Palo Alto, California: Is It a Good Place to Live?

I've lived throughout the South Bay and could never afford Palo Alto. Is it a great place to live? Absolutely. But a 3 br. home is going to cost a fortune. You're in the million+ territory. Definitely places to walk and bike in the area. Public transportation is available but not too many people in that area would use it, other than students. This is a city where most people drive a Mercedes or similar vehicle.

What's great about the area? A lot of educated people. Innovative industry. Best weather in the country. Tons to do. If you're outdoor people, this is a super area to live. People are very active and you'll find lots of places to hike and bike. The fantastic weather allows you to be outdoors a lot of the year.

You're going to want to look up the Peninsula to areas like Redwood City or south to San Jose to get more affordable housing. Schools will depend on the specific neighborhood you select. The more expensive, the better the schools. Definitely find a realtor who can help you narrow it down.

I just drove through Palo Alto. I grew up in the Bay Area and worked at Stanford for a long time. There are no modest 3 bedroom houses in the area. I am not lying. Folks pay millions for modest homes and then do massive re-models. This is the land where the people who started facebook and apple and google live. It is one of the most expensive areas in the country. You might be able to find an affordable rental outside of Palo Alto itself. I have friends that rent in Mountain View. Not sure of how high it is there, but I am guessing fairly high. It is a beautiful area with many outdoor options. Public transportation is spotty...it depends how where you need to go.

It is a truly lovely place to live if you have a whole bunch of money. If you do not, then it is not so pleasant.

Get or call a Realtor.
They can answer all of those questions and provide info/resources.
Also look at the Palo Alto website.

It is a 'high end' area.
Google search "Palo Alto demographics."

I've lived near there.
Nice place.
It is a high income highly educated place as well.
White collar
Professionals etc.

Much different from the Midwest.
The personality types as well.

This is just humor/trivia info:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=palo%20alto

Palo Alto is beautiful.

it's EXTREMELY expensive. Here's a quick google search..
http://www.searchsiliconvalleyhomes.com/searchresults.asp...

I sorted by lowest first so as not to bowl you over - but a 6 bed, 6 bath is $23M...(it's also 23K square feet!) yes, there are cheaper - and if you go outside to Los Altos, etc. surrounding areas - you might find less expensive homes.

Talk to a real estate agent. Get pre-approved to find out what you can afford and then go out looking for what works for your family based on that information.

Good luck!

I used to live In Palo Alto when I was a kid. It's a really nice place to live but extremely expensive. But if your husband can commute, you could live somewhere closer to San Jose and find a home for a lot less.

Palo Alto is a really nice town. The housing is VERY expensive, but you get a lot for it. The schools are excellent and, with Stanford University right there, you get a lot of restaurants, shops and cultural opportunities. I have been several times, as one of my closest college friends grew up there and her parents still live there.

I think that, if you could afford a house, you'd be really happy living there.

We just moved from the East Bay (Pleasant Hill/Walnut Creek) area of the Bay Area to Deerfield, IL in July 2012. The GREAT news (for you) is that the property taxes in California are a third of what they are in Illinois. We had an $800K home in Pleasant Hill and paid $8K in property tax. In Deerfield we have a similarly priced home and pay $23,000. However, we have excellent schools in Deerfield. Our schools for the Pleasant Hill house were just OK. The Middle School was rated a 6 whereas our school here is a 10. The reason (in my opinion)are the higher property taxes. Vehicle registration cost is higher in California than Illinois. Sales tax is about the same.

Re: Weather - Yes, California has "nice" weather if your definition for nice is that the weather never changes. Oh maybe a little rain in the winter but it's always the same. We are so happy to have four seasons. California does have the ocean, mountains(Yosemite, Tahoe), spectacular redwood trees and lots of bikes lanes. And earthquakes, but they aren't a big deal. But no thunder storms, snow, or drenching rains. California is better for some types of gardening - rosemary grows year around and roses love the dry heat but you will need to water your garden and that can be an expense. Most homes have a sprinkler system in place. And, even though it is colder in Illinois our heating and cooling expenses are similar to those when we lived in California so I think power is cheaper in Illinois, maybe.

You got some great info about Palo Alto - it is a lovely place but super expensive. $1.5 for 1500 sf sounds about right. My husband was commuting from Pleasant Hill to Redwood City for a couple months and it was about an hour. You could look at Walnut Creek for a home - good schools and not a bad commute. Expect to pay $900K and up but you'll get a pretty nice house. Another area that is closer but would offer a better value would be Pleasanton. Good-luck.

SUPER expensive real estate and I live in a place with ridiculously expensive homes. Here in Carmel, we think of Palo Alto as BIG DOUGH. You will not find a turn key 3/2 for under 1.3mil and that would be a little 1500 square foot deal.

Start researching online. It's not expensive just because of silicon valley, it was expensive well before the dot com boom. It's a lovely place to live with lots of open space, a cute downtown, great weather and close proximity to culture and city fun. You will find a very "interesting" population of people there which you may or may not relate to, it ain't the mid-west that's for sure.

We just moved to the Bay area this past summer from Chicago. Palo Alto is a beautiful place to live. It has a great downtown area and excellent schools. The downside is definitely the cost of living there, and in the Bay area in general. We rent a modest, 4 BR house in Sunnyvale for $3800. I researched the area like crazy, as my husband is working in Redwood City, just above Palo Alto. (It is about a 25 minute commute for him. Every once in awhile, it will be longer.) Rent closer in towns to San Francisco, tends to be a little higher. (We also considered a house in San Carlos but it was $4500). Mountain View is a little more affordable rent-wise, but depending on where you live the schools can be problematic. I based where we would live on the schools, the commute, and being further south of SF. San Jose is definitely more affordable--about $3000 to rent a house, but again commute and schools can be an issue. A great place to start is http://school-ratings.com/ . To buy a house out here you would definitely need over a million dollars for a BASIC house. Good luck. Private message me if you have more questions.