2 ms·

I was going to add a comment at the end about how I fear that I may be fighting a losing battle against socioeconomic feedback loops. That's profoundly sad to

by bglazer 12y ago

I was going to add a comment at the end about how I fear that I may be fighting a losing battle against socioeconomic feedback loops. That's profoundly sad to me though. Concentrating all of the technological revolution's talent and wealth in a few cities will have bad effects on the rest of the country.

rdtsc 12y ago
Wonder if more acceptance of remote work will change this. Image a thousand or ten thousand remote engineers, getting Google salaries. That is a lot of income, a lot taxes, a lot of spending power. There are smaller cities that are called one-company towns. One university, one army base, one large manufacturing plant. That is the largest and most prominent employer in the region. If that one thing goes away, the town will suffer. Remote workers are different because they can hedge that risk. So with more remote work, eventually, perhaps we'll start seeing new patterns emerge, it could revitalize some areas. If there is more talent gathering, a positive feedback loop might start... Edit: To add, tax incentive structure can be important. Some states do a lot better in that regard. There are even special deals arranged like "If you move your headquarters here, you'll pay lower taxes" or something similar.
- nightski 12y ago
  I work remote from a small city in the Midwest and easily bring in > 200k servicing select clients from throughout the country. It could be a lot greater if I had any interest in subcontracting/hiring or growing. While I occasionally visit SF I always get a good chuckle when my friend that lives there talks about how expensive things are and the pains of living there.
  - cageface 12y ago
    If you do have any interest in subcontracting web or iOS work please ping me. Contact info is in my profle.
- eanplatter 12y ago
  The trouble comes when companies pay remote employees less if their cost of living is lower, or when they move to another place so they can pay people less. HP did that when they moved to Boise, ID.
  - kxo 12y ago
    In most cases, companies aren't actually able to adjust point-for-point for CoL.. it just isn't possible in any market with local opportunity. If remote markets ever see dramatic expansion/acceptance, CoL won't even be a mentionable factor. CoL might be N-300% higher in SF but salaries (thank wage-fixing companies) are not. Salaries are (necessarily higher) but it's easy to dwarf the spread in normal, requisite expenditures. CA has a high state income tax, relatively higher sales tax (than most midwest areas), and in the case of SF, the oh-so-obvious (self-inflicted) real estate problem.
mahyarm 12y ago
I would more call it a gravitational effect. The SFBA has more +$30mm net worth families than all of CANADA alone for example. I call it the black hole of money. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/11/21/ultra-high-net-worth-canada-world_n_6199998.html http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/11/21/ultra-high-net-worth...

by bglazer 12y ago

rdtsc 12y ago

Wonder if more acceptance of remote work will change this. Image a thousand or ten thousand remote engineers, getting Google salaries. That is a lot of income, a lot taxes, a lot of spending power. There are smaller cities that are called one-company towns. One university, one army base, one large manufacturing plant. That is the largest and most prominent employer in the region. If that one thing goes away, the town will suffer. Remote workers are different because they can hedge that risk. So with more remote work, eventually, perhaps we'll start seeing new patterns emerge, it could revitalize some areas. If there is more talent gathering, a positive feedback loop might start... Edit: To add, tax incentive structure can be important. Some states do a lot better in that regard. There are even special deals arranged like "If you move your headquarters here, you'll pay lower taxes" or something similar.

nightski 12y ago
I work remote from a small city in the Midwest and easily bring in > 200k servicing select clients from throughout the country. It could be a lot greater if I had any interest in subcontracting/hiring or growing. While I occasionally visit SF I always get a good chuckle when my friend that lives there talks about how expensive things are and the pains of living there.
- cageface 12y ago
  If you do have any interest in subcontracting web or iOS work please ping me. Contact info is in my profle.
eanplatter 12y ago
The trouble comes when companies pay remote employees less if their cost of living is lower, or when they move to another place so they can pay people less. HP did that when they moved to Boise, ID.
- kxo 12y ago
  In most cases, companies aren't actually able to adjust point-for-point for CoL.. it just isn't possible in any market with local opportunity. If remote markets ever see dramatic expansion/acceptance, CoL won't even be a mentionable factor. CoL might be N-300% higher in SF but salaries (thank wage-fixing companies) are not. Salaries are (necessarily higher) but it's easy to dwarf the spread in normal, requisite expenditures. CA has a high state income tax, relatively higher sales tax (than most midwest areas), and in the case of SF, the oh-so-obvious (self-inflicted) real estate problem.

mahyarm 12y ago

I would more call it a gravitational effect. The SFBA has more +$30mm net worth families than all of CANADA alone for example. I call it the black hole of money. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/11/21/ultra-high-net-worth-canada-world_n_6199998.html http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/11/21/ultra-high-net-worth...