Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Jose
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-14-2008, 03:13 PM
 
38 posts, read 218,218 times
Reputation: 23

Advertisements

Could someone please help me? I have been to both of these towns and am looking to buy a house in the area. I am married with 3 small kids. I am trying to understand the subtle differences between the towns. Are there more stay at home moms in one vs. the other? Is one town snobbier? Is one more laid back? Can anyone help? Both places look lovely. It's just difficult to SEE what it's like to live there unless you have experience. You know what I mean? Anyone?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-14-2008, 05:00 PM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 29,143,792 times
Reputation: 3631
Take it from someone who interacts with both Los Altos and Palo Alto kids regularly. The towns are both pretty much cut from the same cloth, but Palo Alto is colored by the proximity of Stanford so it has a lot more life to it. By comparison, Los Altos is very quiet and laid-back.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 05:54 PM
 
Location: yeah
5,717 posts, read 16,343,273 times
Reputation: 2975
Also, never confuse Los Altos with Los Altos Hills. People get mad.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-15-2008, 12:52 PM
 
38 posts, read 218,218 times
Reputation: 23
Default Palo Alto neighborhoods

Palo alto seems to have a lot more going on as far as a downtown. Is there a particular neighborhood that is better for stay at home mom types?
The Southgate neighborhood seemed nice. Can anyone comment?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-18-2008, 05:55 PM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
2 posts, read 15,509 times
Reputation: 10
Palo Alto is more "happenen" than Los Altos. My coworker, he has 3 kids also, lives in Los Altos and it's very quiet. There are more things to do in Palo Alto, ie Stanford mall, University Avenue and the surrounding area.

Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-27-2008, 06:14 PM
wem
 
1 posts, read 12,437 times
Reputation: 10
I lived in Los Altos for a number of years...definitely laid back, and the "downtown" (if you can call it that) pretty much shuts down just after dark. That said, its not like its in the middle of nowhere, and Palo Alto is pretty close, and a nice drive down Foothill.

I do like PA, and would love to live there, we'll see what the future holds.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-01-2011, 07:20 PM
 
1 posts, read 10,295 times
Reputation: 11
Default Which one did you pick?

Hi. I am a stay-at-home mom, moving from NC to Palo Alto or Los Altos with 2 small children. I am in the same spot of trying to decide which town would be best to purchase in. My husband went to Stanford and he knows the area extremely well. I was just curious which town you ended up picking and how you felt since moving there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 4panthers View Post
Could someone please help me? I have been to both of these towns and am looking to buy a house in the area. I am married with 3 small kids. I am trying to understand the subtle differences between the towns. Are there more stay at home moms in one vs. the other? Is one town snobbier? Is one more laid back? Can anyone help? Both places look lovely. It's just difficult to SEE what it's like to live there unless you have experience. You know what I mean? Anyone?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-01-2011, 08:45 PM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
10,988 posts, read 20,556,080 times
Reputation: 8261
Pick Los Altos and play with my grandchildren who are 3 and 6!! The parents of young children that I have met are the greatest.

The commute to Palo Alto is easy according to my daughter.

Los Altos is still a small town, it is quite likely that your husband will find former classmates. The Mommy (and Nannie) network is strong, play dates fill the calendar.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2011, 10:51 AM
 
Location: Silicon Valley, CA
13,561 posts, read 10,348,473 times
Reputation: 8252
Both towns are good for children, great schools, and are very pricey for real estate (no surprise here). Los Altos has more of a rural or rustic feel, it's smaller in area, and proportionately more residential than Palo Alto (less offices) , but it's not at all remote and very convenient to shopping, stores, other amenities.

I think you have to come and see for yourself personally which you prefer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2011, 04:47 PM
 
Location: Idaho
170 posts, read 462,951 times
Reputation: 85
Palo Alto is larger than Los Altos and has more housing choices. There are neighborhoods off of El Camino or Alma that don't require a million dollars to buy--although close. In Los Altos not so much.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Jose

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top