I've encountered this kind of sentiment elsewhere too. It's incredible... not even New York could make a solid six-figure offer almost look like a Wal-Mart wage.

The school situation is puzzling to me. The tax base should be fine, and the majority of the schools I see get high ratings on a nationwide basis. Is this genuinely a problem, or is a Valley resident's idea of a bad school one where the majority of the graduates do not get into top-ten universities? Cause my idea of a bad school is one where you have to go through a metal detector to get in and the majority of their graduates go nowhere. :)

Great tip about the traffic too. I went off Google directions, and I'm guessing those times are for light non-rush-hour traffic.