3 ms·

Ten years for a dual income to afford a down payment. Nuts. With ten years of savings I could buy two houses where I live, and I don't make that much. How pe

Ten years for a dual income to afford a down payment. Nuts. With ten years of savings I could buy two houses where I live, and I don't make that much. How people in CA stand it I don't know.

alephnerd 2y ago
If you're Asian American (like me and a large proportion of White Collar Workers) your options are very few and far between. Furthermore, it's very easy to find a job in these hubs, not just in Software but also in Hardware, Finance, Accounting, Pharma, Aerospace, and Government. In addition, lots of people just like the weather. Polar vortexes, hurricanes, and snow does suck. And finally, there are some people who might not feel as safe in Middle America due to their identity (racial, sexual, or gender). This isn't to say that Middle America sucks (it doesn't), but people make rational choices about where they live, and it's insulting to say otherwise. You have valid reasons to live where you live, and I listed those of mine and my peers.
- PaulHoule 2y ago
  That sorting is a gift to the right wing. If we could get 100,000 or so people who are barely hanging on in blue states into affordable purple states, Donald a trump and the Republican Party as we know it would disappear like a bad dream.
  - ryandrake 2y ago
    Problem is, not enough city people dare to move to those areas, no matter how cheap they are. The areas' reputations precede them. I made the move from the Bay Area to a rural "red" area, but I can feel safe to do it because I'm white, straight, and appear non-threatening to the culture here. Even though I'm a flaming liberal, I can still kind of blend in. (Side note: It's amazing the kind of shit strangers will say to you out of the blue because they assume something about your politics because of your appearance.) I wouldn't expect many of my South- and East-Asian engineering friends from the Bay Area to just YOLO and buy a house next door to me. Heck, I've asked some of them, and yes, the culture gap weighs heavily on their minds.
    - selimthegrim 2y ago
      I have lived in New Orleans for a decade, and the culture gap has quite honestly been the last thing on my mind.
    - 082349872349872 2y ago
      > It's amazing the kind of shit strangers will say to you out of the blue because they assume something about your politics A US-based colleague reports that what he doesn't like about traveling north of the Mason-Dixon line is when certain people hear his accent and assume his politics match theirs. (as to New Orleans: it has the reputation it does because the catholic french history makes it much less WASPy than neighbouring regions, in many ways)
- nkurz 2y ago
  > If you're Asian American (like me and a large proportion of White Collar Workers) your options are very few and far between. Off topic, but do I take it that you've tried living elsewhere and it didn't work well for you?
  - alephnerd 2y ago
    I wouldn't say "it didn't work well for me". I had a great time living outside the Bay Area, but at some point you do end up missing stuff from your culture. It's similar to how you see so many NY transplants complaining about Pizza or Italian food in SF. It's similar for me if I'm outside the West Coast. Asians are not homogenous, and we have extreme levels of ethnic diversity, and most cities and towns in the West can accommodate for that level of Asian diversity. Also, at some point it gets annoying when some cities might be ethnically diverse but only show off "Italian" or "Irish" pride (looking at you Boston) despite having way larger Brazilian, Dominican, Puerto Rican, or African American populations. If Boston, Chicago, or NYC's image is always going to be intertwined with Italian-American, Irish-American, German-American, or <insert European community>-American, I got the message. And "Chinese" or "Indian" American doesn't cut it when the difference between someone from Xian and Changsha can be massive, or someone from Kashmir and Kanyakumari.
    - nkurz 2y ago
      Thanks! If you wouldn't mind, could you email me at the address in my profile? I'd like to follow up on one of your previous comments, but I think it would be better by email.
      - alephnerd 2y ago
        Sure. myhnthingy at proton.me
    - evanelias 2y ago
      > If Boston, Chicago, or NYC's image is always going to be intertwined with Italian-American, Irish-American, German-American, or <insert European community>-American, I got the message. I can't comment on Chicago, and don't disagree about Boston, but your perception of NYC seems pretty off-base. NYC is extremely diverse. According to Wikipedia, "New York contains the highest total Asian population of any U.S. city proper." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asians_in_New_York_City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asians_in_New_York_City Likewise for the greater New York metropolitan area -- for example Jersey City is considered the most diverse city in the United States, and Bergen County has the largest percentage Korean population of any US county.

