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Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

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Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#4

I applaud this trend. I am in the 60% of people[1] who prefer to work from home, and spend more time with loved ones and less time rushing to get to the office. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/business/pandemic-work-fr...

I’m very skeptical that 60% of all people prefer to work from home. In my experience, it’s a small but vocal minority who don’t value the social component of an office. I think work from home should totally be optional, but why do work-from-homers assume that everyone else likes to work that way? I do not.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#5

I wonder what impact will WFH have on getting promotions, and the likelihood of being laid off.

Probably flux at first, and after some time an equilibrium. People get used to all kinds of things - change or die, for companies and careers alike. Worrying about this will be irrelevant after some time. Too much concern on this kind of suggests to me that a significant portion of people’s pay is based on the perception of productivity derived from interfacing with many people at work, but not necessarily producing a lot more for the company than saliva.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#6
I got a job offer from Capital One several years ago in Richmond, VA. I liked the location and the company but my current gig is paying over twice as much in San Jose, CA. I just don't see this panning out on a large scale once people realize that their paychecks will also drop significantly when they move away.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#7

I wonder what impact will WFH have on getting promotions, and the likelihood of being laid off.

Probably flux at first, and after some time an equilibrium. People get used to all kinds of things - change or die, for companies and careers alike. Worrying about this will be irrelevant after some time. Too much concern on this kind of suggests to me that a significant portion of people’s pay is based on the perception of productivity derived from interfacing with many people at work, but not necessarily producing…

This is correct IMO. Most of the workforce at any office-y (including tech) company of significant size isn't a positive investment for their employer. We're all just spending our days trying to prove that there's good reason to hesitate in firing us.

It is absolutely a concern for us if something happens that makes it more difficult for us to keep up this charade, especially if it coincides with a dramatic recession that gives management a reason to sniff around for cost savings.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#8
post #6

I got a job offer from Capital One several years ago in Richmond, VA. I liked the location and the company but my current gig is paying over twice as much in San Jose, CA. I just don't see this panning out on a large scale once people realize that their paychecks will also drop significantly when they move away.

Three possibilities:

1. All the bay area companies realize they can employ the best talent remotely from around the country (globe?) successfully. The SF pay premium drops.

2. Bay Area companies pay according to cost of living, many remotely. Some people move, some stay. SF pay premium holds.

3. Everyone realizes the pre pandemic normal was right all along and having a lot of talented people in the same building matters a lot for company success. SF pay premium holds.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#9
post #8
post #6

I got a job offer from Capital One several years ago in Richmond, VA. I liked the location and the company but my current gig is paying over twice as much in San Jose, CA. I just don't see this panning out on a large scale once people realize that their paychecks will also drop significantly when they move away.

Three possibilities: 1. All the bay area companies realize they can employ the best talent remotely from around the country (globe?) successfully. The SF pay premium drops. 2. Bay Area companies pay according to cost of living, many remotely. Some people move, some stay. SF pay premium holds. 3. Everyone realizes the pre pandemic normal was right all along and having a lot of talented people in the same building matt…

I agree, although if the premise of the article is true, #1 is the implied outcome.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#10
A) The linked WSJ article claims "The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco in the month of July dropped by 11% compared with the same month a year prior, according to rental-listings platform Zumper, which analyzed nearly 11,000 listings in the city and several surrounding areas."

http://archive.is/CZeTm

However,

B) A different article, dated 8/3/2020, claims: "In San Francisco, Zillow says rent prices declined 3.2 percent compared to the same time last year."

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/08/03/in-bay-areas-co...

PadMapper shows the range for a 1 bedroom rental as ~$2k-$4k, and 2 bedrooms as ~$3k-$5k.

A 3.2% drop on a $4k rental takes the price down to $3.9k. Not a big 'fall' in the scheme of finding affordable housing.

https://www.padmapper.com/apartments/san-francisco-ca/2-beds...

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