https://www.quora.com/It-is-too-expensive-for-me-to-live-in-Palo-Alto-What-are-the-safe-and-affordable-parts-of-these-nearby-cities-South-San-Jose-Hayward-Fremont-Union-City-and-Livermore
You can look around north San Jose, fremont, Milpitas, and Livermore. These cities are just a tad less expensive than Palo Alto.