What's wrong with South PA? Around Town, posted by Curious, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Apr 19, 2007 at 6:04 pm
OK, this is a little tongue in cheek and I mean it to be light-hearted, but this caught my eye for the admit weekend for incoming Stanford student parents:
"Dine and Shop Around Palo Alto
This special event focuses on giving parents a chance to explore all that the Stanford-Palo Alto area has to offer. Between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m., three free shuttles take visitors to and from Stanford to Stanford Shopping Center and downtown Palo Alto. A separate shuttle takes the same route, but goes to California Avenue business district. Sample the ambience of Palo Alto, shop and dine and enjoy entertainment in Palo Altos' quaint business districts."
Wow - all the way South to California Ave??? I guess we just can't let them see past Page Mill, huh?
What about Straits cafe? Hobbee's? Dinah's? Happy Donuts? Sunday Brunch at Cabana? Trader Vic's? Driftwood for a sandwich? The deli at Piazza's? Mike's Cafe? Compadre's? Grullense? Celia's? Sushi Tomo? Fuki Sushi? Dan Brown's?
Posted by Rick, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Apr 20, 2007 at 10:12 pm
It should be no suprise that the city leaders look down upon South Palo Alto. Look at Alma Plaza and the comments/actions to not allow a real retail center. One council member said they could go to Mountain View to shop. Some time ago at a public meeting one council member/mayor was overheard apologizing to a friend for living in South Palo Alto.
Posted by Leslie, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Apr 21, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Wow! I had always thought the jokes about south PA were a joke.
At least until I heard the story of a previous Fairmeadow principal who commented to the wife of a Stanford visiting scholar on the reason she could not enroll her child in the local school: "This is south Palo Alto, and like all lower income areas, the families are larger". In my circle of friends, we have told this story, joke and call this Baja Palo Alto. (Upon reflection, I am uncomfortable with the implied insult to Mexico, and have stopped.)
Now, I heard this second hand (from a trusted source), but it does agree with the general tone and my experience of nearly 15 years here in south Palo Alto. The impression is that those of us who live 'down here' are a bit more wild and woolly, less cultured than our neighbors in the north. This is all quite insane, because we all know what real estate is worth, even in the deep south. It does make me stop and ponder though. How did this get started?
Posted by Bystander, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Apr 21, 2007 at 4:54 pm
It always strikes me as strange that if South Palo Alto is not as affluent as the area north of Oregon, or that the residents to the south are not quite as couth (opposite of uncouth) as those further north, then how does Piazza's manage to survive. To me it is a symbol of all that is affluent, diverse, and definite caters to those of a more refined palate.
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