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It's just so fucking expensive to live here, and coupled with the constant drumbeat of money money money, and seeing the vast differences in wealth, it's just s

It's just so fucking expensive to live here, and coupled with the constant drumbeat of money money money, and seeing the vast differences in wealth, it's just so so depressing.

ryandrake 11y ago
Glad you pointed out the vast differences in wealth as a negative of the Bay Area. Even if you're not an envious person by nature, it's really depressing and grates on you when you see it day in and day out. A 15 minute drive can take you from "bullets whizzing over your head crime and poverty" to filthy, shameful mega-wealth. Parking my Toyota between a Tesla and a Maserati when I go downtown with the family. People at work talking about paying [my salary * 0.5] for their kid's private school. Sheesh... I come from a small town where the best off made maybe 3X the worst off. The Bay Area is total culture shock.
- danans 11y ago
  > People at work talking about paying [my salary * 0.5] for their kid's private school. Sheesh... Before you judge too much, consider that some (not all) of those folks might be paying that because they live in an area that has failing public schools, and they may be living in that area because they can't afford housing in an area with better public schools. Many middle to upper-middle class people find themselves faced with that choice. In California overall, aside from anomalies like San Francisco itself, wealthier cities correlate with better public schools, and the correlation is > linear.
  - ryandrake 11y ago
    Not judging at all--just pointing out how weird it feels to live and work side-by-side with people on all parts of such a massively wide income spectrum.
  - Tempest1981 11y ago
    And where public schools are good, it feeds back on itself, esp in Cupertino and Palo Alto. Good schools draw in tech millionaires, who supplement their kids' public education with private tutors and summer school booster classes. Scores go up, house prices follow. Seems like there is an infinite supply of newly minted tech millionaires to consume all available housing. And to be fair, who wouldn't want what's best for their kids? It's a culture of being the best.
    - ryandrake 11y ago
      I'd love to know where all these "tech millionaires" are coming from, because there are only so many companies in the Valley, and they each only have a handful of top execs. Yet there are thousands upon thousands of $1MM+ houses and people are buying them left and right...

It's just so fucking expensive to live here, and coupled with the constant drumbeat of money money money, and seeing the vast differences in wealth, it's just so so depressing.

ryandrake 11y ago

Glad you pointed out the vast differences in wealth as a negative of the Bay Area. Even if you're not an envious person by nature, it's really depressing and grates on you when you see it day in and day out. A 15 minute drive can take you from "bullets whizzing over your head crime and poverty" to filthy, shameful mega-wealth. Parking my Toyota between a Tesla and a Maserati when I go downtown with the family. People at work talking about paying [my salary * 0.5] for their kid's private school. Sheesh... I come from a small town where the best off made maybe 3X the worst off. The Bay Area is total culture shock.

danans 11y ago
> People at work talking about paying [my salary * 0.5] for their kid's private school. Sheesh... Before you judge too much, consider that some (not all) of those folks might be paying that because they live in an area that has failing public schools, and they may be living in that area because they can't afford housing in an area with better public schools. Many middle to upper-middle class people find themselves faced with that choice. In California overall, aside from anomalies like San Francisco itself, wealthier cities correlate with better public schools, and the correlation is > linear.
- ryandrake 11y ago
  Not judging at all--just pointing out how weird it feels to live and work side-by-side with people on all parts of such a massively wide income spectrum.
- Tempest1981 11y ago
  And where public schools are good, it feeds back on itself, esp in Cupertino and Palo Alto. Good schools draw in tech millionaires, who supplement their kids' public education with private tutors and summer school booster classes. Scores go up, house prices follow. Seems like there is an infinite supply of newly minted tech millionaires to consume all available housing. And to be fair, who wouldn't want what's best for their kids? It's a culture of being the best.
  - ryandrake 11y ago
    I'd love to know where all these "tech millionaires" are coming from, because there are only so many companies in the Valley, and they each only have a handful of top execs. Yet there are thousands upon thousands of $1MM+ houses and people are buying them left and right...