4 ms·

Was new offer in Bay Area? For Bay Area $20k increase is inadequate if you currently live in Texas.

by smm2000 10y ago

Hydraulix989 10y ago
This. As someone currently entrenched in the Bay Area, my advice is to stay in Texas -- especially if you have dreams of owning a house someday. Here, that prospect is nil unless you win the equity lottery at some startup, but gambling in serial with your career makes this REALLY hard to pull off. A six-figure salary in the Bay Area dooms you to renting for the rest of your life, and the rental situation here, with its converted living room bedrooms, roommates, and closet-sized apartments, SUCKS. The rent is so high here that it feels like you're living paycheck-to-paycheck on a $120k salary. You'd be happiest staying in Texas.
- Domenic_S 10y ago
  Well, let's clarify that by saying "if you want to own a house somewhere cool", because it's totally possible to buy a place on $120k. But it's going to be a condo, and in the far east/north bay if you work in SF (Pleasant Hill/Santa Rosa or further) or far south bay if you're in SV (morgan hill or gilroy).
  - Hydraulix989 10y ago
    I looked and saw million dollar houses as far as an hour's drive away from SV. You mentioned Gilroy, the price situation (800k, 4M, 1M, 1M, 600k are the first 5 results) doesn't even look much better than in SF proper: http://www.zillow.com/gilroy-ca/ http://www.zillow.com/gilroy-ca/ Moreover, they don't really have condos in Gilroy.
    - Domenic_S 10y ago
      See, it's this kind of negativity that gets people depressed about housing. Detached house (needs work) $359k https://www.redfin.com/CA/Gilroy/7270-Alexander-St-95020/home/1367155 https://www.redfin.com/CA/Gilroy/7270-Alexander-St-95020/hom... Condo in Morgan Hill @ $446k: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Morgan-Hill/112-La-Crosse-Dr-95037/home/1242046 https://www.redfin.com/CA/Morgan-Hill/112-La-Crosse-Dr-95037... Detached 3/2 SFH @ $500k https://www.redfin.com/CA/Gilroy/374-Walnut-Ln-95020/home/1028621 https://www.redfin.com/CA/Gilroy/374-Walnut-Ln-95020/home/10... Nice townhouse @ $495k: https://www.redfin.com/CA/GILROY/7664-GENNARO-WAY-9502/home/17290301 https://www.redfin.com/CA/GILROY/7664-GENNARO-WAY-9502/home/...
      - Hydraulix989 10y ago
        I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the negativity is pretty warranted. $250k gets you a two-story house with an actual YARD there. Pittsburgh's tech scene is great now, too: Carnegie Mellon (CMU), Google Pittsburgh, Uber (self-driving car lab), Oculus Research, Duolingo, and a plethora of other startups. There's even seed investors here now! Even Paul Graham, a Pittsburgh native, is getting involved again. I mention this to someone here, and 9 times out of 10 the reaction is along the lines of "Pittsburgh?! Why would you EVER want to live there?" Oftentimes, the person who cannot conceive the possibility of living a happy life outside of Silicon Valley's bubble either has an inherited house that ballooned in value, or they're still renting at age 35.
        Domenic_S 10y ago
        You have to play the Bay Area real estate game - which is itself a gamble - but always begins with buying less than you eventually want. This is what gets frustrating talking RE with folks, especially younger ones -- of COURSE you can't buy Barbie's American Dream House in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world, you're 30 and don't have rich parents. I'm a huge fan of getting out of Silicon Valley. Cashing in on BigCo salary for a few years and then buying a house in TX/PA/wherever in cash is a totally valid game plan. I think it's hilarious that our industry essentially invented modern telecommuting yet uses it so rarely. As an aside, $250k may get you a nice house in PA, but the salaries are correspondingly lower. If you can't get paid substantially more in the Bay Area there's really no good reason to be/stay/move here since everything's so expensive.
        Hydraulix989 10y ago
        "of COURSE you can't buy Barbie's American Dream House in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world" It's not even that though, $1M now gets you what's called a "fixer-upper" in SF -- a euphemism which actually means a house with broken gas lines that you literally risk your life occupying. It's also impossible to save money here for a future house in a cheaper city when the median rent is $4000/month.
tomreece 10y ago
Nope, south east US. Trying to be vague here for privacy.

