Marsh Rd, Friendly Acres

It seems that, despite the higher cost of real estate, all of the Peninsula traffic appears on the eastern side, and Marsh Road is practically the epicenter of it all. Given its access to the Dumbarton Bridge and Highway 101 alike, it sees more cars in a day than most used dealerships see in a year (well, I have no way of verifying that but it seems likely).

But venture even a half mile off the interstate, and the area suddenly feels slightly more peaceful and far more manageable than certain other nearby exits. It's no wonder - residents of Atherton, home of the second most expensive zip code in the United States, aren't paying millions to live in a loud, crowded area. Ironically, even the gas prices here are slightly lower than those adjacent to nearby University Avenue (in East Palo Alto).

Bottom line: there will always be traffic, but it may not be as bad as you think. And the price tags trump the traffic here, anyway.