4 ms·

Actually, I sort of think the cost of living is high because tech workers make so much money. So you have your cause and effect reversed. They do seem to be t

by sbov 12y ago

Actually, I sort of think the cost of living is high because tech workers make so much money. So you have your cause and effect reversed. They do seem to be the primary reason why rents and housing prices are going up so much in the bay area. E.g. I've read about landlords who raise their rent because of the presence of a google bus stop nearby.

simoncion 12y ago
> [Tech workers] do seem to be the primary reason why rents and housing prices are going up so much in the bay area. In 1998 (at about the height of the dotcom bubble) a 1-bedroom apartment in my apartment building was renting for ~$500/month. In 2010 (shortly after the real-estate bubble collapse) that same apartment rented out for ~$1500/month. Does it seem to you that tech worker salaries explain that 3x increase? Remember that as of last year, tech workers made up ~8% of SF's population.
- bsder 12y ago
  > In 1998 (at about the height of the dotcom bubble) a 1-bedroom apartment in my apartment building was renting for ~$500/month. That is very low according to my memory. I was in Santa Clara in that time and my rent was over $1000/mo. Now, I wasn't down in SF with all the cool kids. I do remember that SF in that time frame was right at a gentrification inflection where there were really expensive places right next to buildings that should have been condemned, so I'm willing to concede your point. > Does it seem to you that tech worker salaries explain that 3x increase? Remember that as of last year, tech workers made up ~8% of SF's population. Yes. That one is easy. Nobody wants to rent to the 92% combined with highly restricted supply. Even back in the DotBomb days, there was a reason why people were commuting from the Fresno area. (152 would be bumper to bumper at 4:30AM in the morning!)
  - 91bananas 12y ago
    I could not imagine a worse fate than commuting from Fresno to the bay daily, let alone doing so in bumper to bumper traffic in the middle of the night.
    - bsder 12y ago
      You forgot 40-60mph wind gusts because those are passes through the mountains. It was stupid, but that demonstrates how bad things are in the central valley.
ssalazar 12y ago
In the case of San Francisco it is the combination of high salaries for tech workers and incredibly limited supply.

by sbov 12y ago

simoncion 12y ago

> [Tech workers] do seem to be the primary reason why rents and housing prices are going up so much in the bay area. In 1998 (at about the height of the dotcom bubble) a 1-bedroom apartment in my apartment building was renting for ~$500/month. In 2010 (shortly after the real-estate bubble collapse) that same apartment rented out for ~$1500/month. Does it seem to you that tech worker salaries explain that 3x increase? Remember that as of last year, tech workers made up ~8% of SF's population.

bsder 12y ago
> In 1998 (at about the height of the dotcom bubble) a 1-bedroom apartment in my apartment building was renting for ~$500/month. That is very low according to my memory. I was in Santa Clara in that time and my rent was over $1000/mo. Now, I wasn't down in SF with all the cool kids. I do remember that SF in that time frame was right at a gentrification inflection where there were really expensive places right next to buildings that should have been condemned, so I'm willing to concede your point. > Does it seem to you that tech worker salaries explain that 3x increase? Remember that as of last year, tech workers made up ~8% of SF's population. Yes. That one is easy. Nobody wants to rent to the 92% combined with highly restricted supply. Even back in the DotBomb days, there was a reason why people were commuting from the Fresno area. (152 would be bumper to bumper at 4:30AM in the morning!)
- 91bananas 12y ago
  I could not imagine a worse fate than commuting from Fresno to the bay daily, let alone doing so in bumper to bumper traffic in the middle of the night.
  - bsder 12y ago
    You forgot 40-60mph wind gusts because those are passes through the mountains. It was stupid, but that demonstrates how bad things are in the central valley.

ssalazar 12y ago

In the case of San Francisco it is the combination of high salaries for tech workers and incredibly limited supply.