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What do you plan to do with all this money? I’m probably making 4-8 times less than you, but still living very well. Paying $700 for a 50m2 flat with pool and

What do you plan to do with all this money? I’m probably making 4-8 times less than you, but still living very well. Paying $700 for a 50m2 flat with pool and gym. I eat out several times a week and can travel anywhere in the world once a year. And still saving half of my income.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
themagician 8y ago
What everyone in the Bay Area with a decent income does: live a life of complete luxury but pretend like you are middle class because somone else makes more than you. Eat out for every meal. Never do manual labor of any kind—press a few buttons for laundry, food, handyman services, or transportation. Have “the best” TV, stereo, and home appliances. Or have children drive them around in strollers that cost more than an old used car. Subscribe to services for everything: diapers, vinyl, beauty products, clothing. Go out drinking and spend more money than a median income family spends on groceries in week.
- googlemike 8y ago
  Is this a joke?
  - user5994461 8y ago
    I don't think so. That seems consistent with London too.
    - googlemike 8y ago
      I've been in the bay area 18 years now. I am a software engineer for a major company. My life is far simpler than this. I almost never eat meals out, I do all my own grocery shopping and cooking. I don't own a car because my needs are simple (public transit / walk to grocery store, company shuttle, and Uber for weekends) so I guess the comment OP got that right. I live in a one bedroom apartment that I clean myself. Is this unusual? All my friends seem to be in similar situations.
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
  - glibgil 8y ago
    Matches my SF coworkers so I have to say no
- closeparen 8y ago
  When parking costs more than a car payment, it’s cheaper to pay others to drive you around for the few trips not convenient on a bike or public transit. The splurge is being able to drive yourself. As a renter, you’re not allowed to work on your home and probably don’t have access to a washer/dryer. There are laundromats, but your cargo-hauling capabilities are severely limited, so unless it’s nearby you’re paying for cargo hauling one way or the other. Since transportation-with-cargo is such a clusterfuck and the local retail skews heavily upscale to afford the exorbitant commercial rents, getting most consumer goods delivered makes complete sense. No argument on the cost of going out so frequently, but cooking for one isn’t necessarily cheaper than takeout, depending on your local grocery stores. (Yes, you can be deliberate about picking cheap meals to cook). Living in San Francisco imposes different problems and different constraints than living in typical American suburbia; choices that would be exorbitant in one place can be efficient in the other.
  - usaar333 8y ago
    Agreed dense cities shift trade-offs, but as some notes: > As a renter, you’re not allowed to work on your home and probably don’t have access to a washer/dryer Only in the lowest end places is this true. (it's been true once for me exactly once out of 6 places I've rented in SF) Most software eng can afford to rent places with at least shared laundry. > Since transportation-with-cargo is such a clusterfuck and the local retail skews heavily upscale to afford the exorbitant commercial rents, getting most consumer goods delivered makes complete sense. And it saves time as well. Even in suburbia I don't want to go to the grocery store when Amazon can deliver items for me.
    - closeparen 8y ago
      > Most software eng can afford to rent places with at least shared laundry. Yes, so most software engineers wouldn't use a laundry service. But for those that do, I'm reasonably certain this is why.
- koala_man 8y ago
  Ouch. So true.
- golergka 8y ago
  Still sounds like a typical middle class working professional lifestyle to me, and I'm not even living in a first world country at the moment.
  - tormeh 8y ago
    This kind of lifestyle is possible anywhere with high inequality. All you need is for other people to be willing to work for so little that you can pay them to do stuff you don't want to do. Attaining this lifestyle can often be easier in developing countries than it is in developed countries because inequality is often higher in developing countries.
    - joejerryronnie 8y ago
      Not anymore! Ever since we tricked millennials into thinking that "flexibility" and "side hustle" is more important than a steady paycheck and benefits, you too can pay people a non-living wage to deliver your takeout!
      - lotsofpulp 8y ago
        No one tricked anyone. Automation, globalization, increased efficiency, and doubling of the labor supply by adding women reduced the price of labor, aka wages and all the gains went to capital owners.
        joejerryronnie 8y ago
        Are you saying we should remove women from the workforce?!!
        lotsofpulp 8y ago
        No, I'm just stating reasons for why individuals are finding it more difficult to raise a family on one income.
      - 8y ago
- pcwalton 8y ago
  > What everyone in the Bay Area with a decent income does Obviously not everyone. This bears no resemblance to my lifestyle. Can we cool it with the generalizations?
  - psyc 8y ago
    Nor mine, but it seems overwhelmingly the norm among my peers in Seattle.
  - themagician 8y ago
    Are you poor?
- ryandrake 8y ago
  This sounds more like the lifestyle of a stereotypical "tech bro" than a normal tech salaryman with a family.
protomyth 8y ago
Probably do the same thing my friends working the oil fields did: work hard, save as much money as possible, and move when done. Like programming, their skills translate fine outside the boom area.
DannyBee 8y ago
A lot of people (including me) have targets for savings they just want to get to before getting out. The targets for most people i know are usually achievable in <10 years.
aphextron 8y ago
>What do you plan to do with all this money? Pray to god that it's enough to at least not fall into complete ruin and destitution from an illness or unforeseen layoff. I think most people now, like myself, have practically zero social or financial support beyond what you can save for yourself anymore.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

themagician 8y ago

What everyone in the Bay Area with a decent income does: live a life of complete luxury but pretend like you are middle class because somone else makes more than you. Eat out for every meal. Never do manual labor of any kind—press a few buttons for laundry, food, handyman services, or transportation. Have “the best” TV, stereo, and home appliances. Or have children drive them around in strollers that cost more than an old used car. Subscribe to services for everything: diapers, vinyl, beauty products, clothing. Go out drinking and spend more money than a median income family spends on groceries in week.

