<p>Palo Alto is a boring, expensive college town. In fact, it’s the most expensive college town in the nation. (source: <a href=“http://most-expensive.net/college-town[/url]”>http://most-expensive.net/college-town</a> ). Housing off-campus is astronomical even with the recession. Median home prices are still increasing with an avg median price of $1.4 million.</p>
<p>Not having a car limits your mobility since bikes and legs can only get you so far in a suburban area. Stanford provides a free bus system for the local area. For reaching the rest of Silicon Valley VTA is the only option for public transit, which was deemed the “worst managed transit agency” in the US. (source: [Cato-at-liberty</a> The Nation’s Worst-Managed Transit Agency](<a href=“http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2007/04/13/the-nations-worst-managed-transit-agency/]Cato-at-liberty”>http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2007/04/13/the-nations-worst-managed-transit-agency/))</p>
<p>Knowing that the campus is lacking a local college town, Stanford provides a lot of resources for its students on campus. Even though Palo Alto is expensive, it’s a very safe community. Murders, rapes, and violent crimes are very rare. Compare Palo Alto to national avg for crime rates ([Crime</a> Rate Comparison: Palo Alto Vs. Mountain View](<a href=“Crime Rate Comparison: Palo Alto Vs. mountain view”>Crime Rate Comparison: Palo Alto Vs. mountain view))</p>