Palo Alto Questions? (Concord, Stanford, Atherton: apartment, credit card, townhome)

[ceeveg]

My husband and I are looking at relocating to various places for work-related purposes, and Palo Alto is one of the areas we've had a job offer.

Is the area extremely expensive? I'm originally from northern CA, but have no point of reference for SF Bay area, and haven't lived in the state since the late 80s.

Is the area family-friendly? We have an 11mo daughter.

What is the general cost of living there? Is it difficult to find a good apartment or townhome?

Is it hard to get around in the city?

Thank you for any input. We've done research online, but would love to have personal opinion. Thanks!

[Phillip S1]

My uncle lived in Palo Alto for 10 years. It's extremely expensive to live in, and everything is expensive. Excellent schools, etc.

[ceeveg]

Thanks. I wonder if a salary in the low-100s would be enough, then, if it were our sole income.

[hsw]

Don't know of anywhere on planet w/a higher QOL than PA area

COL is certainly higher vs many economically weaker regions; but is cheaper than Manhattan and not more costly than comparable upscale suburbs of Dallas or Chicago

Need to value one's career opportunities in region; don't know of any places in world with as powerful an economy w/both many major cos. and with many new start-up companies (e.g., google is ~10yrs old)

Ethos is about upward mobility in PA region; much of wealth in region has been amassed over past 25 yrs, often by smart kids who started out as ~$100K/yr engineers fresh out of Stanford, initially working up corporate ladder and/or starting own companies (w/far less cash pay than $100K/yr at outset in start-ups)

[kdaca]

I grew up in the Palo Alto area, attended elementary school there, and spent some time working at Stanford.

As others have said, Palo Alto is wealthy area (although not as wealthy as Atherton) with strong schools. I'd definitely say it's geared more towards families than the single's set. You may want to use a cost of living calculator to give you an idea of how you're going to live in PA versus how you're living now...where ever that is. Try these:

SalaryExpert.com | Cost of Living Calculator
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Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

As for getting around, Palo Alto isn't completely car-dependent. There's SamTrans to get around by bus, CalTrain to get around by rail, and the area is bike-friendly enough; however, there are other cities in the Bay Area with better bus/train systems, imo.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by hsw

Don't know of anywhere on planet w/a higher QOL than PA area

What about the Hamptons?

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by ceeveg

Thanks. I wonder if a salary in the low-100s would be enough, then, if it were our sole income.

No way Jose. At best, that type of salary can support "normal family living"* in the East Bay.

* I realize there will be those who'll post "you can get by on 50K" but they are referring to the starving student / artist life style, not what most people would consider "normal family living." And by that I do not mean big screen TV / granite counters - I mean basics like SFH, not having to share car, kids not wearing clothes that make them look poor, etc.

[ANC]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

No way Jose. At best, that type of salary can support "normal family living"* in the East Bay.

* I realize there will be those who'll post "you can get by on 50K" but they are referring to the starving student / artist life style, not what most people would consider "normal family living." And by that I do not mean big screen TV / granite counters - I mean basics like SFH, not having to share car, kids not wearing clothes that make them look poor, etc.

Correct you are. Before I was laid off, we were a household about $100k per year, and we have no debt. Don't even have credit cards. Most months we felt pinched by the end of the month, even with not doing many activities that cost money, and most of our things have been bought used. Then we went down to about $55k, and oh my god. We've given up so much, moved to an extremely small place, can't even afford to use our car. Prior to dying, my parents we living the "normal family" life in Concord on $120k.

The catch now is we can't afford to live comfortably here, can't afford to move out of the are.

No one should move to this area and expect to be comfortable on only $100k.