googlemike 8y ago
Is this a joke?
- user5994461 8y ago
  I don't think so. That seems consistent with London too.
  - googlemike 8y ago
    I've been in the bay area 18 years now. I am a software engineer for a major company. My life is far simpler than this. I almost never eat meals out, I do all my own grocery shopping and cooking. I don't own a car because my needs are simple (public transit / walk to grocery store, company shuttle, and Uber for weekends) so I guess the comment OP got that right. I live in a one bedroom apartment that I clean myself. Is this unusual? All my friends seem to be in similar situations.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
- glibgil 8y ago
  Matches my SF coworkers so I have to say no
closeparen 8y ago
When parking costs more than a car payment, it’s cheaper to pay others to drive you around for the few trips not convenient on a bike or public transit. The splurge is being able to drive yourself. As a renter, you’re not allowed to work on your home and probably don’t have access to a washer/dryer. There are laundromats, but your cargo-hauling capabilities are severely limited, so unless it’s nearby you’re paying for cargo hauling one way or the other. Since transportation-with-cargo is such a clusterfuck and the local retail skews heavily upscale to afford the exorbitant commercial rents, getting most consumer goods delivered makes complete sense. No argument on the cost of going out so frequently, but cooking for one isn’t necessarily cheaper than takeout, depending on your local grocery stores. (Yes, you can be deliberate about picking cheap meals to cook). Living in San Francisco imposes different problems and different constraints than living in typical American suburbia; choices that would be exorbitant in one place can be efficient in the other.
- usaar333 8y ago
  Agreed dense cities shift trade-offs, but as some notes: > As a renter, you’re not allowed to work on your home and probably don’t have access to a washer/dryer Only in the lowest end places is this true. (it's been true once for me exactly once out of 6 places I've rented in SF) Most software eng can afford to rent places with at least shared laundry. > Since transportation-with-cargo is such a clusterfuck and the local retail skews heavily upscale to afford the exorbitant commercial rents, getting most consumer goods delivered makes complete sense. And it saves time as well. Even in suburbia I don't want to go to the grocery store when Amazon can deliver items for me.
  - closeparen 8y ago
    > Most software eng can afford to rent places with at least shared laundry. Yes, so most software engineers wouldn't use a laundry service. But for those that do, I'm reasonably certain this is why.
koala_man 8y ago
Ouch. So true.
golergka 8y ago
Still sounds like a typical middle class working professional lifestyle to me, and I'm not even living in a first world country at the moment.
- tormeh 8y ago
  This kind of lifestyle is possible anywhere with high inequality. All you need is for other people to be willing to work for so little that you can pay them to do stuff you don't want to do. Attaining this lifestyle can often be easier in developing countries than it is in developed countries because inequality is often higher in developing countries.
  - joejerryronnie 8y ago
    Not anymore! Ever since we tricked millennials into thinking that "flexibility" and "side hustle" is more important than a steady paycheck and benefits, you too can pay people a non-living wage to deliver your takeout!
    - lotsofpulp 8y ago
      No one tricked anyone. Automation, globalization, increased efficiency, and doubling of the labor supply by adding women reduced the price of labor, aka wages and all the gains went to capital owners.
      - joejerryronnie 8y ago
        Are you saying we should remove women from the workforce?!!
        lotsofpulp 8y ago
        No, I'm just stating reasons for why individuals are finding it more difficult to raise a family on one income.
    - 8y ago
pcwalton 8y ago
> What everyone in the Bay Area with a decent income does Obviously not everyone. This bears no resemblance to my lifestyle. Can we cool it with the generalizations?
- psyc 8y ago
  Nor mine, but it seems overwhelmingly the norm among my peers in Seattle.
- themagician 8y ago
  Are you poor?
ryandrake 8y ago
This sounds more like the lifestyle of a stereotypical "tech bro" than a normal tech salaryman with a family.

protomyth 8y ago

Probably do the same thing my friends working the oil fields did: work hard, save as much money as possible, and move when done. Like programming, their skills translate fine outside the boom area.

DannyBee 8y ago

A lot of people (including me) have targets for savings they just want to get to before getting out. The targets for most people i know are usually achievable in <10 years.

aphextron 8y ago

>What do you plan to do with all this money? Pray to god that it's enough to at least not fall into complete ruin and destitution from an illness or unforeseen layoff. I think most people now, like myself, have practically zero social or financial support beyond what you can save for yourself anymore.