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Technically Palo Alto is my hometown where lived, but I went to grammar/high school in Menlo Park because of the way they drew the disrict lines. I actually really love the whole Menlo Park/Palo Alto/Atherton area. I think it's beautiful, lots of trees, nice homes, good weather, great schools, even though it's suburban there's still a good amount of stuff to do, and the people are generally very nice.
Some things I don't like, that everyone is very cookie cutter. People there seem to be trying sooo hard to live that "perfect" little suburban life and it's so obviously fake sometimes. It seems like everyone has an SUV, and a golden retreiver and if you deviate from that "status quo" you aren't included. There's obviously nothing wrong with golden retreivers or SUVs but I guess my problem is it's not very diverse. My high school was diverse because it drew from a larger area, but my middle school (where everyone had an eddie baur backpack) had only I think maybe 20 minorities in a school of just over 300 children. Palo Alto is great I'd just say it's rather sheltered and if you grow up there you definitely should travel and know that life isn't always perfect, and that's ok.
I also don't like that it's sooo expensive.... but as OTW said you pay for "paradise." While mine isn't as literal a paradise as hers, I don't think there's much to complain about.
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