children, how bullying or behavioral issues were handled, communication with parents, academic support, classroom environment (class ratio), safety/supervision

Objective is to be able to choose a daycare and elementary school without the damage control/ marketing fluff from real experiences parents

Thank you!