4 ms·

Tech is squeezed into hyper-expensive cities because, as illogical as it may seem, it's where a lot of workers want to live. As an industry, tech skews young.

• realbarack 8y ago
  That's true to a point. Still doesn't explain Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino etc.
  • readhn 8y ago
    just an endless pursuit of materialism. you want something so you gravitate towards it. hence a lot of regular people are destroying their financial futures by staying in these super expensive areas.
    • askafriend 8y ago
      Destroying their financial future? None of my friends living in SF or NYC make less than $160k a year working as engineers. In fact, they make that nearly right out of college. The more senior engineers (5+ yrs exp) bring in $300k-500k a year. They save a significant amount of it, more than they would have saved in any other place. And they can leave at anytime to a low-COL place and buy a house in cash.
      • readhn 8y ago
        people earning 300-500K are very wealthy by any standard. these are not regular people im talking about. 160K salary in SF is probably equivalent to 75K in the middle of America? (considering food, rent/car/health expenses)
  • wallflower 8y ago
    Those cities are in the heart of Silicon Valley. They have been good places for engineers to raise families for several generations since their companies were headquartered nearby. The migration of tech headquarters to SF is relatively new.
    • ghaff 8y ago
      In these discussions, I think a lot of people forget (or don't know) that most of these cities with rapidly increasing rents were losing population just 20 years ago and certainly 30 years ago. It's easy to be critical of infrastructure investment and zoning policies in some places but a lot of the demand is quite recent on the time scale that cities develop.
• reno9111 8y ago
  This is so silly. Denver, Austin, San Diego, Atlanta etc. are fine cities with vibrant urban cores full of culture and entertainment yet none of them require you to pay 3000$/mo for a decent apartment or pay millions to buy a low tier home. There is a mass delusion that SF/SV and NYC residents seem to have that it is impossible to match their lifestyles without paying astronomical numbers for housing and its just absurd.
  • dragonwriter 8y ago
    > There is a mass delusion that SF/SV and NYC residents seem to have that it is impossible to match their lifestyles without paying astronomical numbers for housing and its just absurd. It's not a delusion. Sure, if you find the culture, entertainment, and other lifestyle features of Denver, Austin, San Diego, or Atlanta an acceptable substitute for NYC or SF Bay Area lifestyle, you can get that substitute a bit cheaper. Not everyone does (if they did, Bay Area and NYC prices would drop and those other places would climb.)
    • Apocryphon 8y ago
      The culture and entertainment of the Bay Area is overrated compared to other metros. Everything closes early for some unfathomable reason. I'd say most transplants are there for the tech money. Good food scene, though.
      • dragonwriter 8y ago
        > The culture and entertainment of the Bay Area is overrated compared to other metros. “Overrated” just means other people value it more than you do. But you should be happy, because that presents an opportunity you can exploit by satisfying your preferences more cheaply elsewhere.
        • Apocryphon 8y ago
          Certainly. It is mostly the Bay Area native in me who is jaded. Familiarity does breed contempt.
• dragonwriter 8y ago
  > Tech is squeezed into hyper-expensive cities because, as illogical as it may seem, it's where a lot of workers want to live. That's a factor, but I think an even bigger set of factors is: (1) industry-focussed venture capital and related support infrastructure (particularly for startups) prefers proximity, (2) there are benefits to proximity to other firms in the industry other than capital and support structures, e.g., it's easier to pick up experienced workers as you expand if you don't have to get them to relocate, (3) With the money flowing into the industry, wherever it is concentrated is going to become expensive, because the number of dollars chasing housing and other goods is going to be high compared to places it isn't concentrated.
• magduf 8y ago
  It's not just young people. I'm in my forties, but divorced, and no kids, and the last thing I want is a big house in the suburbs. I want to live in a walkable urban environment full of culture, though also within convenient distance of outdoor hiking and cycling trails.