Palo Alto: The $5 Million Dollar Question
For the fun of it, let’s say your company just went public, and you’ve decided to upgrade “the place where you sleep.” Given your change in economic status, it’s probably time to leave your duplex with the neighbors who play Van Halen too loudly while they repair their orange ’73 VW bus in your front yard. And since you know that eventually you’ll get some days off, and then you’ll be able to start a family, the $5 million dollar question is, “Where should you move?”
I’ve prepared this neighborhood quiz to help you decide. Choose one:
A. I like to play polo in my free time.
B. I’ve always wanted a security gate and maids who wear uniforms.
C. I’d like to live in a place where I can work on college-level science fair projects with my ten year old, and where my spouse can go back to get his/her PhD at Stanford now that we can afford to live on a single income.
The answers:
A. Woodside. You’ll spend lots of time in an SUV during the carpool years.
B. Atherton. Don’t forget to join the country club and save for private school.
C. Palo Alto. (Disclosure: I live here and like it a lot.)
Well, you certainly can buy a much cheaper house than 551 Addison in Palo Alto, but I can’t recall a more superbly designed, never-been-lived-in house than this one. The layout and yard are perfect for a family. You can walk one block to a great elementary school. The clean craftsman architecture blends in with Old Professorville, yet it has all the high tech amenities you’d need as a Scion of Silicon Valley.
But here’s what kills me about this perfect house; they built it on a bad block. Go one block in any direction, and the houses are turn-of-the-century charmers. But this specific block is lined with apartment houses and rentals where people probably play Van Halen too loudly.
So this brings up the question, what do realtors really mean when they say the most important thing about buying a new house is “Location, location, location?” What do they mean by location? If you find the perfect house on a marginal block, but it’s in a truly wonderfule neighborhood, is that location good enough? Can you simply buy this perfect house, — which is so insanely great in so many other ways — and hope that the rest of the block catches up with the neighborhood in the next few years?
Back to the $5 million dollar question. I’m conflicted on this perfect house on a less than perfect block. But you know, those Van Halen guys would probably better understand where you’re coming from than some neighbors with maids in uniforms.
Price: $4,995,000
Location: 551 Addison Ave, Palo Alto
BR: 6, BA 6.5
Sq. Ft.: 5,600
Lot Size: 12,197 Sq Ft
MLS: #657999
