MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area • Hacker News Board

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#151

Post by tempsy » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:27 PM UTC

mdszy wrote: post #94

tempsy wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$1.5k is generous...it's more like $500-$1k maybe. I'm lucky to have my own place in SF but most people have roommates because SF rentals is mostly houses, but if you lived nearly anywhere else you'd almost certainly find your own place and not scramble to find a roommate. So you go from paying $2k/month with roommates to maybe $1.5k/month without. Not a huge difference.

Not having roommates is 100% worth not saving a whole ton of money to me. Fuck having roommates.

I think people in SF have normalized having roommates as adults. It's possible to find your own place, for sure, but you're going to pay at least $3500/month then for something decent unless you get a studio like me, which there are very few.

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#152

Post by theflyinghorse » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:27 PM UTC

pm90 wrote: post #131

BoorishBears wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My first thought about Rural Alabama is how much I'd hate that sociopolitical environment (I'm black) Granted I googled Sylacauga and the first line on their website is >Sylacauga (syl-a-cau-ga) is a progressive community where all the pieces fit. So they're aware of the image which is a pretty good sign... But I'm not doing these cities/towns that are "progressive" oases in vast deserts of backwards communities ever…

I somewhat relate to your view as a non-white POC. However, I don't think > they'll eventually lose the power they had. would do much to change the situation. Georgia, Virginia and Texas are states that are being fundamentally changed because of the influx of progressives from both rural areas and urban coasts. The fastest way to change seems to be to move to these places and use the democratic process to introduce r…

> Georgia, Virginia and Texas are states that are being fundamentally changed because of the influx of progressives from both rural areas and urban coasts.

Why are progressives moving en mass so much that that are able to replace the local population and fundamentally alter voting patterns? What is happening to drive people out like that? I'm not an American for the record and likely am missing parts of the context here.

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#153

Post by flowersjeff » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:28 PM UTC

tootie wrote: post #21

At the risk of sounding overly woke, houses and cars are terrible for the climate. Also, there's a reason that big businesses and highly-educated professionals gravitate towards. More fluid labor and job markets. I'd think a better goal here would be build up technology industries in smaller cities.

I totally can get behind the idea of building up tech industries elsewhere, though it is a really tough chicken/egg problem. Smart people are not going to smallTown X if there's just one/two tech firms with which to bounce between. Love to hear ideas of how to bootstrap this (or will it get just so expensive that tech firms move out first?)

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#154

Post by BoorishBears » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:28 PM UTC

pm90 wrote: post #131

BoorishBears wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My first thought about Rural Alabama is how much I'd hate that sociopolitical environment (I'm black) Granted I googled Sylacauga and the first line on their website is >Sylacauga (syl-a-cau-ga) is a progressive community where all the pieces fit. So they're aware of the image which is a pretty good sign... But I'm not doing these cities/towns that are "progressive" oases in vast deserts of backwards communities ever…

I somewhat relate to your view as a non-white POC. However, I don't think > they'll eventually lose the power they had. would do much to change the situation. Georgia, Virginia and Texas are states that are being fundamentally changed because of the influx of progressives from both rural areas and urban coasts. The fastest way to change seems to be to move to these places and use the democratic process to introduce r…

If no one progressive lives in these states, there's no foothold for change, I agree with that.

But it's like a see-saw, injecting wealth while the ride is still tipped so strongly towards these backwards communities is counter-productive. It's adding more weight (money) to the other side than it is to the side of progressives and African-Americans already living there.

Especially when you consider even in these "progressive" oases, it's not uncommon for gentrification to disproportionately affect African Americans, and even end up destabilizing otherwise functional communities of black people.

I want to see us set up the progressives who live in those states for success with federal actions like fighting gerrymandering and national political movements before pouring money into those states.

The old guard losing power as wealth left their states has very much been a large part of why places like Virginia have been able to transform. You need the backwards incumbents to be weakened enough not to take your wealth generation and turn it back on the group you're trying to uplift.

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#155

Post by flowersjeff » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:29 PM UTC

et2o wrote: post #10

So it looks like you have to join one of their "Main Street Communities" and work remotely from there for 1 year, but I can't find a listing of the community locations anywhere. Do they not exist yet? What gives? Terms: https://workonmainstreet.com/incentive-terms

So...basically good luck ever collecting on that 10k.