Ten years for a dual income to afford a down payment. Nuts. With ten years of savings I could buy two houses where I live, and I don't make that much. How people in CA stand it I don't know.

alephnerd 2y ago

If you're Asian American (like me and a large proportion of White Collar Workers) your options are very few and far between. Furthermore, it's very easy to find a job in these hubs, not just in Software but also in Hardware, Finance, Accounting, Pharma, Aerospace, and Government. In addition, lots of people just like the weather. Polar vortexes, hurricanes, and snow does suck. And finally, there are some people who might not feel as safe in Middle America due to their identity (racial, sexual, or gender). This isn't to say that Middle America sucks (it doesn't), but people make rational choices about where they live, and it's insulting to say otherwise. You have valid reasons to live where you live, and I listed those of mine and my peers.

PaulHoule 2y ago
That sorting is a gift to the right wing. If we could get 100,000 or so people who are barely hanging on in blue states into affordable purple states, Donald a trump and the Republican Party as we know it would disappear like a bad dream.
- ryandrake 2y ago
  Problem is, not enough city people dare to move to those areas, no matter how cheap they are. The areas' reputations precede them. I made the move from the Bay Area to a rural "red" area, but I can feel safe to do it because I'm white, straight, and appear non-threatening to the culture here. Even though I'm a flaming liberal, I can still kind of blend in. (Side note: It's amazing the kind of shit strangers will say to you out of the blue because they assume something about your politics because of your appearance.) I wouldn't expect many of my South- and East-Asian engineering friends from the Bay Area to just YOLO and buy a house next door to me. Heck, I've asked some of them, and yes, the culture gap weighs heavily on their minds.
  - selimthegrim 2y ago
    I have lived in New Orleans for a decade, and the culture gap has quite honestly been the last thing on my mind.
  - 082349872349872 2y ago
    > It's amazing the kind of shit strangers will say to you out of the blue because they assume something about your politics A US-based colleague reports that what he doesn't like about traveling north of the Mason-Dixon line is when certain people hear his accent and assume his politics match theirs. (as to New Orleans: it has the reputation it does because the catholic french history makes it much less WASPy than neighbouring regions, in many ways)
nkurz 2y ago
> If you're Asian American (like me and a large proportion of White Collar Workers) your options are very few and far between. Off topic, but do I take it that you've tried living elsewhere and it didn't work well for you?
- alephnerd 2y ago
  I wouldn't say "it didn't work well for me". I had a great time living outside the Bay Area, but at some point you do end up missing stuff from your culture. It's similar to how you see so many NY transplants complaining about Pizza or Italian food in SF. It's similar for me if I'm outside the West Coast. Asians are not homogenous, and we have extreme levels of ethnic diversity, and most cities and towns in the West can accommodate for that level of Asian diversity. Also, at some point it gets annoying when some cities might be ethnically diverse but only show off "Italian" or "Irish" pride (looking at you Boston) despite having way larger Brazilian, Dominican, Puerto Rican, or African American populations. If Boston, Chicago, or NYC's image is always going to be intertwined with Italian-American, Irish-American, German-American, or <insert European community>-American, I got the message. And "Chinese" or "Indian" American doesn't cut it when the difference between someone from Xian and Changsha can be massive, or someone from Kashmir and Kanyakumari.
  - nkurz 2y ago
    Thanks! If you wouldn't mind, could you email me at the address in my profile? I'd like to follow up on one of your previous comments, but I think it would be better by email.
    - alephnerd 2y ago
      Sure. myhnthingy at proton.me
  - evanelias 2y ago
    > If Boston, Chicago, or NYC's image is always going to be intertwined with Italian-American, Irish-American, German-American, or <insert European community>-American, I got the message. I can't comment on Chicago, and don't disagree about Boston, but your perception of NYC seems pretty off-base. NYC is extremely diverse. According to Wikipedia, "New York contains the highest total Asian population of any U.S. city proper." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asians_in_New_York_City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asians_in_New_York_City Likewise for the greater New York metropolitan area -- for example Jersey City is considered the most diverse city in the United States, and Bergen County has the largest percentage Korean population of any US county.