Was new offer in Bay Area? For Bay Area $20k increase is inadequate if you currently live in Texas.

by smm2000 10y ago

Was new offer in Bay Area? For Bay Area $20k increase is inadequate if you currently live in Texas.

This. As someone currently entrenched in the Bay Area, my advice is to stay in Texas -- especially if you have dreams of owning a house someday. Here, that prospect is nil unless you win the equity lottery at some startup, but gambling in serial with your career makes this REALLY hard to pull off. A six-figure salary in the Bay Area dooms you to renting for the rest of your life, and the rental situation here, with its converted living room bedrooms, roommates, and closet-sized apartments, SUCKS. The rent is so high here that it feels like you're living paycheck-to-paycheck on a $120k salary. You'd be happiest staying in Texas.

Domenic_S 10y ago
Well, let's clarify that by saying "if you want to own a house somewhere cool", because it's totally possible to buy a place on $120k. But it's going to be a condo, and in the far east/north bay if you work in SF (Pleasant Hill/Santa Rosa or further) or far south bay if you're in SV (morgan hill or gilroy).
- Hydraulix989 10y ago
  I looked and saw million dollar houses as far as an hour's drive away from SV. You mentioned Gilroy, the price situation (800k, 4M, 1M, 1M, 600k are the first 5 results) doesn't even look much better than in SF proper: http://www.zillow.com/gilroy-ca/ http://www.zillow.com/gilroy-ca/ Moreover, they don't really have condos in Gilroy.
  - Domenic_S 10y ago
    See, it's this kind of negativity that gets people depressed about housing. Detached house (needs work) $359k https://www.redfin.com/CA/Gilroy/7270-Alexander-St-95020/home/1367155 https://www.redfin.com/CA/Gilroy/7270-Alexander-St-95020/hom... Condo in Morgan Hill @ $446k: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Morgan-Hill/112-La-Crosse-Dr-95037/home/1242046 https://www.redfin.com/CA/Morgan-Hill/112-La-Crosse-Dr-95037... Detached 3/2 SFH @ $500k https://www.redfin.com/CA/Gilroy/374-Walnut-Ln-95020/home/1028621 https://www.redfin.com/CA/Gilroy/374-Walnut-Ln-95020/home/10... Nice townhouse @ $495k: https://www.redfin.com/CA/GILROY/7664-GENNARO-WAY-9502/home/17290301 https://www.redfin.com/CA/GILROY/7664-GENNARO-WAY-9502/home/...
    - Hydraulix989 10y ago
      I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the negativity is pretty warranted. $250k gets you a two-story house with an actual YARD there. Pittsburgh's tech scene is great now, too: Carnegie Mellon (CMU), Google Pittsburgh, Uber (self-driving car lab), Oculus Research, Duolingo, and a plethora of other startups. There's even seed investors here now! Even Paul Graham, a Pittsburgh native, is getting involved again. I mention this to someone here, and 9 times out of 10 the reaction is along the lines of "Pittsburgh?! Why would you EVER want to live there?" Oftentimes, the person who cannot conceive the possibility of living a happy life outside of Silicon Valley's bubble either has an inherited house that ballooned in value, or they're still renting at age 35.
      - Domenic_S 10y ago
        You have to play the Bay Area real estate game - which is itself a gamble - but always begins with buying less than you eventually want. This is what gets frustrating talking RE with folks, especially younger ones -- of COURSE you can't buy Barbie's American Dream House in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world, you're 30 and don't have rich parents. I'm a huge fan of getting out of Silicon Valley. Cashing in on BigCo salary for a few years and then buying a house in TX/PA/wherever in cash is a totally valid game plan. I think it's hilarious that our industry essentially invented modern telecommuting yet uses it so rarely. As an aside, $250k may get you a nice house in PA, but the salaries are correspondingly lower. If you can't get paid substantially more in the Bay Area there's really no good reason to be/stay/move here since everything's so expensive.
        Hydraulix989 10y ago
        "of COURSE you can't buy Barbie's American Dream House in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world" It's not even that though, $1M now gets you what's called a "fixer-upper" in SF -- a euphemism which actually means a house with broken gas lines that you literally risk your life occupying. It's also impossible to save money here for a future house in a cheaper city when the median rent is $4000/month.

tomreece 10y ago

Nope, south east US. Trying to be vague here for privacy.