8 ms·

I'm from Santa Clara, and "affordable" is an extremely relative notion. Silicon Valley itself isn't much cheaper than San Francisco. Berkeley, Oakland and East

I'm from Santa Clara, and "affordable" is an extremely relative notion. Silicon Valley itself isn't much cheaper than San Francisco. Berkeley, Oakland and East Palo Alto are not in Silicon Valley. And frankly, they're not as cheap now as they were even 18 months ago. It's still possible to get a one-bedroom apartment for $1000 a month if you look around hard enough, but it's almost certainly going to be small and old. The big issue is that right now, $1200, even $1300 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in this area would seem quite reasonable, even a bargain. That's banana crazypants. In Sacramento you could get a two-bedroom, one-bath place with all the amenities for under $900 a month without looking too hard. That means that if you were able to telecommute three days a week -- maybe even just two -- it would cost you less to live in Sacramento and take the Capitol Corridor train in to San Francisco on your office days than it would to live pretty much anywhere in the Bay Area. I'm not advocating that (the thought has clearly occurred to me, but I have too many friends here in SV to want to make getting to them that difficult), but I think it points to a genuine problem with the local economy. The median housing costs across the Bay Area show an implicit assumption that everybody is making Big Tech Money, but they're not -- and some areas are starting to get too expensive even for the people who are making top dollar. This just isn't a sustainable mix.

dperny 13y ago
I'm a student in the Deep South, and getting out to the Bay Area is a dream of mine. Here's to hoping the price comes down in the next couple of years.
- krakensden 13y ago
  It's not that bad if you're willing to split a house or apartment. And if you're working for BigCo, affording a place won't be hard. 100K is a lot.
- jeremyt 13y ago
  Don't listen all the whining. When I moved to San Francisco in 2008 to work on a startup, I rented a small bedroom in a house with an immigrant couple for $450 per month. If you want to make it work, you'll make it work.
  - jeremyt 13y ago
    Also, I'm from the south, so feel free to contact me if you need any advice. I've been there; done that.
dmnd 13y ago
East Palo Alto isn't in Silicon Valley? It's close enough to the Google campus to bike from.
- chipotle_coyote 13y ago
  Hmm. I think I'd have to agree with you, actually, not just for the bike proximity. :) I've thought of Silicon Valley as running from Mountain View down toward Los Gatos -- the actual geographic Santa Clara Valley, essentially the South Bay region -- but it would certainly make sense to consider Palo Alto the northern end of it, given the importance of the city and Stanford University to all things silicon (literally and figuratively).
whywhywhy5 13y ago
Sure, if you get a 1 bedroom apartment =/ There are plenty of places with decent rooms you can rent for $800-1000. I paid $825 for my old place in South San Francisco (20 min commute to SF). It was a 2300sqft house shared by 3 others.
- chipotle_coyote 13y ago
  Renting just a room isn't always feasible, depending on how much baggage you have in both the literal and figurative sense. When I moved out here 11 years ago from a one-bedroom apartment in Tampa Bay, I did indeed rent just a room from a friend -- and I had to sell a lot of furniture. I've since bought new furniture, and I would not be particularly inclined to give it up. I realize this is my choice, but it's one that you're more likely to face once you get into your 30s (or at any point if you get a family, of course). And, I think my larger concern about prices still stands. That $825 a month could get you a 1BR place with W/D included in many other cities. Actually, it could get you at least a 1BR/1BA place with W/D in many other cities, and we're not talking "middle of nowhere" type places, either. There are still certainly reasons to live in the Bay Area rather than those other places, but we're paying an awful lot for the privilege.
smartician 13y ago
Have you looked at SF rents lately? A studio is $2,000+, and a friend just moved into a two bedroom apartment for $4,750/month.
- chipotle_coyote 13y ago
  Well, going by Craigslist you can find 2BR places for less than that -- but it doesn't look it's easy to get much under $3000, and the median seems closer to $4000. I suppose Silicon Valley is still a relative bargain, in the sense that the third or fourth most expensive place to live in the country is cheaper than the first most expensive. :)
argonaut 13y ago
SV = technology region. SV != actual valley. Just like Wall Street != actual street. This is how the media and public use the term SV.

dperny 13y ago

I'm a student in the Deep South, and getting out to the Bay Area is a dream of mine. Here's to hoping the price comes down in the next couple of years.

krakensden 13y ago
It's not that bad if you're willing to split a house or apartment. And if you're working for BigCo, affording a place won't be hard. 100K is a lot.
jeremyt 13y ago
Don't listen all the whining. When I moved to San Francisco in 2008 to work on a startup, I rented a small bedroom in a house with an immigrant couple for $450 per month. If you want to make it work, you'll make it work.
- jeremyt 13y ago
  Also, I'm from the south, so feel free to contact me if you need any advice. I've been there; done that.

dmnd 13y ago

East Palo Alto isn't in Silicon Valley? It's close enough to the Google campus to bike from.

chipotle_coyote 13y ago
Hmm. I think I'd have to agree with you, actually, not just for the bike proximity. :) I've thought of Silicon Valley as running from Mountain View down toward Los Gatos -- the actual geographic Santa Clara Valley, essentially the South Bay region -- but it would certainly make sense to consider Palo Alto the northern end of it, given the importance of the city and Stanford University to all things silicon (literally and figuratively).

whywhywhy5 13y ago

Sure, if you get a 1 bedroom apartment =/ There are plenty of places with decent rooms you can rent for $800-1000. I paid $825 for my old place in South San Francisco (20 min commute to SF). It was a 2300sqft house shared by 3 others.

chipotle_coyote 13y ago
Renting just a room isn't always feasible, depending on how much baggage you have in both the literal and figurative sense. When I moved out here 11 years ago from a one-bedroom apartment in Tampa Bay, I did indeed rent just a room from a friend -- and I had to sell a lot of furniture. I've since bought new furniture, and I would not be particularly inclined to give it up. I realize this is my choice, but it's one that you're more likely to face once you get into your 30s (or at any point if you get a family, of course). And, I think my larger concern about prices still stands. That $825 a month could get you a 1BR place with W/D included in many other cities. Actually, it could get you at least a 1BR/1BA place with W/D in many other cities, and we're not talking "middle of nowhere" type places, either. There are still certainly reasons to live in the Bay Area rather than those other places, but we're paying an awful lot for the privilege.

smartician 13y ago

Have you looked at SF rents lately? A studio is $2,000+, and a friend just moved into a two bedroom apartment for $4,750/month.

chipotle_coyote 13y ago
Well, going by Craigslist you can find 2BR places for less than that -- but it doesn't look it's easy to get much under $3000, and the median seems closer to $4000. I suppose Silicon Valley is still a relative bargain, in the sense that the third or fourth most expensive place to live in the country is cheaper than the first most expensive. :)

argonaut 13y ago

SV = technology region. SV != actual valley. Just like Wall Street != actual street. This is how the media and public use the term SV.