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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 co

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.
        Domenic_S 10y ago
        We're talking in circles now. Originally I said a person HAS to leave the "cool" areas of the Bay (SF proper being one of them) if they're looking to get ahead in the housing market. I don't think that point's been disproven here.

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.
      - Domenic_S 10y ago
        We're talking in circles now. Originally I said a person HAS to leave the "cool" areas of the Bay (SF proper being one of them) if they're looking to get ahead in the housing market. I don't think that point's been disproven here.