Brookside

This cute little neighborhood borders the Morningside area and is also full of cool vintage homes, a mix of Spanish stucco and small bungalows. Living here means that Brookside Lower Elementary is practically in your backyard and you’re also fairly close to downtown Fairfax, with all its restaurants and shopping. With its charm and location, dollar for dollar this is one of our favorite neighborhoods.

Sleepy Hollow/The Alameda

With its relaxed, countryside feel, surrounded by rolling hills and open spaces, Sleepy Hollow is pretty dreamy. Mostly one level ranchers with some large estates mixed in, many homes in the area are on huge, flat lots, though there are a number of hillside properties as well, some with amazing views. There’s a strong sense of community and the majority of residents belong to the Sleepy Hollow Homes Association, which offers a preschool, swimming pool, tennis leagues, and a variety of other activities. At the end of Butterfield is San Domenico private school, and the Hollow is also home to the upper campus of Brookside Elementary, the public school for local 2nd through 5th graders.

The downside to Sleepy Hollow for SF commuters is a longer drive to 101 than other parts of San Anselmo, and there are no businesses or shops in the neighborhood, but residents love the area and think the benefits more than make up for the extra five or ten minute drive. The Alameda neighborhood lies just to the East of Butterfield, with a higher proportion of smaller homes and even more of a countryside feel.

Hawthorne Hills

This charming neighborhood is right at the start of Butterfield Road on the West side. It offers easy access to downtown Fairfax and the Brookside lower campus. It’s one of the more sought after neighborhoods in the under-a-million price range in San Anselmo, with lots of Spanish homes and California Bungalows.

San Francisco Blvd/Millenium Park

This is a neighborhood that sometimes gets overlooked, but it’s well worth exploring. The homes are a mix of 40’s through 60’s styles, some recently updated with others still waiting for that magic touch. The list of reasons to love the area is long, including its proximity to Memorial Park and Millenium Playground, also known as the dinosaur park, with a large playing field with an amazing view of Mt. Tam. Go see for yourself and you’ll understand why the kids go crazy for it. It’s an ideal neighborhood for those who want to be close to everything as you can cut across the playing field to get to the local Red Hill Shopping center and all of its amenities.

If you want to feel like a true local check out a couple of our favorite secret spots. On the lower level of the log cabin in the parking lot at Memorial Park is a funky little watering hole called The Dugout, one of Marin’s finest dive bars, offering great cheap drinks. And at the end of San Francisco Boulevard is the organic Draper Farms, with membership open to anyone anyone interested in good quality locally grown produce through its Community Supported Agriculture program. Sorich Ranch Park is also at the end of the street, with excellent hiking trails that take you to Marin’s beautiful open space preserves.

Yolanda Park

The streets south of Sir Francis Drake that surround Drake High School compose the Yolanda park neighborhood, where beautiful vintage homes that show true pride in ownership are set along tree-lined streets.  Many of the homes are larger than 2000 square feet which makes it a great area to consider if you’re looking for a combination of space and charm. Yolanda ranks high on the list of desirable streets in San Anselmo, and you can’t miss the Halloween festivities there–the best in town.  Another added bonus is its close proximity to both Fairfax and San Anselmo.

Downtown

Living near downtown San Anselmo is really great if you want to be nearmany of the great restaurants or shops. Most of the homes are vintage so there is a lot of charm. Some streets flood, especially the closer you get to downtown, but most residences love the convenience and just deal with it. Most homes are a little close together so make sure you love your neighbor.

Morningside

Morningside borders the Brookside neighborhood and shares a lot of the same great features. Cute vintage homes and a stones throw from Brookside Lower elementary school–also a quick trip to downtown Fairfax.

Seminary

Homes in the beautiful Seminary neighborhood are typically larger than the average San Anselmo home and many have a stately feel similar to those in the neighboring town of Ross. Downtown San Anselmo is a stones throw away and Wade Thomas Elementary is in the central. Price points are high, but if it’s in your budget it’s a great place to live. Many consider it one of the best neighborhoods in San Anselmo.

Sequoia/Greenfield

Don’t tell anyone but there’s a famous movie producer who lives in this neighborhood. We won’t give it away, but suffice to say The Force is strong with him. It’s a great area because there are cute little starter homes mixed in with larger houses, and you’re really close to downtown but also a little closer to the freeway than the rest of town. If you work in SF and you want the great San Anselmo schools this is a perfect place to be, especially if you’re sensitive to a long commute, so we’re often showing buyers homes here when they become available. It’s also has the convenience of United Market, a great local grocery store with the staples at good prices. Greenfield is on the other side of Miracle Mile from the Sequoia neighborhood and has a lot of the same benefits. We like the tree-lined streets, vintage homes and great commute location.

Barber/Lincoln Park

This neighborhood is on the east side of Sir Francis Drake across from downtown. We like the location because just under your nose is Marinita’s, a great spot for dinner and a margarita and the local watering hole Matucci’s for a game of pool. It features super cute vintage homes on tree-lined streets, and is a perfect place to live if you want to be close to downtown yet feel like you’re a little out of the fray. It’s a great commute to SF because you can hop right on Miracle Mile towards San Rafael and get to the freeway fairly quickly.