There is a stack of applications for the Palo Alto dept that is surely a foot high...supply and demand says most of the positions are plenty acceptable to a huge backlog of applicants
I understand rents being high because of the cost of housing in general - it costs a great deal of money to pay the property taxes alone.
Let's face it - Palo Alto is a wondrous city. So many great things come out of this area because it's chock full of talent in so many areas - from software developers to financial investors, medical researchers, inventors, lawyers, etc. There's a reason why the cost of housing is high: many people want to live here, and living here affords all kinds of opportunity and inspiration.
But it does need to be managed. Pricing out talented individuals is bad for the future. Families should be able to move into the area to work important jobs at local businesses.
I have several children, and it's a struggle to get by in the area, let alone save for the future. I see so many people that work non-stop in great jobs that are barely making it. The cost of housing is such that it's affordable for people with multiple high incomes and that's just about it.
Many local businesses don't look good, and it's no wonder. How can they possibly bring in workers at retail wages? My neighborhood is full of people sleeping in their cars every day who work at local restaurants. At first I was completely wierded out by the phenomenon, but at this point I understand. They are just trying to get by, and can't drive in during rush hour to prepare for the dinner shift, so they do what they have to do.
The cost of housing in this area is great for some, but it affects the quality of life of many residents and many people who come to the area to work. Palo Alto needs to expand the availability of affordable housing in order to sustain itself.
Other communities have found solutions. In Huntington Beach we had Median Income Housing developed with caps on pricing. There are large facilities in town that look to be unoccupied or sparsely occupied. Surely there is room for high density housing like apartments or condos. Even a hundred units would make a difference and help drive sustainability.
My 2 cents.
I'm certainly not arguing that Palo Alto or areas around it don't have serious pricing problems caused by policy that restricts growth. I rent in San Mateo (can't afford to buy) and am very frustrated that houses typically cost $1M or more (outside of what I consider affordable, on a dual-professional income, very similar to yours).
Based on your response what I am hearing is that you're angry. That's fine, but you're lashing out. For example, you just attacked me, while I provided a data-driven argument that your $150K argument was simply false. It's based, apparently, on your insistence that you must buy, rather than rent. Renting is currently much more affordable than buying in the Bay Area.
As for whether the support staff for a city should be able to afford to live in the city they support, that's another argument. I personally do not see any requirement that a city provides affordable housing to its support staff, especially in the form of purchased housing. That would be a major policy change that would have enormous impact.
Again, my only beef is on the $150K quote from your interview (and your requirements for "walkable to downtown" and "kids can bike on the street"). I think your argument would be much stronger if you backed off on that, and cited a more reasonable compromise (living 30 minutes from PA).