# Ridiculous! $2.5M for an 897 sqft home in Palo Alto CA **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 15, 2018, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141 "2018-06-15T11:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/81 "2018-06-23T19:52:29Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > For non-Californians, one odd thing people do here is go to the snow. (Usually Tahoe and its environs.) They buy 4-wheel drive vehicles to go over 80 in the snow. > Where I used to live the snow came to us. Even odder is when people drive up into the mountains around here, load snow onto their cars, and then drive back into the valley. I grew up where it snowed regularly every winter, so this was one of the funniest things I noticed when I moved out here. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/82 "2018-06-23T19:55:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Even odder is when people drive up into the mountains around here, load snow onto their cars, and then drive back into the valley. I grew up where it snowed regularly every winter, so this was one of the funniest things I noticed when I moved out here. That’s weird. Our HOA puts down a bunch of snow for the Christmas party in the park, but up in Fremont we must be too far away from your mountains to bring snow. Mission Peak never gets very much. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/83 "2018-06-23T20:12:12Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > That’s weird. Our HOA puts down a bunch of snow for the Christmas party in the park, but up in Fremont we must be too far away from your mountains to bring snow. Mission Peak never gets very much. I live closer to the Santa Cruz mountains, but the hills/mountains on you side of the bay usually get more snow. IIRC, the pass on Hwy 17 is about 1,800 feet, but if you get off at Summit, you can gain altitude pretty quickly going north. When you get to the intersection with Hwy 9, it’s about 2,500 feet. That’s only ~7 miles from downtown Saratoga, if you go up Hwy 9 directly. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/84 "2018-06-25T12:06:29Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > For non-Californians, one odd thing people do here is go to the snow. (Usually Tahoe and its environs.) They buy 4-wheel drive vehicles to go over 80 in the snow. > Where I used to live the snow came to us. Why is that odd? I’m from Upstate NY and miss the snow. I like that we are close enough to Tahoe and Yosemite for a quick snow fix. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/85 "2018-06-25T12:52:53Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > For non-Californians, one odd thing people do here is go to the snow. (Usually Tahoe and its environs.) They buy 4-wheel drive vehicles to go over 80 in the snow. > Where I used to live the snow came to us. And Californians are the odd ones? Snow is something you drive to, play in for a day or a couple of days, then you _drive away from!_ You don’t _live_ in dat shit. Same thing here in Arizona. We got lots and lots of folks who used to live in Chicago or Racine who are perfectly happy if they never see another flake. So, where you are now the snow doesn’t come to you like where you _used_ to live; I’m guessing you came to the same conclusion or at least don’t mind. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/86 "2018-06-25T13:11:15Z")
> [@](#): > > This is the wrong way to think about it, because nothing is lost there. Whoever used to own the painting can now spend that $40 million on parks and programs and whatever. The painting still exists and the money still exists. They’ve just changed hands. But that’s not how it works in real life. The top ultra rich 1% of this nation controls approximately 38% of its wealth, but they don’t use it for “parks and programs and whatever”, They use it for multiple homes, expensive cars, yachts, art, etc, etc. They also use it to buy a president that will give them a HUGE tax break so that they can horde even more money. They do it because that is their view of “worth”. Anyone who is buying or selling $40 million paintings obviously has that view of “worth”. The person who sold that painting undoubtedly used it to purchase other material objects, otherwise they most likely never would have had that painting in the first place. > [@](#): > > Same with the house. Someone owns this itty bitty expensive house, and after it’s sold, someone else will own it. Sure, a little of the money that changes hands is going to end up spent in transaction fees, but most of the money is still around. Whoever sells the house can go do something socially valuable with it. Or not! But it’s not the same as, say, spending the money to fill a swimming pool with jello, or to set off fireworks. Consumption goods are actually used up. Fine art and property aren’t. And if the Obama’s move? It’ll be rather difficult to sell that house at the same price that you bought it with the line, “The Obama’s USED to live two doors away!” LOL ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/87 "2018-06-25T23:19:41Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > And Californians are the odd ones? Snow is something you drive to, play in for a day or a couple of days, then you _drive away from!_ You don’t _live_ in dat shit. > > Same thing here in Arizona. We got lots and lots of folks who used to live in Chicago or Racine who are perfectly happy if they never see another flake. So, where you are now the snow doesn’t come to you like where you _used_ to live; I’m guessing you came to the same conclusion or at least don’t mind. Just before I left NJ it snowed 30 inches. We weren’t able to dig out our newspaper for a week. I had quit working so I wasn’t very inconvenienced, but that was enough to last me for a long time. We did take our kids to the snow when they were young, and I’d go more often (or ever) if it didn’t involve I80 up the mountain. Plus I don’t ski. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/88 "2018-06-26T01:53:16Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > “Holy crap on a cracker, Batman!” Saa-lap! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141/89 "2018-06-26T03:10:11Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Saa-lap! Smack! Pow! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-2-5m-for-an-897-sqft-home-in-palo-alto-ca/816141.md?page=4)