7 ms·

>200k in the bay area is scraping by What a gross exaggeration. Had you said 90k and for a family, then sure, but unless you consider "not having a new Tesla"

>200k in the bay area is scraping by What a gross exaggeration. Had you said 90k and for a family, then sure, but unless you consider "not having a new Tesla" as scraping by, this is disingenuous. Source: Lived in Bay Area all my life with under $200k salary, not homeless, not scraping by, saving (a little bit) of money, able to go out with friends and my hair isn't falling out from being unable to pay bills. Maybe some of the big earners out there would consider my lifestyle "scraping by" but I like to think I know the difference between "scraping by" and "living within your means".

esotericn 7y ago
Probably just talking about owning a home. To a lot of people it doesn't matter how many fancy toys they have, they want stability.
- oarabbus_ 7y ago
  That makes it even more to the point; there are probably a dozen cities in the Bay Area where one could afford a house on a 200k household income without "scraping by". San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Martinez, Antioch, Pittsburg, Hayward, Union City, Livermore, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Richmond are all places you can get a house with a 200k salary in the Bay Area. There's probably a lot more, too. It's an indefensible statement.
  - txcwpalpha 7y ago
    I notice a pervasive attitude amongst tech companies where people think that "affording a home" means "being able to purchase a home without having to spend any time saving for it and be able to entirely pay off the home within a few years". Most people in SV seem oblivious to the fact that saving for many years for a down payment on a 30+ year mortgage is the norm everywhere, whether it be NYC, suburban Atlanta, or middle-of-nowhere Montana.
SaltyBackendGuy 7y ago
> Lived in Bay Area all my life I have as well until recently. Living in SF that's probably a close to accurate statement. If you live in Concord or Martinez (which is still technically the Bay Area), you can do quite nicely. Although, you'll trade ~2 hours of your life in commuting on Bart. Not to mention the overall discomfort of the Bart commute itself (better than the drive however).
dlhavema 7y ago
> living within your means This cannot be understated.

esotericn 7y ago

Probably just talking about owning a home. To a lot of people it doesn't matter how many fancy toys they have, they want stability.

oarabbus_ 7y ago
That makes it even more to the point; there are probably a dozen cities in the Bay Area where one could afford a house on a 200k household income without "scraping by". San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Martinez, Antioch, Pittsburg, Hayward, Union City, Livermore, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Richmond are all places you can get a house with a 200k salary in the Bay Area. There's probably a lot more, too. It's an indefensible statement.
- txcwpalpha 7y ago
  I notice a pervasive attitude amongst tech companies where people think that "affording a home" means "being able to purchase a home without having to spend any time saving for it and be able to entirely pay off the home within a few years". Most people in SV seem oblivious to the fact that saving for many years for a down payment on a 30+ year mortgage is the norm everywhere, whether it be NYC, suburban Atlanta, or middle-of-nowhere Montana.

SaltyBackendGuy 7y ago

> Lived in Bay Area all my life I have as well until recently. Living in SF that's probably a close to accurate statement. If you live in Concord or Martinez (which is still technically the Bay Area), you can do quite nicely. Although, you'll trade ~2 hours of your life in commuting on Bart. Not to mention the overall discomfort of the Bart commute itself (better than the drive however).

dlhavema 7y ago

> living within your means This cannot be understated.