Los Altos vs Palo Alto - The Showdown (Sunnyvale, Mountain View: crimes, houses)

[mparker23]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Yes. Those who try to manufacture kids by moving to the perfect, sheltered, educationally correct community free of all influence from the 'little people', invariably get disappointing results. There's little to sweat about PA or LA. Woodside ain't too shabby, either.

Prevent Snobbery in Your Family.

Actually, i wouldn't call my beliefs on raising kids "maufacturing", too impersonal. I'll leave that to the wealthy, selfish elites who usher their kids to boarding schools and the out of touch, (and equally selfish) people who send their kids to gladiator academies. Kids need sheltering, precisely because they are KIDS, not adults. I want my kids to know what a lions and tigers are, but that doesn't mean I have to raise my kids in their den. That's not a classist, racist, or any other ist statement, it goes equally to all disengaged, out of touch parents who let their kids be influenced by horrible peer groups (the most powerful force in any kids life).

If i was to give it a sentance like you did, i'd say something like:

Prevent selfish, egocentric, me-first, anti-authority, anti-establishment foolishness in your family.

[Najran]

When I was in the navy,stationed at Moffett Field in the late eighties,early nineties,our Skipper would warn everyone to stay out of Palo Alto,East Palo Alto for sure.If you got in trouble there,and he found out about it,he would throw the book at you.I lived in Los Altos,and found it to be a beautiful town.I also lived in Cupertino and I really enjoyed that.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Najran

When I was in the navy,stationed at Moffett Field in the late eighties,early nineties,our Skipper would warn everyone to stay out of Palo Alto,East Palo Alto for sure.If you got in trouble there,and he found out about it,he would throw the book at you.I lived in Los Altos,and found it to be a beautiful town.I also lived in Cupertino and I really enjoyed that.

I should mention - since I also brought it up, and the OP might not realize it - the contrast between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto could not be more stark. Palo Alto is an affluent, largely white suburb. East Palo Alto is poor inner city grit, and you won't find many English speakers there nowadays.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by mparker23

disengaged, out of touch parents who let their kids be influenced by horrible peer groups (the most powerful force in any kids life).

To be prevented by educating or sheltering? Reality tends to visit upon all kids eventually. Allowing for something we in the non-profit social work sorta biz call "dignified risk". Just a matter of character and fortitude that they decide to become jerks or not.

BYU just lifted their 2006 campus ban on YouTube, citing sufficient evidence of "educational content". Ahhh, yeah. Time will tell what awful damage to these fragile young psyches this horror will beget. But it would appear that the youth would rather experience reality rather than have "see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil" foisted upon them, much as the ever-more sophisticated young kids prefer themselves. They can handle the 'Net. And other kids who may not be perfect. And they might even display proper respect for authority all the while.

I would fear the "influence" of the allegedly perfect kids in the perfect neighborhoods, come to think of it. Seems they inordinately end up more #%&*'d up than the rest! Something about a narcissistic, egocentric outlook. Maybe those fiercely rich hovels aren't the best places to bring up the kiddies after all, no?

Oh, what the hell, go for Monte Sereno. It's pretty.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I don't understand why you won't consider anything north of Menlo.

By excluding central San Mateo County you exclude San Carlos, Redwood Shores, Foster City and Belmont.

That is quite limiting.

[bigdumbgod]

Burlingame!

[waves17]

Los Altos is has a real small town feel compared to Palo Alto. They have a dog parade every year and last night we went to the Festival of Lights Christmas parade. You'll have nothing like that in Palo Alto. Los Altos is a very well run city with a budget surplus at this time compared to Palo Alto which is so far in debt you can count on higher taxes from them soon or huge cutbacks in service. If you want you kids to be feed soft socialist pablum everywhere they turn (Palo Alto City Hall actually flies the United Nations Flag) then Palo Alto is your ultra Politically Correct place. If you want to raise real men and woman that can think for themselves based upon a more traditional American upbringing - than Los Altos is your town. Both are safe cities with great schools. The joke about Palo Alto is "It is the only city in the US with a foreign policy" if you want to deal with a bunch of self absorbed hypocritical leftist - choose Palo Alto. Normal people enjoy life in Los Altos.Other tidbits - lots in Los Altos are bigger. Climate in Los Altos is a bit better. Less traffic and Noise (trains) in Los Altos. Both cities are in Santa Clara County.

[CAVA1990]

Los Altos Hills. You don't want to be on the flats.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Los Altos - genteel, mellow, understated, very residential (but not to the extreme of Atherton or Hillsborough) well heeled quiet suburbia, with a small but functional down town. Minimum lot sizes and still a fair number of one story large ranchers not overtaken by McMansion squeeze in jobs.

Palo Alto - the perfect place for people who miss typical middle to upper middle class Eastern suburbs. Has a larger downtown (small city type) than Los Altos. Arching trees, craftsman / colonial / etc homes. Lots and lots of that Eastern suburban liberal attitude similar to places like Lexington, MA, Huntington Woods, MI, Tarrytown, NY, etc.

Both places have similar price points.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Los Altos Hills. You don't want to be on the flats.

Why the heck not? That's like saying you don't want to be on the Atherton flats.