By: busylizzy

Date: July, 2007

This is a very good complex for couples or people with small families (or small kids) who move to the Bay Area and don't know what's what or where anything is. You can stay here for a few months and get the lay of the land, then decide what town you'd like to live in (or can afford :-)). Apartment sizes range from 1 to 3 BR, and there are lots of different layouts. When we moved in, they were willing to negotiate on lease and rent, but I don't know if that's the case now.

They have a nice gym, a play area, and a pool, and also covered parking. The location is great - across the street from Target, Staples, Bed Bath and Beyond, Starbucks, various (family-friendly) restaurants, and an ice-skating rink. We moved from the east coast and spent a year there - first in a wonderful 3 BR, 2BA apartment on the 2nd floor (very light and airy), then in a 2BR 2BA unit on the 1st floor (much less nice, but still decent and clean). The managing company changed while we lived there and it went from being really terrific and helpful to just OK, with issues arising like the pool and jacuzzi not being cleaned often enough, but I heard that they recently changed management companies again and things are better.

I don't think this is a good location for a single person as the Foster City side of San Mateo is not really very lively and there's no town center to hang out or people watch (or anything, really), but for families, it's a great choice. Be aware though that Bridgepointe is in the San Mateo school district, and NOT Foster City, so you would have to apply for a transfer to get into one of the Foster City schools, which are usually better rated.

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