Brentwood

Brentwood in South San Francisco—not in any way to be confused with the neighborhood where OJ killed his wife or even with the town that is on the way to Sacramento some 40 miles east of here, is a tiny little neighborhood that skirts the northern end of Golden Gate National Cemetery. Apparently it’s a veteran’s cemetery, so you have a number of soldier’s graves here.

This is pick-up truck and minivan territory. This is one of those 1950’s neighborhoods built to help house WWII vets and modeled sort of on a Levitt Town plan—I say recalling what I learned in some of my sociology classes. (Which also means I might be totally off on this, but that is the impression that I get.)

Houses here are on the smaller side. They are Ranch homes but of that older early 50’s variety which are smaller and just feel older. Unlike in the Avalon Park neighborhood just to the north, the houses here tend to be one story homes and have that very square front yard look (although many residents here do adorn their yards with decorations).

Prices seem to range from around $400K to $650K with maybe one or two outliers. Schools are strong, crime is low and you have all the things you would want from suburban living right on El Camino.

Overall a pretty nice place to live.

Brentwood is an old-fashioned suburban neighborhood in the dense South San Francisco city. It is completely residential is nestled against the military’s Golden Gate National Cemetery. The area itself encompasses about a dozen suburban blocks, most of which sits on a small incline. Aesthetically speaking, the district has a clean cut 1950‘s look to it. Homes are blocky/stumpy in shape and are mostly one-story in size. They stand on small, squarish properties, tightly packed along the neighborhood streets. In fact, side yards are about five feet wide, just enough room for a back gate. Most residents maintain their small, grassy yards. small, grassy and well-maintained yards

The neighborhood of Brentwood is firmly fixed into the fabric of South San Francisco. It is located within close proximity to Interstate 280 and US Route 101, both of which travel towards San Francisco. Moreover, its proximity to the San Bruno Bart Station (skirts the southeastern border) and the San Francisco International Airport (about a mile away) are great perks to Brentwood.

For shoppers, the Shops at Tanforan edges the southeastern border of Brentwood. The commercial center is outfitted with a few department stores (Target, JC Penney, etc.) as well as a few chain shops (Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic, Starbucks) and a Century Theaters complex. Yet, the shopping hub is everything short of glamorous.

It’s a nice quiet neighborhood near the national cemetery. The cemetery is military so not a lot of pretty headstones but it’s big and makes for a break for city buildings in other areas. There is a nice park by the cemetery too. This is a good area too because it is near so much else. There are a lot of good restaurants. There’s the pie place and the Hawaiian place. There’s also red lobster and other chains and a local Mexican place. There’s Safeway and Lucky close by for home foods and also the PetCo for quick pet stops when in a rush.