[dekhn]

I see plenty of units for rent in Palo Alto in this price range. Not East Palo Alto, Palo Alto. Also, don't just check Craigslist- that only includes a very limited number of rentals in that price range; other rental searches show a lot more examples.

[EDIT: I had incorrectly filtered my search. The price break is at $6K for a 4 bedroom (at least 4 units) not $5K. However, that is still well under half of the quoted value of $150K for a house purchase).

[Steeeve]

I have looked for a year and a half at 4 bedrooms in Palo Alto for under $5k / month - the caveat being that I have pets.

I have yet to see anything pop up other than where I currently live. It was available for all of three hours.

The upside is that if I were to leave the area, I would be able to provide my landlord with acceptable tenants quickly.