I've lived in Palo Alto most of my life and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. You can walk around the main parts of the city and it has somewhat of a community feeling while also being a major hub for tech and innovation.
I liked Palo Alto enough when I lived out there (well, technically right next door in Mountain View), but I could never justify paying a mortgage out there -- unless I was very, very rich (which I'm not--- yet). I moved back to Chicago we're I can get double the house for half the price. The Chicago tech scene is not as huge as Silicon Valley but it's big enough for my needs.
