I'm not from SV, and only visited for work, but I took a quick Google street view tour, following Atherton avenue past El Camino Real to Fair Oaks lane, then to Marsh road that seems to run into the bay after crossing 101. Oddly, I didn't see any of the signs in Spanish or "treeless flats" as described in the article. Did I take a wrong turn?<p>Looking at satellite view, I do see a trailer park on the other side of 101, but that's the only thing that sticks out as treeless and rather sad looking.<p>The article make me think that if I take two steps outside of Atherton, I'm going to immediately be greeted by poverty and "servants" of the masters... from the streetview perspective, it really doesn't look like it at all. Fair Oaks ln looks almost like Atherton ave, if a bit more modest. Marsh road has some multi-family housing and a few strip malls. Only sign I noted was "Atherton Subs", which isn't in Spanish or hand-painted.<p>I'm sure there is a huge chasm between the wealthy of the Valley and those less fortunate, but same is true in many other places. Montecito in Santa Barbara county isn't exactly cheap and competes for that zipcode accolade from Forbes mentioned in the article. A short drive to the south is Oxnard, the original home of the hell's angels... Beverly Hills and Bel Air in Los Angeles are short drives to really bad gang areas... Travel to other countries, and the proximity and contrasts get worse.
Why are tech salaries notable when they are an insignificant component of the overall wealth distribution?<p>The fact is some people just don't like nerds.