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#156

Post by fetus8 » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:29 PM UTC

theflyinghorse wrote: post #152

pm90 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I somewhat relate to your view as a non-white POC. However, I don't think > they'll eventually lose the power they had. would do much to change the situation. Georgia, Virginia and Texas are states that are being fundamentally changed because of the influx of progressives from both rural areas and urban coasts. The fastest way to change seems to be to move to these places and use the democratic process to introduce r…

> Georgia, Virginia and Texas are states that are being fundamentally changed because of the influx of progressives from both rural areas and urban coasts. Why are progressives moving en mass so much that that are able to replace the local population and fundamentally alter voting patterns? What is happening to drive people out like that? I'm not an American for the record and likely am missing parts of the context h…

High cost of living in urban centers.

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#157

Post by ok_coo » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:30 PM UTC

nkrisc wrote: post #72

namdnay wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it depends on each person. I briefly lived in Dallas, it's just way too ... flat? No sea, no mountains, no thanks :)

So all of the Midwest :)

No sea, but you can find some very beautiful places along the great lakes!

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#158

Post by zeku » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:31 PM UTC

jcomis wrote: post #133

asdfman123 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another option is you can just find a job in Dallas or Atlanta or something. There's enough programming jobs in cities like that, the COL is relatively low, you can live in pretty much any part of town that suits your fancy, and they're probably much nicer to live in than you might imagine if you've never left the coasts. Personally if I were looking to move anywhere after leaving the bay I'd consider Raleigh or Nash…

Just FYI the traffic in these midsize cities is ridiculous. Nearly all have seen no real investment in urban planning and infrastructure, but have jumped in size. IMO remote is the only real viable option in many unless you plan to live in very few places that have easy transport access or walking distance. And in those places the COL is much higher.

Yeah I'm in Nashville and the traffic is way worse than people probably expect. probably not LA or DC but way above what you want to deal with.

Work anywhere near downtown? Live in one of our two most popular suburbs? 1.5 hours one way, so 3 hrs commuting a day.

Housing is also shooting up, we're very firmly MCOL. We're selling shacks that need to be torn down for 350-400k on tiny lots anywhere within 10 miles of downtown.

Our housing is more expensive than Atlanta, but unless you're working at the new Amazon office or remote your salary is going to go down to below Atlanta wages. Using Atlanta as it's an easy regional comparative.

On the other side the city is pretty cool, evidenced by the fact that you have to hunt high and low to find a 'Nashville-native' or even someone from Middle Tennessee. People move here in packs.

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#159

Post by mepiethree » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:31 PM UTC

BoorishBears wrote: post #105

beauzero wrote: post #41

Atlanta for $ to cost of living/quality. Rural Alabama like Sylacauga (metro/eletric company fiber to your home) for "work from home". Both my wife and I work from home in rural Georgia (Carrollton)...$300k bought us 25 acres, a refurbished 2500 square feet farm house, 6 stall horse barn, 1/2 acre pond, and shop with concrete floor and electricity. There are options out there, lots of them.

My first thought about Rural Alabama is how much I'd hate that sociopolitical environment (I'm black) Granted I googled Sylacauga and the first line on their website is >Sylacauga (syl-a-cau-ga) is a progressive community where all the pieces fit. So they're aware of the image which is a pretty good sign... But I'm not doing these cities/towns that are "progressive" oases in vast deserts of backwards communities ever…

You can find an apartment to buy in any neighborhood in Chicago for $200k. Same spaces in SF would be around $1M. Maybe Chicago would be a palatable alternative to rural Alabama?

Re: MainStreet – $10k to Leave Bay Area

#160

Post by pchristensen » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 4:33 PM UTC

themagician wrote: post #125

dmode wrote: post #106

Let’s be honest, $10k is chump change for engineers pulling $400k. If you want people to move, how about offer $400k ?

I doubt there are more than a few hundred engineers with that salary in the entire Bay Area and they aren’t the ones who complain about cost of living. This is the software engineer making $80,000 a year who tries to live alone and has to spend half their paycheck on a studio.

There are thousands of employees at each of Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Google making more (some significantly more) than that. And although they generally pay best, they also are a fraction of overall tech employment in the Bay Area. Poke around in https://www.levels.fyi if you're curious.