Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

mercurynews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

241–250 of 428 posts

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

#241

Post by sideband »

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…

I also moved from the the Bay Area to Oviedo, FL not long ago (fun fact about our little town: Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, grew up here). I agree with everything on your list, and I'll add one more item:

9) Greater thought diversity and tolerance for opposing viewpoints.

When I lived in the Bay Area it seemed that too many people I interacted with were of similar backgrounds: very educated, high income and similar political and social values. While I loved my years there, at times I felt like I was in a cultural bubble insulated from the real world. Worse, I saw people professionally shunned for expressing opinions that fell outside the mainstream. People here in the Orlando area are all types and they seem to love to discuss their differences and even try to learn from them. I can't begin to imagine someone suffering professionally only for their opinions here. It's very refreshing.

I have not lived in enough places to guess if this is a Florida vs California thing, or an Orlando area vs Bay Area thing, or a Bay Area vs everywhere else thing, but I think it's certainly a positive difference.

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

#242

Post by doingmyting »

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…

.NET remote developer here. I make Bay Area salary ($185K/yr) with full insurance benefits, transit allowance and stock options while living in rural NH. The best of both worlds. I also hope everyone thinks remote is difficult so it'll stay this way lol.

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

#243

Post by xaa »

DiNovi wrote: post #236
xaa wrote: post #231

I must say that as someone who does NOT live in a crazy high-rent state or town, I am not well pleased by the idea of my federal tax dollars going to people who choose to live there but can't make ends meet, and this even though I'm generally pro-spending on social welfare. You may say, "but the poor can't afford to move!". Well, if that's the case, the government should subsidize their move instead. It would be way…

You're discussing the government force relocating poor people. Think about that...

No, I'm not. I'm suggesting that they be given the choice of moving somewhere else, of their choice, with subsidies for the move, or trying to go it alone in place.

And this only for those people who fall in that gap between (approximately) the national low-income line and the local "low-income" line. People who fall below the national low-income line should be given subsidies, regardless of where they live.

I believe in helping people, but not subsidizing irrational behavior that exacerbates an existing problem.

Just think about how this looks to someone like me: the low-income threshold in CA is over twice my household income. And I am not classified as low-income. So to some degree my tax dollars will be transferred to subsidize some terrible decision-making. If this looks bad to me, a liberal, think how it looks to moderates and conservatives!

Let's take this to the logical extreme: suppose I decide to live literally in Hollywood hills, where one of my relatives lives. I make nowhere near enough to survive there. Should I be subsidized anyway? Does it make a difference if I was born in Hollywood and this situation arose subsequently? I think not, when it comes to the question of what should be done about it now, although reasonable minds may differ.

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

#244

Post by amyjess »

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…

I'm a Texan looking to move out of state because I'm transgender and our legislature wants to make it impossible for people like me to exist.

Since that's the only reason I'm wanting to move, I'm looking for the most Texas-like place I can find. Unfortunately, the closest I can come is Southern California. I dragged my heels like crazy on admitting that SoCal was the only place that has most of what I wanted because the cost of living is so insanely high, but I really have no choice. Everything else either was outside the Sun Belt or not Asian enough. Unfortunately, that means I'm stuck hoping I get a job that pays $140k, because that's what I'll need to make to rent a house in SoCal, and I'll be in a position where if I ever lose my job and end up unemployed, I'll have less than a month to find a new job before I become homeless.

I have a friend of mine trying to sell me on the Vegas area, though. I'm considering it, particularly Spring Valley. But I also have another friend urging me to avoid Vegas because she says there's no tech industry there.

For the record, my main criteria are: must have transgender-inclusive non-discrimination protections at the state level, must be in the Sun Belt, must have high Asian and Hispanic populations (I'm looking for at least 15% of each in the suburb I'm moving to, preferably more), must be a sprawling suburb, must be able to afford to rent a house with central AC on the salary of a software engineer of my experience in the area. The only states that meet the first two criteria are California (and only SoCal, not NorCal), New Mexico, and Nevada. The third criterion eliminates New Mexico (almost no Asian people in the entire state)... and until a few days ago, I thought it eliminated Nevada as well.

