4 ms·
If you plan on staying on to live in the valley, $20-30M. I have many friends who are worth $3-5M and they do not consider themselves even close to rich in the
by bl4k 16y ago
If you plan on staying on to live in the valley, $20-30M. I have many friends who are worth $3-5M and they do not consider themselves even close to rich in the valley. Housing and schooling in Palo Alto are very expensive. $5M is nowhere near enough to buy a really nice house and then take it easy for the rest of your life - sad to say, but true.
At least in the valley, most people still live below their means. I find that on the East Coast and Southern CA that those with expensive lifestyles are usually heavily burdened by debt. There are many many wealthy people in the valley who live in simple apartments and walk everywhere, not needing the flashy car or flashy clothes to justify their existence and place in society.
- waterlesscloud 16y agoLiving in Socal for the last decade, I'd have to say it's the top area for living above your means. One phrase I've heard several times here is "car rich, house poor", for example. Having said that, there are an extraordinary number of genuinely wealthy people in Socal. It's odd at times.
- _delirium 16y agoI know a few people who consider themselves to be in "FU money" territory, in the sense that they don't have to ever work unless they want to, and have way less than $20m. It depends on how you want to live, to some extent. The Valley isn't all that expensive if you don't require a big house in Palo Alto or Los Gatos, and especially if you're looking to rent. If you set your budget at, say, $50,000/year for housing, i.e. you can afford to pay a bit over $4000/mo rent, there are a lot of options. There are quite nice apartments or even townhouses in S.F. for that money, or reasonably large houses in Santa Clara.