4 ms·

Renting a nice 1bdrm apartment in a decent neighborhood in SF or LA is going to cost you over $48k per year. Probably closer to $60k. That's close $100k+ pre-ta

Renting a nice 1bdrm apartment in a decent neighborhood in SF or LA is going to cost you over $48k per year. Probably closer to $60k. That's close $100k+ pre-tax. Even with a modest spending budget, if you want to max your 401k - which you will need to do to keep this life style in retirement - you're going to need to make $180k. Definitely not "hard to live on". But also, you are decidedly far from rich. $250k - if you are single - you should be able to save a lot and make some investments and have more financial freedom - or more spending, whichever you prefer. Still, you are far from "rich". Even at ~$450k (top 1%), you're going to need several years of savings at that level before you start to feel "rich". Should people feel sorry for you? No. But are you just riding around on yachts and drinking umbrella drinks all day? No.

jefftk 5y ago
$48k is $4k monthly; $60k is $5k. While you certainly can pay that much, you don't have to. Take this $2k listing: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-apartment-therapy-sky/7378125615.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-apartme... Or this $3k one: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-861-post-great-downtown/7377536860.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-861-pos...
- thrav 5y ago
  Those are borderline, but they’re pretty close to being fully in the Tenderloin. That’s the roughest and one of the cheapest parts of San Francisco proper.
  - jefftk 5y ago
    Ok, how about these, all $3k: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-all-about-peoples-choices/7377292086.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-all-abo... https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-beautifully-remodeled-bed/7380233101.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-beautif... https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-111-chestnut-613-bay/7374700226.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-111-che...
    - onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
      It is possible. These are not terrible apartments, and they're in decent neighborhoods. These probably would've been closer to $3300 or $3600 pre-covid. And they're not particularly great.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - Leherenn 5y ago
        Not terrible? The first link is a modern 80m2 flat (sounds huge for 1 bedroom to me) with great facilities right on the sea front. Do you have example of what you would consider good, because it already sounds pretty luxurious to me?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
ryan_lane 5y ago
My 2BR in SF is $2.6k a month. The other apartments in my neighborhood that are similar are ~$3k a month. People in SF need to get away from the idea that you need to live in a downtown highrise to live in SF. You don't need to be riding around on yachts to be rich. If you never need to be concerned about money, you're rich. When I was making $150k a year in SF I didn't need to be concerned about money. At $250k a year, I could invest half my income and still never think about money.
- hparadiz 5y ago
  You just argued in the same comment that a person who is supposedly rich should downgrade on their life style so that they can afford a certain housing situation. That is not being "rich". You're not rich if you can forgo thinking about money for only one month. Being rich is when your job is just for influence and power and not the salary. Being rich is when you can fly from your vacation home in one exotic destination to another exotic destination. Rich is when you have a million dollar painting hanging on your wall that your grandfather acquired in the 1920s for $500. Rich is when you don't even have to think about whether you can afford the private school for all three children with 50k tuition per year each and when you don't even have to think about budgeting for any of it. Rich is when you have a maid at home and a private chef living on your estate. Rich is when your wife can buy the $5000 dress for a one time party and it's not even a wedding or anything special. Rich is when you can afford to hire a doctor to come to your house in this economy. If you live in a 2 BR apartment I don't care how luxurious it is. You're not rich. If you make less than $500k a year and you don't invest 90% of it you don't even have a chance at being rich in your life time. We're 10 years away from everyone being a millionaire because inflation is really that high but the difference between barely eking out a 1.1 million dollar net worth based on all your assets and living in a 50 million dollar house may as well be the difference between flying at 30,000 feet and being in actual orbit.
  - imtringued 5y ago
    I'm tired of the nobody is rich argument.

jefftk 5y ago

$48k is $4k monthly; $60k is $5k. While you certainly can pay that much, you don't have to. Take this $2k listing: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-apartment-therapy-sky/7378125615.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-apartme... Or this $3k one: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-861-post-great-downtown/7377536860.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-861-pos...

thrav 5y ago
Those are borderline, but they’re pretty close to being fully in the Tenderloin. That’s the roughest and one of the cheapest parts of San Francisco proper.
- jefftk 5y ago
  Ok, how about these, all $3k: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-all-about-peoples-choices/7377292086.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-all-abo... https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-beautifully-remodeled-bed/7380233101.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-beautif... https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-111-chestnut-613-bay/7374700226.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/d/san-francisco-111-che...
  - onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
    It is possible. These are not terrible apartments, and they're in decent neighborhoods. These probably would've been closer to $3300 or $3600 pre-covid. And they're not particularly great.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - Leherenn 5y ago
      Not terrible? The first link is a modern 80m2 flat (sounds huge for 1 bedroom to me) with great facilities right on the sea front. Do you have example of what you would consider good, because it already sounds pretty luxurious to me?
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

ryan_lane 5y ago

My 2BR in SF is $2.6k a month. The other apartments in my neighborhood that are similar are ~$3k a month. People in SF need to get away from the idea that you need to live in a downtown highrise to live in SF. You don't need to be riding around on yachts to be rich. If you never need to be concerned about money, you're rich. When I was making $150k a year in SF I didn't need to be concerned about money. At $250k a year, I could invest half my income and still never think about money.

hparadiz 5y ago
You just argued in the same comment that a person who is supposedly rich should downgrade on their life style so that they can afford a certain housing situation. That is not being "rich". You're not rich if you can forgo thinking about money for only one month. Being rich is when your job is just for influence and power and not the salary. Being rich is when you can fly from your vacation home in one exotic destination to another exotic destination. Rich is when you have a million dollar painting hanging on your wall that your grandfather acquired in the 1920s for $500. Rich is when you don't even have to think about whether you can afford the private school for all three children with 50k tuition per year each and when you don't even have to think about budgeting for any of it. Rich is when you have a maid at home and a private chef living on your estate. Rich is when your wife can buy the $5000 dress for a one time party and it's not even a wedding or anything special. Rich is when you can afford to hire a doctor to come to your house in this economy. If you live in a 2 BR apartment I don't care how luxurious it is. You're not rich. If you make less than $500k a year and you don't invest 90% of it you don't even have a chance at being rich in your life time. We're 10 years away from everyone being a millionaire because inflation is really that high but the difference between barely eking out a 1.1 million dollar net worth based on all your assets and living in a 50 million dollar house may as well be the difference between flying at 30,000 feet and being in actual orbit.
- imtringued 5y ago
  I'm tired of the nobody is rich argument.