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Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

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Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#371

Post by vonmoltke »

kevstev wrote: post #360
vonmoltke wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing, not immediately clear from those averages, is that apartments in Manhattan tend to be larger than those in SF. If you look at the breakdown by bedroom count: 1BR: SF -> $3303 | NY -> $2939 2BR: SF -> $4481 | NY -> $3752 This makes clear that NY inventory is biased towards larger units, which makes comparisons of overall averages deceptive.

Do you have any data to support this? I am not being argumentative, I just found that from personal experience the opposite was true- that total rent tended to be higher in SF, but the apartments tended to be larger, at least than those in Manhattan. It seemed to me that SF was slightly cheaper per sq ft, with many more houses having access to outdoor space. The closest I could find in terms of data was this site- ht…

I'm going just by the bedroom counts listed on that website. It's possible that those numbers are also deceptive because square footage per bedroom is sufficiently different. I was mainly remarking that the breakdown seems to indicate that NY inventory is biased towards 2BR apartments while SF inventory is biased towards 1BR. This is based merely on the fact that the SF overall average is much closer to the SF 1BR average while the NY overall average is much closer to the NY 2BR average.

Price per square foot would shed more light on this, but I don't know of a reliable (free) source of that data.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#372

Post by vonmoltke »

zjaffee wrote: post #359
vonmoltke wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Within huge portions of nearby suburbs, you can buy a sizable 3+ bedroom house for A train which sometimes get you there in 45 minutes, sometimes in 60 minutes, sometimes gets cancelled because of (Amtrak signal problems | disabled Amtrak equipment in the Hudson tunnel | overhead wire damage | $ PROBLEM_OF_THE_DAY). He says while crammed in to an NJTransit train.

This is absolutely true, from what I've been hearing NJ transit has just been getting worse and worse since I had used it on a daily basis.

It has been going slowly downhill since I moved here two years ago. I'm glad I don't have to go into Penn any longer. Hoboken has its own problems, but at least the NJT cancellations are rare and the trains usually get there within 5 minutes of when they are supposed to.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#373

Post by zjaffee »

apohn wrote: post #370
zjaffee wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look, you wont find this in the towns with the absolute best schools, and it is only possible to have this sort of commute if you work on top of the lower manhattan path station or penn station. Additionally, prices could've have risen since I last checked, and property taxes in NJ will always be high. But towns ranging from Maplewood to Cranford fall in this price range. Note when I say sizable I'm talking the ~2000…

Maplewood is a great example of homes that look amazing at first glance on real estate websites, but the high property taxes cause your mortgage payment to jump significantly. Here's a great example. 36 Ball Ter, Maplewood. $550K, ~2200 sqft, interior looks newly renovated, looks really nice in pictures. $15.5K(!!) in taxes. With 20% down you're still looking at $3.5K/Month(includes property taxes) on a 30 year mortg…

Oh for sure, NJ home prices do not tell the whole picture, but the truth is that even with these high taxes, a Software Engineer at a top company should easily be able to afford to live there, even with a spouse that doesn't work.

3.5k a month is affordable to people who make 130k+ a year, which is less than a new grad makes at Google, where this is absolutely cheaper than anything within a comparable commute to google offices in the bay area at all, or around Seattle in school districts of similar quality.

New York Metro is in no way cheap, and I was never trying to make that argument, just that it can be substantially cheaper than the existing major tech hubs.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#374

Post by woolvalley »

konamicode wrote: post #233
woolvalley wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if your income is $133k/yr, then it would fit in the 3x annual income rule for housing affordability, which the typical sr eng at google now exceeds.

> it would fit in the 3x annual income rule for housing affordability Could you please expand on this rule? Where did it come from? Feels like impossibility in some countries.

Yes, and those countries have really bad housing affordability!

3x is a benchmark of what is affordable, not a law or a specific financial lending regulation.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#376

Post by thaumasiotes »

sincerely wrote: post #375
thaumasiotes wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hayward.

Wow, I looked it up and you're right. Thanks for the info. What's living in Hayward like?

It seemed quietly beautiful to me. Very nice scenery and otherwise typically suburban? The local hispanic population is large; I walked up into the hills once and found an impressive park, filled with people none of whom were speaking English.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#377

Post by tootie »

redblacktree wrote: post #236
tootie wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don't want 5000 sq ft anymore. I looked at suburban houses as an option and was thinking I hope I never have enough crap to fill this much space. I think I can comfortably fit my family of 4 in 1200 sq ft indefinitely and never own a car.

Do you have kids yet? Genuinely curious.

Yes. Two. We live in <1000 sq ft right now and they don't mind at all.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#378

Post by tootie »

ardy42 wrote: post #277
tootie wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don't want 5000 sq ft anymore. I looked at suburban houses as an option and was thinking I hope I never have enough crap to fill this much space. I think I can comfortably fit my family of 4 in 1200 sq ft indefinitely and never own a car.

> People don't want 5000 sq ft anymore. I looked at suburban houses as an option and was thinking I hope I never have enough crap to fill this much space. I think I can comfortably fit my family of 4 in 1200 sq ft indefinitely and never own a car. That's an incredibly broad overstatement. There are plenty of people, including "techies," who still want a suburban home with a car. There's a lot of talk in this thread t…

Yes, I'm generalizing but it's definitely a trend. The schools in my city used to fight for attendance and now they fight crowding and the PTA rates in 7 figures. Families are staying in the city more than ever.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#379

Post by screye »

notyourday wrote: post #312
bsbechtel wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Define economic winner....you mean top line income and area GDP? These places are the most expensive places in the country to live, and quality of living is considerably lower. Incomes may be lower in many areas of the country, but when you consider you can pay $2k/mo on a 5,000 sq ft mortgage instead of renting a 900 sq ft apartment, I don't view these places as economically successful as many perceive them to be.

I lived in other "cities" in the US: Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC. Here’s why people who can end up electing to live in a place like NYC and here's why the NYC is the economic winner. I pay $3400/mo for 2400 3bd 2bath two floor apartment with a private backyard ( mine ). If I had a car, I could have parked in in a back - I don't because I have 27 zip cars available within a…

You've stated my feelings on the matter perfectly.

> $3400/mo for 2400 3bd 2bath two floor apartment with a private backyard

though I prefer single floor condos more, and don't want to pay that much in rent. But, that's 20 years too early to be talking about it.

___

I stay in Boston right now, and Charles bordering Boston-Cambridge neighborhoods are similar to how you describe NYC living, just on a smaller scale.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#380

Post by screye »

tootie wrote: post #220
bsbechtel wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Define economic winner....you mean top line income and area GDP? These places are the most expensive places in the country to live, and quality of living is considerably lower. Incomes may be lower in many areas of the country, but when you consider you can pay $2k/mo on a 5,000 sq ft mortgage instead of renting a 900 sq ft apartment, I don't view these places as economically successful as many perceive them to be.

People don't want 5000 sq ft anymore. I looked at suburban houses as an option and was thinking I hope I never have enough crap to fill this much space. I think I can comfortably fit my family of 4 in 1200 sq ft indefinitely and never own a car.

I grew up, 6 people (With frequent guests) in a ~800 sqft house.

Something like ~2500 sqft. sounds amazing to me, as long as it is all on one floor.

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