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Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

wsj.com

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Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#101

Post by PenguinCoder »

stanrivers wrote: post #3

Are companies going to start adjusting salaries for people who move (this makes zero sense to me, the value you add most likely doesn’t change because of where you live)? That’s where this gets weird... people move to these better-to-live places and then all the employers decides to pay them less because of location. Then you just push up housing prices with salaries that slowly reset over time to be cost of living a…

> the value you add most likely doesn’t change because of where you live)?

I have been shouting this into the wind for years (as a remote/WFH) employee. I agree with you, 98% of companies out there don't.

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#102

Post by davidw »

reaperducer wrote: post #39

People have been talking about this on HN for a few months now, and I never took it seriously since these threads are always filled with people quoting numbers saying it's not happening. That was until last month, when two tech workers from San Francisco moved into the neighborhood. Both have the same story: Their company went work-from-home when the pandemic started, then made it permanent, so the company employees…

Another thing I'm curious about is what the distribution will be like. Smooth, across a wide range of places - anywhere with a decent internet connection - or will people follow previously trodden paths to places like Boulder or where I am in Bend, Oregon? There are plenty of towns with lots of outdoor access in Oregon that are cheap because the mill closed. But they are not 'hot' destinations.

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#103

Post by notJim »

davidw wrote: post #31

I can't read the article, but this appears to be hitting us hard here in Bend, Oregon. House prices were already high and only appear to be going higher. I think more people could be a great thing if we get them involved locally, and if we add enough housing to accommodate them, which is tricky right now. As someone involved with a local YIMBY group, it's tough to see the prices - it felt like we were making some pro…

I looked a bit at moving to Bend a couple years ago, and already at that point it was getting a little rich for me (also wanting to be close in town). Can't imagine what it's like now.

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#104

Post by notJim »

davidw wrote: post #84
iaw wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 1978 California passed the ill-conceived Proposition 13 which encourages people to keep houses rather than sell them through lower tax rates for longer ownership. California has almost 40M residents and Oregon has a bit over 4M, even a fraction of those 40M going north to Oregon is going to overload the housing market there.

Yep. Oregon has something similar in Measures 5 & 50, and it distorts our market as well. I follow CA housing politics fairly closely because, as you point out, they are important in Oregon too. It has been really dismaying to see them consistently fail to pass the kinds of reform they need.

I think Oregon has done better than California in this regard, hasn't it, with the ban on single-family zoning?

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#105

Post by davidw »

notJim wrote: post #104
davidw wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Oregon has something similar in Measures 5 & 50, and it distorts our market as well. I follow CA housing politics fairly closely because, as you point out, they are important in Oregon too. It has been really dismaying to see them consistently fail to pass the kinds of reform they need.

I think Oregon has done better than California in this regard, hasn't it, with the ban on single-family zoning?

Yes we have! HB 2001. One of my prouder YIMBY moments was turning out a bunch of people to speak with our state representative in support, on a weekday morning.

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#106

Post by floor2 »

silicon2401 wrote: post #49
reaperducer wrote: post #39

People have been talking about this on HN for a few months now, and I never took it seriously since these threads are always filled with people quoting numbers saying it's not happening. That was until last month, when two tech workers from San Francisco moved into the neighborhood. Both have the same story: Their company went work-from-home when the pandemic started, then made it permanent, so the company employees…

That's what makes it appealing to a lot of people who have been living around millions of other people. Soon many of these places will no longer be cheap and far away from other people. It'll be interesting to see how today's cultural conflicts play out when the more left-leaning, urban remote workers move en masse to smaller, more right-leaning, less urban places.

One thing worth remembering - thousands of current "Bay area tech workers" grew up in other parts of the country, and moved to silicon valley primarily for job opportunities, but may not otherwise share in the religious, political or social views that dominate that space.

So while in some cases there may be the conflict you're alluding to, for other people, they're just moving back home.

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#107

Post by pbuzbee »

nendroid wrote: post #2

I think the migration out of the bay will make it a more reasonable place to live. We do have some of the best weather in the world. I'm going to gamble on staying. Hopefully this isn't like detroit.

I think it's unlikely to turn out like Detroit, and I say that as someone who wants to leave the region.

The region will continue to have many of its best qualities: good weather, (relatively) diverse culture, access to nature, and good employment prospects. The biggest issue with the region is the high cost of living, but any relief in housing costs will only make the area more appealing again. There's a high floor.

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#108

Post by pbuzbee »

shadykiller wrote: post #7

The prices of bay area homes aren't dropping still. Looks like this migration is still temporary.

I wonder how long it will take for Bay Area real estate to take a hit if the pandemic continues longer and/or remote working becomes significantly more common.

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#109

Post by edmundsauto »

xur17 wrote: post #54
edmundsauto wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn’t they adjust it not based on COLA but on what the talent market is in that region? That’s making it explicitly market based, although that obviously includes a cost of living component.

Are they taking into account the fact that the talent market is now national / international given remote work?

I have no idea, but given that it's localized by region, probably not? I don't think anyone knows how the new WFH conditions will impact local market conditions.

Re: Tech Workers Take to the Mountains, Bringing Silicon Valley with Them

#110

Post by mr_woozy »

stanrivers wrote: post #3

Are companies going to start adjusting salaries for people who move (this makes zero sense to me, the value you add most likely doesn’t change because of where you live)? That’s where this gets weird... people move to these better-to-live places and then all the employers decides to pay them less because of location. Then you just push up housing prices with salaries that slowly reset over time to be cost of living a…

Technically while you are correct that it should make no salary difference where workers choose to base themselves, unfortunately corporations and HR will use this as a sorting metric to pay qualified workers less because it's only to their advantage to do so.

While you'd think the worker would benefit from being more globally employable the companies conversely have a larger pool of candidates now to choose from, which means they can afford to pay less for talent.

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