Crescent Dr, Crescent Park

That is the only word that went through my mind when I mistakenly turned onto this street one day. Driving on University Avenue into downtown Palo Alto, it is easy to see the older homes on the busier road, but Crescent Drive is just the opposite. It is an idyllic, posh, comfortable Northern California neighborhood in a very residential area, with almost as many basketball hoops as there are minivans.

The catch, of course, is the price. Crescent has all of the key ingredients that make a neighborhood or a block expensive - it is close to downtown in one of the most expensive towns in Silicon Valley, on a secluded tree-lined side street with much larger homes than average, close enough to the highway that it is easy to get anywhere but far enough away that noise is merely an afterthought.

Overall, a beautiful place, but maybe not worth the price.