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I find it hard to believe that you're reading HN while still being surprised about the cost of living here? By the time you're 35, you'll probably have a famil

by TomVDB 7y ago

I find it hard to believe that you're reading HN while still being surprised about the cost of living here? By the time you're 35, you'll probably have a family with kids. You don't want a long commute to spend more time with said family so your 2000 sq.ft. house on a 7000 sq.ft lot will cost between $1.5M to $2.5M. You won't get any needs-based financial compensation to send your kids to college, yet chances are that you don't want to deny them going to the best college that they'll accepted to. Add another $200K per kid if they're going to a UC school. Everything is going to be a bit to a lot more expensive than elsewhere. Childcare, the electrician and plumber who charges $175 per hour (they need to live too), eating out etc. $400K in yearly pre-tax compensation reduces to something like $250K after tax? There's no way you're going to retire at 35, unless you're willing to give up on a lot of niceties of life before bailing. I don't know anyone who did.

esoterica 7y ago
It’s incredible that people think you need seven freaking thousand square feet to raise a family.
- tristor 7y ago
  That's a lot size, not a house size brotato. That's 0.16 acres, which is actually below the standard lot size in the US for most houses. Standard lot size in the US is around 0.25 acres. 2000sqft is a larger home, but not absurd if you're married and have two kids.
- TomVDB 7y ago
  Nobody needs a luxury car. Nobody needs to eat at nice restaurants. Nobody needs vacations in Europe. Nobody needs a $1000 phone. But if I had to choose one thing where I have no problem spending more than what is strictly needed, it's going to be the place in which I'll be spending the vast majority of my time for the rest of my life. If it makes you feel any better: for the low end of my range ($1.5M), you're not going to get that 7000 sq.ft. You'll be buying a house on a 3500 sq.ft. lot, so the argument still stands.

by TomVDB 7y ago

esoterica 7y ago

It’s incredible that people think you need seven freaking thousand square feet to raise a family.

tristor 7y ago
That's a lot size, not a house size brotato. That's 0.16 acres, which is actually below the standard lot size in the US for most houses. Standard lot size in the US is around 0.25 acres. 2000sqft is a larger home, but not absurd if you're married and have two kids.
TomVDB 7y ago
Nobody needs a luxury car. Nobody needs to eat at nice restaurants. Nobody needs vacations in Europe. Nobody needs a $1000 phone. But if I had to choose one thing where I have no problem spending more than what is strictly needed, it's going to be the place in which I'll be spending the vast majority of my time for the rest of my life. If it makes you feel any better: for the low end of my range ($1.5M), you're not going to get that 7000 sq.ft. You'll be buying a house on a 3500 sq.ft. lot, so the argument still stands.