Scraping by on six figures? Tech workers feel poor in Silicon Valley's wealth bubble

[SFBayGamer]

the SF bay area is totally borked for anyone who is not:
1.) Super wealthy by average man standards aka making 750,000 or more
2.) or super poor by average man standards making less than 20,000

given the above 2 classifications would exclude like 98% of people, the whole thing is a mess.

I own several properties and pretty much now use them to solely prevent my less fortunate gamer friends and/or military buddies from having to move out by offering discounted rents, no deposit needed and no concern for rent which is late. I could make another 30-40K a year by putting all my properties on the open market and getting full rents, but then i would literally be surrounded by total and utter douche bags. I have had to purchase fully half my entire street of homes just to prevent a Tide of Darkness of second home owners/raging idiots with too much money from enclosing me.

Everyone even the wealthy seem to be closing in on a no-win situation.

[Kellhound]

$160K starting salaries.

And $2.5 million dollar houses wiping that out...

[PhantasmagoriaX]

Ugh, Hate articles like this.

I was born and raised in the bay area and yes there are parts that are stupid expensive, wanna know how to avoid living in a small apartment you are paying out the ass for?

You commute.. its that easy.

The bay area has wonderful public transportation so you dont need to worry about a car or you can car pool with co workers.

Also, This can be any city not just the bay, Im currently in the suburbs of seattle and rent is stupid expensive out here too .

[IIamaKing]

Are these people commuting an hour plus and still paying that much? If yes, that sucks, if no, move out of the city and commute morons.

[Very Tired]

Yeah, no. I live in California and can say the renting prices are bad, but not that bad. There are thousands of people working at near or minimum wage in the area doing the low level jobs, that won't even earn them a quarter of what that guy makes. They aren't all living with their parents, I can tell you that.

[SFBayGamer]

I make a bit over 40k a year and live like a king. With 160k I could live like a god.

How entitled can you be?

Money is a totally relative construct. 1 dollar where you are is not 1 dollar where I am, as no one absolutely no one could live like a king here on 160 unless by a "king" you mean living in an Hispanic ghetto and commuting an hour to work.

[IIamaKing]

Perhaps his wife should get a job?

This isn't a magic solution in a family with kids. If I bring in about 600 a week after taxes, 300 is gone instantly to child care, another 100 or so to gas, another 100 or so to food and on the job stuff, 40 hours a week for 100 bucks? no thanks.

[Rasulis]

Most anywhere in the West.

Like where?

Oregon & Washington? In term of cost of living, they are catching up fast. Portland and Seattle are already almost on par with the Bay Area. Also, their weather does not compare to the Bay Area.

Arizona & Nevada? Utah? Montana?

Seriously.

[callipygoustp]

Wow - I didn't realize it had already crested out to areas like Sacramento - that is beyond ridiculous for any kind of reasonable commute. I wonder if there is a bubble coming or if SF Bay Area is the new NYC.

Several people I work with have moved up to the Vacaville - Sacramento highway 80 corridor. My company is pretty telecommuter friendly but they still have to come into the office, usually, once a week. The savings is well worth the additional commute time for them.

[Xirrohon]

1) When you have kids use your family so move close to them if you are dual income consider the option of one of you staying home for a few years if the math works out. Also one of you might want to consider starting their own business if you have financial skills you can be a financial manager at home with a nice client list get the best of both worlds.

2) Yes you will have to commute you can't have both up to you to find a house you can afford.

3) Nice car and clothes roflmao a car's job is to get you from point A to point B if you feel you need to drive a BMW then you need your head checked, you can get very nice quality clothes on the cheap who cares about the label.

You can call me frugal or cheap but there are so many people including the ones in my life who bitch and complain about things like this when the problem is they can't help themselves but spend money on things that don't matter.

1) This may work for some but many people still have family that need to work. I listed $20k as what people pay for child care around where I live and that is cheap. It is usually much more. Not everyone has the luxury of having family to help. Start your own business? I dont think youre aware at how many small businesses fail.

