Unfortunately, it's a different location than the Little House on the Prarie books. There was a book that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote, "On the Banks of Plum Creek" that you could be recalling. The town that she describes in her other books, Walnut Grove, is another one you might be remembering. These places are in the center of the country - Minnesota and South Dakota, if I recall correctly. However, the television series was filmed here in California, although they tried to suggest it was the cold north : - )

And yes, also an unfortunate reality - housing here is wildly expensive, and there are no two ways around that. Some areas are better than others. Walnut Creek is a tad better than San Francisco or "Silicon Valley" but not by a whole lot. People who live there may actually work nearby, or commute - to Oakland, Berkeley, or SF. It's unlikely they'd commute to the San Jose area, although I guess some could, but it would be a horrendous commute. Most wouldn't. There are a lot of companies in the East Bay also. If you really choose to move here for therapy, probably the cheapest option is to rent a room in a house. But I would meet the therapist first, to see if you're a good match and everything else works, before making such a big change.

Take care,
ErinBear