Belmont Bragging Rights–Just for fun of course…

There’s just got to be a reason why people choose to pay more to live in one city over another..help me figure it out! (Tongue in cheek folks…)

We live in a little town called Belmont. We bought a home there because back then no one else was. That meant it was a lot less expensive than other towns. San Carlos is a nearby town that a lot of people like to live in; though the cost of owning a home is a lot more there. And the affordability seems disproportionate to their differences. People always said they wanted to live there for the schools; though recent school data suggests that either schools do not have as much impact on where people live as years ago or buyers aren’t reading about it. Is that because literacy in America is down? The schools in San Carlos have always been known for their superior academic excellence; recently however, Belmont has school test scores which have surpassed her neighboring town.

Perhaps it’s lower crime rate that buyers are using to justify paying more for a similar home? No one likes to have their house broken into or their car stolen-not in the suburbs-that’s why we moved there in the first place. But Belmont’s violent crime rate is lower than most of the country and lower than any city she borders-San Carlos included.

Is it perhaps that Belmont just isn’t good at promoting itself? What else could affect the allure of San Carlos over Belmont? According to the latest census results the folks in San Carlos on average make more money than the residents of Belmont–$9,000 a year more to be exact. That’s good too since the median home costs $122,000 more according to August 2007 reports.

Maybe it’s all those sidewalks. I’ve always loved sidewalks; they remind me of being a kid. It’s good to feel like a kid again, though I wouldn’t want to pay $122,000 more to do so. I think I’d rather save all that money and take more vacations to feel like a kid.

I like to eat too. San Carlos has a lot of good restaurants and a lot more to choose from than Belmont. Could it be that other people enjoy eating as much as I do and are willing to pay dearly for it? Though-last time I ate in a San Carlos restaurant I don’t remember them asking for my residency card when they offered me a table.

What could it be that draws people to San Carlos over Belmont? They do have a lot of nice flags-you know-the ones with flowers and a lot of colors that they fly everyday-as if to show the world that their town is more colorful than others.

It could be the streets. The streets in San Carlos are much more laid out like a grid pattern-straight and predictable. Belmont’s streets are just the opposite-unpredictable and like a small mountain town ought to be. Maybe that’s why there’s less crime? Everyone knows criminals aren’t that smart or they wouldn’t be doing what they do for a living. Maybe they just get lost going to Belmont.

It makes my wonder where they’d all live if there weren’t city boundaries? But which name would we use-Belmont or San Carlos? I guess San Carlos since it’s got a Spanish name like most people think bay area towns ought to have.

Whatever the reason I like our little town-as unpredictable as it is.

You can read more about our little town here in our blog BeautifulMountainBlog.org

Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.

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