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

#245

Post by ef4 »

kevinmannix wrote: post #152
wehadfun wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have mixed feelings about this. People say that state shouldn't have to pay for your kids, but the state can send your kids to war. If the state sends your kids to war and they get killed who reimburses the parent for $100K they invested in the kid?

Can the state currently send your kids to war? By this, I mean forcefully via a draft. I was under the impression that it's a no for now and for the foreseeable future.

Yes, they can. Every male between 18 and 25 is still required to register for the draft. The database is sitting there ready to go. The president just has to declare an emergency and convince congress to approve activation of the selective service system.

In practice, will they? Probably not. But weirder things have happened.

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

#246

Post by archeantus »

kelnos wrote: post #139
Sharlin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

800 square meters????

This is something I still don't get, even as an American. I live by myself in a 950 sq ft (~88 sq m) apartment, and that's already more space than I know what to do with. Sure, add a spouse and 2 or 3 kids and my space needs would increase, but I can't imagine needing 8-10x as much space, ever. Maybe 3x, at most 4x. I grew up in a fairly large house (I don't recall the size, but two floors, 6 bedrooms, kitchen, forma…

There are certainly times I regret having so much space for our kids to clutter, but we ultimately bought it as a place for us to grow into. My wife is expecting our 6th child later this year, and our house has 6 bedrooms. So in that sense, it isn't insanely lavish, but a comfortable place to raise a large family.

Also, as the commenter below mentioned, we do enjoy hosting people for parties and family get-togethers. We spend a good amount of energy and time and money on these activities that are for the enjoyment of other people.

Wealthy people often build massive palaces to honor their own greatness and inflate their egos, I can assure you this is not one of those homes :).

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

#247

Post by duderific »

throwthisawayt wrote: post #48
BadassFractal wrote: post #22

Let's set aside cost of living in the Bay for a second. Here's a completely taboo subject. At what point do we hold people accountable for their reproductive choices? You want to have 2, 4, 6 children in the most expensive slice of land in the US? Great, but please bear in mind that choice comes with real financial consequences to your lifestyle and you should not expect the state to bail you out of it.

The Bay Area is the most expensive place in the US for no real reason except for regulation. It's kinda like everyone cheering for Uber and Lyft because medallion rules in SF prevented ever having enough cabs. There's no real reason and that's the problem. Also maybe they had those kids in the 1990s when things were a bit more affordable ? The Bay Area wasn't always the most expensive place in the US

> The Bay Area is the most expensive place in the US for no real reason except for regulation.

Isn't it more about supply and demand? There are many people here making big salaries at the tech companies, so there is not a shortage of people who can pony up $1-1.5M for a 1200 sq. ft. house. If the demand wasn't there, the prices would come down to meet it.

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

#248

Post by arthur_trudeau »

Note that this is "low income" for the purposes of eligibility for HUD programs. Through the Obama administration, those programs have had the goal of dispersing black and hispanic families into white (and usually high income) areas, particularly suburbs, rather than providing "affordable housing" per se in poorer / cheaper areas.

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

#249

Post by scholia »

kelnos wrote: post #139
Sharlin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

800 square meters????

This is something I still don't get, even as an American. I live by myself in a 950 sq ft (~88 sq m) apartment, and that's already more space than I know what to do with. Sure, add a spouse and 2 or 3 kids and my space needs would increase, but I can't imagine needing 8-10x as much space, ever. Maybe 3x, at most 4x. I grew up in a fairly large house (I don't recall the size, but two floors, 6 bedrooms, kitchen, forma…

If you were a Mormon living in Utah, you might need space for three or four wives, not to mention lots of children...

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

#250

Post by OhHeyItsE »

netizzio wrote: post #127
OhHeyItsE wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the tech job market like there? Or are you fully remote like above?

The tech industry in Central Florida has grown in recent years and seems to be quite strong at present with companies like Disney, Universal, Deloitte hiring lots of tech folks, and a small but growing startup scene. Salaries aren't going to be the same as the west coast though (obviously), and most of the senior developer roles I've seen cap out at around the $100k-ish mark. With the far cheaper cost of living thoug…

Practically, I know it should go further. I think about doing it all the time. But it sure sounds daunting to take a 30-50% pay cut to move to an area with (significantly) fewer jobs.
Post reply on HN