Why is Palo Alto apt rentals skyrocketing right now? (Berkeley: for sale, homes)

[andyadhi01]

I think its because techies love staying close to each other, love each other, admire each other, tell each other that they are revolutinizing the planet and how great they are... And they will pay a lot of money for the proximity that enables this narcicisstic lovefest -

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by ZorbaTheGeek

Palo Alto is exquisite, an exclusive environment, almost park-like. It's the opposite of suburban tract houses. And it's close to San Jose (the tech boom drove real estate prices up anywhere in the area of SJ) and commutable to San Fran as well. Easy hop across the bridge to the East Bay. Primo location. That costs. They don't give that away, know what I'm sayin?

Oh really? Palo Alto is just plain old vanilla suburb just like any other place USA. I would chose a charming place like Berkeley anyday over the sterile and boring Palo Alto.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by checkup

Palo Alto has the strongest NIMBY element of any part of the Bay Area...

How many Palo Altans does it take to screw in a light bulb?

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How many Palo Altans does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Just one. She holds onto the light bulb and the world revolves around her.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

Oh really? Palo Alto is just plain old vanilla suburb just like any other place USA. I would chose a charming place like Berkeley anyday over the sterile and boring Palo Alto.

Palo Alto out-Berkeleys Berkeley, in some ways. It's beautiful.

[mattja]

The fact Palo Alto has a park (Foothills Park) open only to Palo Alto residents tells me all I need to know about that city.

I don't remember all the history of why this is so, but I believe they limited access to Palo Alto residents as a way to spite residents of their neighbor, Los Altos.

The end result is the park is a ghost town. They can barely keep it up. In fact, they can't even afford to keep the security guard on duty at the front gate who checks IDs and keeps the unwanted out. Unwanted being anyone who doesn't live in Palo Alto.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by checkup

Palo Alto has the strongest NIMBY element of any part of the Bay Area. It's nearly impossible to build there, and add supply. Despite being a center of many major tech companies and service firms, PA refuses to be anything other than a low density suburb with some office parks

^^This story is replicated throughout the Bay Area and California, but you are correct...NIMBYism is strongest in places like Palo Alto, and it most certainly jacks up the cost of real estate.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by mattja

The fact Palo Alto has a park (Foothills Park) open only to Palo Alto residents tells me all I need to know about that city.

I don't remember all the history of why this is so, but I believe they limited access to Palo Alto residents as a way to spite residents of their neighbor, Los Altos.

The end result is the park is a ghost town. They can barely keep it up. In fact, they can't even afford to keep the security guard on duty at the front gate who checks IDs and keeps the unwanted out. Unwanted being anyone who doesn't live in Palo Alto.

Yeah, when they bought the land none of the surrounding communities wanted to chip in. Also, it's not a regular park. It's a nature preserve, so you have concerns about the number of visitors traipsing through the nature preserve parts of the park. Point is there are reasons aside from pure NIMBYism, which is quite high. Of course, it's just as high in Berkeley. The difference is Berkeley is more of a city, has the UC. Go into Berkeley Hills though, and it's every bit as NIMBY as Palo Alto is.

[zombocom]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I saw several listings for 1-br. apts. in Palo Alto on Craigslist for $1600, as well as 1 or 2 for around $1900-$2100. It depends on the square footage involved, and to some extent on the location.

East Palo Alto is a separate city.

[zombocom]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

Oh really? Palo Alto is just plain old vanilla suburb just like any other place USA. I would chose a charming place like Berkeley anyday over the sterile and boring Palo Alto.

Charming is an interesting word to describe Berkeley...

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

I think its because techies love staying close to each other, love each other, admire each other, tell each other that they are revolutinizing the planet and how great they are... And they will pay a lot of money for the proximity that enables this narcicisstic lovefest -

OP, A lot of people here (city-data) get off on talking down about people that work in tech. I guess it makes them feel better if they act as if they are superior to them. Don't let that stop you from moving here, they are mostly people ranting on the internet, I haven't seen such people IRL. Palo Alto rents are high because of 3 reasons, the proximity to jobs, the quality of the schools, and the proximity to areas like downtown Palo Alto, downtown Mountain View, and downtown Menlo Park.