answer:There are plenty of nonritzy options not far from Los Altos. I live in an area of Silicon Valley that is definitely not ritzy: a neighborhood of older single-family homes, with some duplexes and small apartment units thrown in. We have high-rent neighborhoods close by and also pretty low-tier choices: columned mansions here, cardboard developments there, and plenty of condominiums and small single dwellings in between, all not very far apart. However, even modest places can be expensive, depending on what you’re used to. Where are you now, and how much of a place are you looking for?