2) Commute 2hrs one way makes sense to you. So you spend 20hrs commuting to work a week, so you can live in a decent house? Okay... If I make over $100k one shouldnt need to do that. Now, personally, I dont. But Im single, dont have kids and make over $100k. Add in bigger house, another car, more mouths to feed. Im going to be living pretty close to paycheck to paycheck.

3) I said 1970s. What dont you understand about my statement? Back then you could basically have a minumum wage job and were able to: Pay off you house in 10yrs. Own a car. Have nice clothes. Good food. Raise children, and do all of that on a single income. Many people have none of this now a days with a dual income. So yea, the value of the dollar right now is fucked.

[cubby]

I make a bit over 40k a year and live like a king. With 160k I could live like a god.

How entitled can you be?

Where you live makes a huge difference in how well you live, for many. Plus, you probably have a different definition (and a better one, if I may be so bold) of living like a king then they do.

[callipygoustp]

Why anyone would want to live in the Bay Area is beyond me. It has few (if any) redeeming qualities.

I wish more people, in the area, felt this way.

This area, the San Francisco bay area, is horrible, fucking move out already!
(I can dream)

[rulk]

Housing costs are a problem in a lot of areas, plain and simple.

My wife and I live in a 2 bedroom 1 bath ranch about 20 miles south of Boston, in a mediocre town. Between us we make around 105k pre-tax. She works in Boston, I work on Cape Cod.

The second we have multiple kids and have to move to a bigger home we're screwed.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

I am always open to suggestion. We have to retire sometimes.

Well that depends what you like I guess. My wife and I intend to retire to Montana and I'm well aware that isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea. A lot of retirees where I grew up and live (Wisconsin/Minnesota) are up here during the summer and have winter homes/cabins in Texas, Arizona, Florida when its not Hades-level heat, so that's an option. The mid-Atlantic is nice (North Carolina, Virginia), milder summers than Texas/Florida and milder winters than Minnesota/Wisconsin.

Or most any part of eastern Australia.

[Drusin]

I've seen people go from low paid jobs, to higher paid ones, and instead of thinking of saving the extra they earn, they increase spending..

I always see this and I find it strange. I try to live as poor as I possibly can but always seeking to make more money.

[Bryntrollian]

I make a bit over 40k a year and live like a king. With 160k I could live like a god.

How entitled can you be?

I feel the same way but the economy where you and I live is vastly different from what they have in that part of California.

[IIamaKing]

2) Commute 2hrs one way makes sense to you. So you spend 20hrs commuting to work a week, so you can live in a decent house? Okay... If I make over $100k one shouldnt need to do that. Now, personally, I dont. But Im single, dont have kids and make over $100k. Add in bigger house, another car, more mouths to feed. Im going to be living pretty close to paycheck to paycheck.

Why not? Cost of living is what it is. If you cant afford the area on your income, you move further out and commute. 2 hours one way is a LOT to be sure, but its not at all unheard of. I know a few people who do just that and MANY doing about an hour + one way.

[Rasulis]

And $2.5 million dollar houses wiping that out...

Give me a break. Even in SF proper, 2.5 million will get you a 6 bedrooms, 5 baths, 3000+ sq. feet house in the Lakeshore neighborhood. Which is a very nice neighborhood with very low crime rate.

[cubby]

Commute 2hrs one way makes sense to you. So you spend 20hrs commuting to work a week, so you can live in a decent house? Okay... If I make over $100k one shouldnt need to do that. Now, personally, I dont. But Im single, dont have kids and make over $100k. Add in bigger house, another car, more mouths to feed. Im going to be living pretty close to paycheck to paycheck.

Exactly. And people with families can't do that - they would never see their kids. There is a huge balancing act that goes on with families and work life - and people who don't have the burden really don't understand it. I certainly didn't until I was living it.

[Khallid]

Can't these guys just buy a trailer house somehwere else, drive it into San Francisco and skip all the housing market of the city?

Cost of living may be high, but a high salary allows you to pay for solutions. They just need to think out of the box.