<p>Friends are moving family to SF and I’d love to help them out. I figured CC might work it’s usual magic! Any and all advice would be hugely valued. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>They are looking for either the best public school district or most suitable private schools. Two in middle school, one in HS, all are very highly gifted, somewhat quirky, very intellectual kids. </p></li>
<li><p>In terms of commute, one will be in Mill Valley, other will be flying every week to other city. So something that works for both locations would be fabulous. </p></li>
<li><p>They are international, cosmopolitan folks, who would be happy in the city or in a burb that has shops they can walk to and with easy access to the city. </p></li>
<li><p>Sun and heat are big on their list (given where they are moving from) so the micro climates should probably be factored in as well. </p></li>
<li><p>Money is not an issue for either tuition or real estate. Thank god for this last point, given all the constraints above.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks so much for any insights you might have!</p>
<p>They can look for a place in Mill Valley – Marin County has reasonably good public schools and a good array of private schools to choose from-- and it’s a very nice area, so they might as well opt to be near the work location. They might look at Marin Country Day school for their middle schooler. For a private high school, they might look at Branson. </p>
<p>For public school, they would be in the Tamalpais High School District. Marin is a very affluent area, so the public schools generally reflect that.</p>
<p>Mill Valley will have more fog/cool than further north in Marin where it will be warmer/sunnier, so they may also want to look at towns closer to central Marin. Marin Academy in San Rafael is an excellent private high school; there are also interesting private high schools in SF and all of these will have more “quirk” than Branson, which is excellent but more traditional/conservative/elitist. Redwood High School is the public school for Larkspur/Corte Madera/Tiburon and it does fine re: college stats and the LCM grade schools are well-regarded–but all are big size wise and subject to the strains of California public school budget perils.</p>
<p>If they are looking for schools for highly gifted kids, I suggest they visit the hoagie’s web site and check out the information–and subscription lists–there.</p>
<p>If the commute wasn’t so awful, I would have recommended Piedmont. The public schools are amazing, and it is home to stellar students, well rounded and quirky (bird calling competition).</p>
<p>How lucky your friends are! Mill Valley is an ideal place to live and raise children, with a wonderful walkable downtown. Public schools are great, Marin Country Day is a great private elementary/middle, and Marin Academy is a good private high school. </p>
<p>A song was even written about the wonderful life in Mill Valley: </p>
<p>Mill Valley is a great place to live and it is close to SF. You are close enough to go to private high schools in SF like University or a little quirkier…Urban.</p>
<p>These private schools along with the ones mentioned earlier are difficult to get into.</p>
<p>^ Thanks dstark. Is admissions based on test scores? The kids have moved a lot and so far, they’ve never had to worry about getting in (but the schools and programs have always been based on standardized testing, and the two oldest repeatedly come in significantly above 99th percentile). Though of course, that has it’s own challenges.</p>
<p>Grades, test scores, athletic abilities, or other abilities, an interview process, personality fit, likelihood of going to the school. I don’t know how much money plays a part.</p>
<p>If money is no object and weather is, they might consider Ross, probably the most expensive town in Marin. Since it’s slightly further north, there is less fog and it’s a little warmer and sunnier in the summer. Ross’s public school - there is only one K-8 - is more like a private than public school. The difference in commuting to high schools in SF is minimal, and it’s closer to both Branson (which is in Ross) and Marin Academy. Anyway, that’s where I’d live if I could afford it!</p>
<p>And you can walk to San Anselmo from Ross. San Anselmo has a nice little downtown. Some nice restaurants. Comforts. Insalata. I like Bubbas. Is the Gelato place still there? I used to live in San Anselmo. Great warm weather too. Ross’s town is pretty small. </p>
<p>Sir Francis Drake Blvd can be a pain to commute on from Ross or worse, from San Anselmo to SF.</p>
<p>Ross is a great place to live. Great hiking there. Beautiful. Great school. Fantastic weather. I can see why TwoTimer would choose Ross.</p>
<p>“best” in s. marin based on issues: family-friendly, walkability, micro-climate, ease of commute (transit/highway proximity), middle/high school options, small town with good facility / commercial services</p>
<p>further north hwy 101 traffic is hopeless, weather much warmer, marine influence diminished
further west sf drake blvd is a bottleneck, schools less good
ross is very upscale/exclusive but lacks services/facilities - can be slow warming up to you
corte madera good in the hills, if you like living on a hill</p>
<p>I despise suburbs on the whole, but I could happily live in Mill Valley or Tiburon. There’s a lot to love there in terms of weather, walkability, culture, nature. It’s a really beautiful and interesting area.</p>
<p>Money no object in the Bay Area? Are they Trumps? Few would look at a $5 million dollar house in Marin and see it as anything but a basic, nice house that would cost $400K in most of the US.</p>