3 ms·

I think this is a common misconception people have, that that's the choice. Go to Paris. SF needs Parisian-level density. This means six-story buildings, a few

I think this is a common misconception people have, that that's the choice. Go to Paris. SF needs Parisian-level density. This means six-story buildings, a few on each block. That's easily 10x the density of single-family homes, which if you spend any time in western SF, dominate the landscape. All that space for lawns, garages, 3rd and 4th bedrooms, basements, etc. really adds up. The choice isn't between lower Manhattan and the Outer Sunset, it's between that or Paris. Paris is just fine. Also, incidentally, SF condo prices aren't even that bad relative to prevailing wages. It's just that everyone's so hung up on having a SFR (actual house), and the clickbait media loves talking about SFR prices to get pageviews.

pm90 8y ago
The median price for a 2BR condo is over a million dollars. Even with median SF wages, I wouldn't think of that as affordable.
- eldavido 8y ago
  1. Do you have a citation on this? I don't think that's true based on my own looking around. 2. Even if that is true, it's not as bad as it looks. There are many, many couples here with incomes in the 200-300k range, as almost all families are two-income, even with kids. Considering a condo costs 4x what many families earn, it's not far out of line with other places in the US. The reality is that SF is a primo job market, in terms of variety of positions, type of work, and tons of high-income options. If you're part of a dual-degree couple where both people want serious careers, the argument rapidly becomes, where else would we go? It's a lifestyle choice; if you want that kind of access, it's going to cost a lot, but you need to work your ass off, BOTH of you, pay a ton for housing. If you want a slower quality of life, less noise, or want to be a one-income family, probably better to live somewhere else. I actually don't have much of a problem with this. It's like this in every country, though I'll grant the regulatory climate in SF does make it somewhat self-inflicted.

pm90 8y ago

The median price for a 2BR condo is over a million dollars. Even with median SF wages, I wouldn't think of that as affordable.

eldavido 8y ago
1. Do you have a citation on this? I don't think that's true based on my own looking around. 2. Even if that is true, it's not as bad as it looks. There are many, many couples here with incomes in the 200-300k range, as almost all families are two-income, even with kids. Considering a condo costs 4x what many families earn, it's not far out of line with other places in the US. The reality is that SF is a primo job market, in terms of variety of positions, type of work, and tons of high-income options. If you're part of a dual-degree couple where both people want serious careers, the argument rapidly becomes, where else would we go? It's a lifestyle choice; if you want that kind of access, it's going to cost a lot, but you need to work your ass off, BOTH of you, pay a ton for housing. If you want a slower quality of life, less noise, or want to be a one-income family, probably better to live somewhere else. I actually don't have much of a problem with this. It's like this in every country, though I'll grant the regulatory climate in SF does make it somewhat self-inflicted.