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You might be right, but this feels like a facile argument. Is SF an outlier in the last 30 years? Perhaps tech industry has supported a recent continuation of t
by ubercore 10y ago
You might be right, but this feels like a facile argument. Is SF an outlier in the last 30 years? Perhaps tech industry has supported a recent continuation of trends that died in the rest of the country. How has SF housing policy compared to the rest of nation impacted prices? What about cost of living _besides_ housing?
That's by no means comprehensive, but I'd just suggest a) more sources and b) a more holistic look at the issue than housing prices.
- pmiller2 10y agoBut, housing prices essentially are the issue. A region where teachers, baristas, and janitors can't afford to live just can't function.
- ubercore 10y agoI agree they'd be a huge part of it. I guess I'm just trying to call out that you can't completely discount the influence the tech industry has had on the bay area by looking at _just_ housing prices. I'm certain there's more to it than that, even if it's the single biggest issue.
- dekhn 10y agoWhen I was in grad school in SF in 95-01 I lived on a $25K salary. I did this by sharing a place with several people, in the outermost part of SF. I had to spend about 1.5 hours on MUNI a day. It was pretty miserable but it was the only place I could afford. Prices have appreciated, but if you're not trying to buy a house, and you're willing to compromise a lot, I think you can live in the city on a teacher salary ($60K/year).
- mroset 10y agoThat lifestyle as a teacher is probably only desirable or realistic for the young. Once you want to settle down/have kids/whatever, you probably want to either buy a house, or not compromise quite so much. Does that mean that SF will have only young teachers? Most the experienced ones will move somewhere more affordable. Is that a problem for the city?
- swuecho 10y agoYoung people come here for a temporary period and then leave. Only the ones become affluent enough stay.
- jdmichal 10y agoOr, all the teachers marry high-income partners and can thereby afford to continue living there. ~~I'm trying to find an article I'm sure I've seen on HN of marriages mapped by occupation. I'll edit if I can find it, but I believe I remember that teachers tended to "marry up".~~ EDIT: et-al found the link I was looking for. However, it doesn't seem to support my memory of teachers "marrying up".
- et-al 10y agoWas it this interactive chart by Bloomberg? https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2016-who-marries-whom/ https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2016-who-marries-whom/
- jdmichal 10y agoYES! Thank you. I found another article on Bloomberg, but it was not this one. However, it doesn't seem to be support my memory of "marrying up".
- elastic_church 10y agowow thats an amazing chart to extrapolate from!
- throwaway91111 10y agoWhy would any teacher do that when they could live comfortably on that salary pretty much anywhere else in the country?
- fpgeek 10y agoWell, teacher salaries are lower in other parts of the country (though it is also true that salary vs cost of living is less out of whack in most of them).
- gozur88 10y agoBut it does. I'm a software developer who could barely afford to live in SF. And yet people clean the floors, make coffee, and teach children there. Because they don't live there - they commute from cheaper areas. Like just about every other major city.
- coldtea 10y agoI'll give you teachers and janitors, but region "just can't function" without baristas? That is, glorified people who serve coffee?
- gautamnarula 10y agoI commented this as a reply to the parent comment, but in case you don't see it I think this will interest you: https://medium.com/@andersem/a-guy-just-transcribed-30-years-of-for-rent-ads-heres-what-it-taught-us-about-sf-housing-prices-bd61fd0e4ef9#.1c6lomtzu https://medium.com/@andersem/a-guy-just-transcribed-30-years... SF housing has averaged 6.6% yoy increases for the last 70 years.