Link to article:
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Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
231–240 of 424 posts
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#232It's not just about the rents and finances. Escaping Silicon Valley is also escaping a monoculture. Yes, the Bay has diversity in one sense (for example ethnic backgrounds), but in other ways (diversity of thought) it is very uniform. Urban living is also just one way of living. It's not the way everyone wants or needs to live, and those who want more breathing room can seek that out if they can work remotely. Politics also vary by geographic location, and those who are tired of issues like SF's lack of law enforcement and constant problems with homeless drug addicts have more viable alternatives now. Those who have families/friends in other places will be freer to live near them. I think this is going to be great and hope to see all tech companies adopt remote work.
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#233Another thought: those workers and their companies could contribute to changing the situation in Silicon Valley and the rest of California: https://cayimby.org/ Without a change in housing policy in the US, this just becomes a big game of musical chairs: Guy moves from Silicon Valley to Portland, Oregon. Portland gets too expensive for some other family, who move to Boise, Idaho. And so on...
>Guy moves from Silicon Valley to Portland, Oregon. Portland gets too expensive for some other family, who move to Boise, Idaho. And so on...
Yup. It's a fundamental values problem that can't be fixed without a major ideological shift. A large number of people do not believe that people have the right to do more or less whatever they want on their property. Until that is fixed you're always going to have people saying "but you shouldn't be able to build that there".
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#234I'm pretty bearish on the pandemic actually leading to massive change in the number of people permanently working from home. My boss put out a survey a week or two ago among my org (30 or so people), and 70% said that they want to work from the office, full time, 20% said some time or most of the time, and 10% said fully remote. And this is a group of people that would be largely well suited to working from home duri…
Young single people are also likely to couple their job & coworkers with their identity & society. So I could see them wishing they could be in the office.
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#235I'm pretty bearish on the pandemic actually leading to massive change in the number of people permanently working from home. My boss put out a survey a week or two ago among my org (30 or so people), and 70% said that they want to work from the office, full time, 20% said some time or most of the time, and 10% said fully remote. And this is a group of people that would be largely well suited to working from home duri…
One thing to keep in mind is that this is NOT what working remotely is really like. During normal times if I am missing socialization at work I can make up for it by going out more during the week. During normal times if I want I can spend a few hours working from the local cafe. But the cafes are closed. During normal times, kids are at school for most of the day so they don't disrupt you. But schools are closed. I'…
That is a really important point, but I think that it still doesn't counter the argument about the career downsides of being remote when you don't work for a 100% remote organization.
My company is pretty flexible but as a scientist/engineer I still have some duties where being in the lab is necessary. I'll probably increase my remote work for now but likely not move further away. I enjoy my bike commute in the East Bay.
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting, thanks for the reading. I am tempted now to get a higher salary in an expensive location, work on-site and then remotely from that location, then quietly move away without telling anyone. As long as my hours are the same and work quality don't change, nobody should be the wiser.
you have to have payroll run in the state where you work so you couldn't do this without either updating with HR or tax fraud
Cost of living within a state can vary pretty greatly. eastern vs western Washington for example. Spokane vs Seattle: https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/spokane-wa/seattle...
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#237If a company want to hire remote workers, why do that in US or Europe?
My company hires a lot of Croatian software engineers. Most of them speak great English. 1/3 are very, very good, 1/3 OK, 1/3 literally terrible. But we rotate the bad ones out and keep the good ones, and the rumor is they cost about 1/3 or 1/2 of an American worker. I honestly feel that the American software engineer may be in trouble if remote really does take off -- 2 solid Croatian guys for the price of 1 tech bro is a very good deal.
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#238I'm pretty bearish on the pandemic actually leading to massive change in the number of people permanently working from home. My boss put out a survey a week or two ago among my org (30 or so people), and 70% said that they want to work from the office, full time, 20% said some time or most of the time, and 10% said fully remote. And this is a group of people that would be largely well suited to working from home duri…
One thing to keep in mind is that this is NOT what working remotely is really like. During normal times if I am missing socialization at work I can make up for it by going out more during the week. During normal times if I want I can spend a few hours working from the local cafe. But the cafes are closed. During normal times, kids are at school for most of the day so they don't disrupt you. But schools are closed. I'…
Yea but during normal times coworkers will be having face to face conversations at the water cooler which you will miss being remote. So you are missing external interaction, but on the other hand the playing field is level in a way that it won't be once people start going back to the office.
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#239" But the trend raises complicated questions. If employees move to a less expensive location, should Twilio adjust their salaries accordingly? “It’s probably not great business practice to pay Bay Area comps in Michigan,” Lake says. And when it comes time to promote, would those employees have the same opportunity to advance as everybody else? “We need to think proactively,” she says. " I wouldn't sweat it. After the…
Maybe companies will be forced to open offices in Billings if everyone is moving to Montana.
Re: Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a concept known as operating leverage which applies here: fixed costs, even if high, mean that increases in revenue multiply net income. And of course by moving outside a greater metro area, you're also saving money by choosing not to consume any amenities of private schools, airports, large hospitals, high infrastructure recreation, etc.
Absolutely true. Once you move out of the center of a high-density, major metropolitan area, you literally cannot find and use private schools, airports, hospitals, and theme parks. And your IQ drops by 50 points. Instantly. It's weird.
That's not what I said, so your sarcasm is misplaced and makes you seem unnecessarily irritated. Maybe you are misunderstanding the meaning of "greater metro area" which means "a metro area and surrounding, connected developments" and not "better than rural metro area."