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In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

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Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#91

Post by anon374939 »

stevenwoo wrote: post #26
anon374939 wrote: post #19

After two years in San Francisco, I had to move back to my small(er) home town city because I ultimately realized there's little to no future for me in a city like San Francisco, despite making 250k/yr. I'd have to make at minimum $1M per year for a similar lifestyle (and even then, the stress of living in the bay area will reduce years from your lifespan... what's each year of your life worth to you?).

Curious as to what was causing the stress specific to the Bay Area for you?

Most activities seemed at least 2x more difficult, and that differential probably becomes 3x with kids. Service all around isn't very good in the Bay, there is a higher chance of simple things to not go as planned. Over the years I've realized that stress is something that creeps up on you slowly but surely, and most often you don't even realize it. Over the years it adds up, and ultimately can reduce your lifespan. It truly is the silent killer.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#92

Post by glup »

Sharlin wrote: post #30
archeantus wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We moved to Utah where the tech scene is actually quite strong, and the cost of living is significantly less. We bought an 8k sq ft house for the price of many 1,500 sq ft town homes we had been putting offers in on in California. It can be such a rat race down there, it is refreshing to remember that it doesn't have to be that way. Life exists outside of The Valley, and it happens to be a pretty darn good one (and a…

800 square meters????

I'm sure the OP purchased such a large house for efficiency... as their children mature they can just start their own families in various parts of the vast, cavernous manor.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#93

Post by nojvek »

ryanSrich wrote: post #39
gshulegaard wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, as an engineer finding myself thinking along similar lines, where did you end up moving?

Just remember that you'll want to select a city that has a decent economy and tech scene in the event that you lose your job and need to take a location dictated position. So long as you and your partner are both making 6 figures you should be able to afford any of the following cities: - Seattle - Portland - Austin - Denver

I wonder how many couples make six figures. What is the percentage of population with 350k combined income that are not business owners.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#94

Post by baddox »

ransom1538 wrote: post #46
archeantus wrote: post #6

Wow, this resonates with me. In 2013 my wife and I were living in the Bay Area and had just welcomed our third child into the family. I was making 105k/yr at Apple (which seemed like a ton at the time!) but I felt like I was saving very little of that. I was approached on LinkedIn to take a job with matching pay but that was fully remote. I could live anywhere I wanted in the entire country. I jumped at the chance an…

Did the exact same thing this year. Moved to Oviedo, FL from SF: 1) no state income tax, 2) public schools in my neighborhood are equivalent to a private school in sf [i] 4) weather is great 8 months out of year, 5) beaches you can swim in, 6) rent is ~1/4 of what it was in SF, 7) cuban food, 8) as a resident, kids have year round disney passes [i] http://school-ratings.com/Florida/schools/Carillon_Elementar... WARNI…

That sounds great, but one of the common rebuttals is that the job market (remote or otherwise) may be more challenging outside of the Bay Area.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#95

Post by pascalxus »

Section 8 is destroying our housing market. All these subsidies just encourage people to stay in CA/Bay area and push up the cost of housing for everyone else to unsustainable levels.

Of course the solution is to have a massive increase in the supply of housing. That will never happen. The next best option is to have mass exodus of people leaving the bay area.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#96

Post by geggam »

ryanSrich wrote: post #70
geggam wrote: post #21

Single income, Alameda county ( Fremont ), family of 4 No car payment, No credit card debt, 130k will let you live and eat with a bit of room to go do things once a month. If you have a car payment and or credit cards kiss that once a month thing goodbye 150k will let you have a car and do things Source : I left that area recently

Honest question. I just looked at Redfin and the average house costs around $1.2mm. How would anyone making $130k with 4 dependents buy a house? You seem to fit that criteria so I'll ask you. How on earth did you afford that? Because based on my simple math there just isn't enough money for it to be possible.

You are right. You dont buy a house there.

I left

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#97

Post by hamandcheese »

ransom1538 wrote: post #46
archeantus wrote: post #6

Wow, this resonates with me. In 2013 my wife and I were living in the Bay Area and had just welcomed our third child into the family. I was making 105k/yr at Apple (which seemed like a ton at the time!) but I felt like I was saving very little of that. I was approached on LinkedIn to take a job with matching pay but that was fully remote. I could live anywhere I wanted in the entire country. I jumped at the chance an…

Did the exact same thing this year. Moved to Oviedo, FL from SF: 1) no state income tax, 2) public schools in my neighborhood are equivalent to a private school in sf [i] 4) weather is great 8 months out of year, 5) beaches you can swim in, 6) rent is ~1/4 of what it was in SF, 7) cuban food, 8) as a resident, kids have year round disney passes [i] http://school-ratings.com/Florida/schools/Carillon_Elementar... WARNI…

Welcome, from a remote dev in Orlando (and fellow Disney pass holder)!

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#98

Post by base698 »

archeantus wrote: post #20
gshulegaard wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, as an engineer finding myself thinking along similar lines, where did you end up moving?

We moved to Utah where the tech scene is actually quite strong, and the cost of living is significantly less. We bought an 8k sq ft house for the price of many 1,500 sq ft town homes we had been putting offers in on in California. It can be such a rat race down there, it is refreshing to remember that it doesn't have to be that way. Life exists outside of The Valley, and it happens to be a pretty darn good one (and a…

What's the power bill?

I have considered doing the same but seems like you almost have to buy a house that big or live in a non-desirable area.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#99

Post by rsynnott »

rocgf wrote: post #45
Sharlin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

800 square meters????

My reaction exactly. Americans use way too much, to be honest. 8k sq ft is more than enough for like 7+ families.

Yeah, seems fairly ridiculous. You'd spend your life vacuuming.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#100

Post by unit91 »

vkou wrote: post #36
cbhl wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once upon a time, a family of four had the same number of working adults as a family of one.

Yes, but any spare income earned by multiple working adults in a family will eventually be siphoned up by either landlords, or banks.

If your bank is eating your income, you need a new bank.
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