Most expensive places in the U.S.

Interesting article in Forbes magazine: The most expensive ZIP Codes 2005. The list is a "testament to the costs of living in California, with half of our top ten ZIPs in that state, and nearly two-thirds of our top 25." The most expensive place is Atherton (CA), followed by other Californian cities like Montecito (2), Rancho Fe (3), Newport Beach (4). Santa Monica (where I lived five years ago) is even more expensive than New York (13) and Beverly Hills (15). Forbes comments: "It's not such a shock when you consider that California home prices increased nearly 100 percent between 1999 and 2000, according to the U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. But the real estate market in some locations has made a u-turn since the dot-com bust--several of the most expensive places are in or very close to San Francisco and Silicon Valley."