Millbrae is a small city of about twenty-three thousand people, incorporated in 1948, and its name is a piece of local history: Darius Ogden Mills bought part of Rancho Buri Buri in the 1860s for a country estate, and the name joins Mills to the Scottish brae, a hillside.
What makes people buy here is the station. Millbrae is the only place where BART connects directly to Caltrain, an intermodal facility that opened in June 2003 and is the southern terminus of BART on the Peninsula. SamTrans buses meet both. San Francisco International is adjacent to the city and reachable by BART in minutes rather than by cab. It is also the only stop planned for California High-Speed Rail between San Francisco and San José, and the platforms are being lengthened with that in mind.
Away from the station it is an ordinary, well-kept Peninsula town: El Camino Real through the middle, a downtown of small businesses, Green Hills Country Club on the western side — laid out in 1929 by the golf architect Alister MacKenzie — and the hills of the Skyline ridge above.
Photo: 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Millbrae, in the questions people ask us.
Can I live in Millbrae without a car?
Closer than almost anywhere else on the Peninsula. One station gives you BART, Caltrain and SamTrans, and SFO is adjacent — though how workable it is depends on where in town you are, since the walk to the station varies a great deal.
Which high school serves Millbrae?
Mills High School on Murchison Drive, part of the San Mateo Union High School District. Elementary and middle schools are the separate Millbrae School District.
Is high-speed rail really coming to Millbrae?
It is the only stop planned between San Francisco and San José, and platform work is being done with that in mind. No opening date is confirmed, and nobody should buy on the strength of one.
Is aircraft noise a problem?
It depends entirely on the street and the flight paths in use, which change. It is worth standing on the property at different times of day before you commit — Marisa will tell you what she hears.
I have held a California real estate license since 1989, and in that time the Bay Area has changed almost beyond recognition. What has not changed is how a good move happens: through someone who knows the neighbourhoods, knows the people, and can make the right introduction at the right moment. I call myself a real estate consultant as well as an agent because most of the job is advice — when to sell, what to fix, which town suits the way you live — and the connections I have made since 1989 are there to be used for my clients.
A consultant, an agent and a connector.
Marisa Roman Wachhorst
