Palo Alto is in the south-eastern section of the San Francisco Peninsula.  The city includes portions of Stanford University, is headquarters to a number of Silicon Valley high-tech companies, including Hewlett-Packard, VMware, Tesla Motors, and IDEO, and has served as an incubator to several other high-tech companies.  

Palo Alto, north of Oregon Expressway, is filled with older homes, including Craftsman and California Colonials, some of which date back to the 1890s but most of which were built in the first four decades of the 20th century. It has highly rated public schools, a high quality of life, and a vibrant downtown area. 

The Palo Alto Unified School District provides public education for most of Palo Alto. Palo Alto students attend one of two high schools, the critically acclaimed Gunn High School or Palo Alto High School.  There are also 3 middle schools: J.L.S., Jordan, and Terman. 

The Los Altos School District and Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District provide public education for the Monroe neighborhood portion of Palo Alto off El Camino Real south of Adobe Creek (near Los Altos at San Antonio).  

Private schools include Bowman International School, Castilleja School, Challenger School, Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, The Girls' Middle School, International School of the Peninsula, Keys School, Pinewood School, St Elizabeth Seton, Palo Alto Chinese School, and Stratford School.