From the JoeBurnsBlog

Many call Greenbrae a city, most a neighborhood and some a planned community.  This unique little area of central Marin County is actually a County Service Area (CSA#16 to be exact.)   Greenbrae is ideally located near the major north/south traffic corridor of Hwy 101, it lies just north of the main entry into Ross Valley and is a quick jaunt to the eastbound Interstate 580 (Richmond-San Rafael bridge) to the East Bay.(Contra Costa County, Alameda County, Oakland, etc).   Just over the hill to the north of Greenbrae is the county seat of Marin and commerce hub, San Rafael.  If one was to pick an area of Marin to optimize its proximity to transportation, (Hwy 101, I580, Larkspur Ferry), Shopping (Bon Air Center), Views (Mt. Tamalpais to the southeast, bay view to the southwest), Funkyness (Ross Valley, Fairfax, San Anselmo and the road to Bolinas).  You really can't find a more practical location to all that is Marin.

There is a Main Street, America feel about Greenbrae.  The level streets are lined with big Elms, Oaks and the occasional Pine.  There are original roundabouts and nicely manicured meridians. (paid by the small annual landscape maintenance fee)

And what really is the best thing about Greenbrae, the schools.  CSA#16 is part of the Kentfield Unified School District, which includes Anthony Bacich School (K-4), Kent Middle School (5-8) and Distinguished Redwood High School, all Statewide Ranking of 10 in API.

Bacich scored 936 on the 2008 Base API, second in the county only to Mill Valley's Tamalpais Valley Elementary.  Kent Middle School earned a 920 Base API (2008) and Redwood High once again led the county with an 880.  These schools in sum are the cream of the crop for the area.  Sure, you pay a little more in county taxes for the Kentfield School assessment, but were talking a couple hundred a year and that is absolute peanuts when you consider the level of public education here. 

If private or parochial schools are your thing, then Marin Catholic is right down the street adjacent to Bacich Elementary.

Local shopping at the Bon Air Center, on Sir Francis Drake, includes Mollie Stone's, Secret Garden Children's Clothes, Destination 1440 Marin and Long's Drugs.  All the major banks are in the area and the usual food suspects of Peet's Coffee, Jamba Juice and Noah's Bagels are all across the street from the Greenbrae entry point. 

Median price of sold homes in Greenbrae for 2009 (to-date) is $899,000.  Though many of the homes on the hill with views exceed $1.25 million, there remains a offering of $800-1m properties.

Greenbrae is the Ideal Marin County Neighborhood and it is relatively affordable for Marin comparisons.  If you would like more information regarding Greenbrae or other Marin County neighborhoods, contact Joe Burns at JoeBurnsMail@gmail.com.