Palo Alto, yes, is extremely expensive. East Palo Alto, however, a separate city on the bay side of Hwy 101, tends to be a slum. Twenty years ago, it was known as the murder capital of the country.
People came from all around the bay for food in Mt View, and stopped in E Palo Alto to buy drugs.
Oh, not to knock the points you are making about work and education, but you should note that the writer of the article seems to be an older woman.
Older women are highly sought after in California community colleges. They are open door. Anybody’s welcome. But then they add special tutorials and organized clubs and cohorts and focused classes specifically designed to help assure success for at least three groups she probably belongs to: women students, older “ re- entry-” students, and Latino students. Each group typically gets their own counselors, extra focused “ success skills development” classes, special extra study tutoring, etc. And if she happens to be a lesbian that’s yet another special help group she can take advantage of. Tons of extra taxpayer resources are added to help these people succeed at California community colleges. But if she hadn’t tried to succeed, then she’ll never know — will she? Ps: too much crime in east PA. Don’t send her there. .