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San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

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Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#171

Post by kafkaesq »

bogomipz wrote: post #89
Gratsby wrote: post #54

I pay about that for rent - it's the most I've ever paid for housing by a long shot, and it regularly freaks me out. I just can't get used to it. The thing that gets me is that I'm barely paying the property taxes on the place I rent. The landlord isn't gouging me. It's just the way it is here. Housing is so expensive because everyone wants to be here, and for good reason. This is the most thriving technical communit…

Really - "This is the most thriving technical community in the entire world"? I'm calling BS. Have you been to New York City recently? Rents for a 1 bedroom are nowhere near that. Lets talk about that community - there are meetups? Wow. You can go to a meetup on any night of the week in New York or Austin. Besides that explain "the community"? Oh you go out and drink craft beers after work? You can do that anywhere.…

"This is the most thriving technical community in the entire world"?

Together with SV and the rest of the Bay Area, yes. You really can't compare the sheer size (multiplied by grey matter density) with any other place in the world.

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#172

Post by technofiend »

vinay427 wrote: post #160
sfotoatx wrote: post #130

Lots of naysayers on HN, but I left SF last year and moved to Austin. I have zero regrets. In SF, my 1 bedroom, 650 square foot apartment in SOMA went from $2,600 to $3,200 over 3 years. In Austin, my salary went down $10k to $120k/yr. My 2 bedroom, 1,100 square foot apartment is $1,150/mo. The tech scene here isn't as vibrant as SF, but there's still plenty of great meet ups. All in all, yes there are some things I…

Also no state income tax in TX, I believe.

Yup.

From Bankrate.com - Seven U.S. states currently don't have an income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. And residents of New Hampshire and Tennessee are also spared from handing over an extra chunk of their paycheck on April 15, though they do pay tax on dividends and income from investments.

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#173

Post by freyr »

ghaff wrote: post #136
whack wrote: post #111

It's hard to overstate the impact this is going to have on San Francisco, long-term. As Technology becomes the most important industry in America, a well-governed San Francisco could have positioned itself as the next NYC. The hub where all of tech gathers, the same way all of finance gathered in Wall St. Replace the 70 year old 2-storey homes with Manhattan style apartment buildings, and rent in San Francisco would…

Why is extreme population and industry concentration such a great thing? Yes, there are certain virtues to the concentration of talent and energy which happens in major cities generally--but I'm unconvinced that doing some Singapore-style 20-year plan to transform San Francisco into a western Manhattan is either necessary or desirable.

It's not necessarily great. But for a variety of reasons, the momentum has been in SF's favor as the world's dominant technology hub.

We might wonder what will happen this momentum is deflected. Technical talent will disperse, and we'll end up with a more distributed workforce? Or will it simply concentrate somewhere else?

Right now, the Bay Area is in an extremely enviable position: it has a high concentration of extremely profitable companies; it has a high concentration of highly skilled workers; it has a high concentration of wealth; and, except for housing, it's a desirable place to live.

The Bay Area's residents and local governments oshould be able to leverage these positive factors to maintain the strong economy while making the area a better place to live for skilled workers who want to set down roots and raise families. Of course, it's more likely that nothing will happen and living conditions will become less and less sustainable.

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#174

Post by davidw »

ghaff wrote: post #136
whack wrote: post #111

It's hard to overstate the impact this is going to have on San Francisco, long-term. As Technology becomes the most important industry in America, a well-governed San Francisco could have positioned itself as the next NYC. The hub where all of tech gathers, the same way all of finance gathered in Wall St. Replace the 70 year old 2-storey homes with Manhattan style apartment buildings, and rent in San Francisco would…

Why is extreme population and industry concentration such a great thing? Yes, there are certain virtues to the concentration of talent and energy which happens in major cities generally--but I'm unconvinced that doing some Singapore-style 20-year plan to transform San Francisco into a western Manhattan is either necessary or desirable.

There's no need for that. Build a little bit up in a lot of places, and you'll start meeting the demand. In a few places, you can build up more, but look at, say, Paris. The density doesn't come from massive skyscrapers, but by being fairly dense all over.

Also: SF's refusal to build is having repercussions elsewhere, like here in Oregon where there is a steady stream of people who can't afford a house for their family in the bay area. In turn, they're pricing out people here, and so on.

Also, there's nothing 'extreme' about the population density of San Francisco. Density in Paris is 21,000/km^2 and in SF, 7,124/km^2

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#175

Post by trhway »

TranquilMarmot wrote: post #127
bogomipz wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really - "This is the most thriving technical community in the entire world"? I'm calling BS. Have you been to New York City recently? Rents for a 1 bedroom are nowhere near that. Lets talk about that community - there are meetups? Wow. You can go to a meetup on any night of the week in New York or Austin. Besides that explain "the community"? Oh you go out and drink craft beers after work? You can do that anywhere.…

I don't agree with the amount of vitriol in your comment, but I agree with the overall sentiment. I feel like tech workers in San Francisco are fully bought-in to the "this is the best and only place to be if you're in tech" idea. So much so that they can't quite see that the grass is just as green on the other side, so to speak. You have to be fully bought-in to it, there's no other way you would be able to justify…

>I feel like tech workers in San Francisco are fully bought-in to the "this is the best and only place to be if you're in tech" idea. So much so that they can't quite see that the grass is just as green on the other side, so to speak. You have to be fully bought-in to it, there's no other way you would be able to justify the cost of living there.

man, it is freedom. Freedom of employment in this case. At any moment i can leave current employer and get another job. I'm not afraid about layoffs or pissing off my manager. Until you taste the freedom, it is hard to explain it. The same way like explaining general freedom that we still have some amount of here in the US to the people back in my old country.

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#176

Post by [deleted] »

bogomipz wrote: post #89
Gratsby wrote: post #54

I pay about that for rent - it's the most I've ever paid for housing by a long shot, and it regularly freaks me out. I just can't get used to it. The thing that gets me is that I'm barely paying the property taxes on the place I rent. The landlord isn't gouging me. It's just the way it is here. Housing is so expensive because everyone wants to be here, and for good reason. This is the most thriving technical communit…

Really - "This is the most thriving technical community in the entire world"? I'm calling BS. Have you been to New York City recently? Rents for a 1 bedroom are nowhere near that. Lets talk about that community - there are meetups? Wow. You can go to a meetup on any night of the week in New York or Austin. Besides that explain "the community"? Oh you go out and drink craft beers after work? You can do that anywhere.…

[deleted]

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#177

Post by bogomipz »

TranquilMarmot wrote: post #127
bogomipz wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really - "This is the most thriving technical community in the entire world"? I'm calling BS. Have you been to New York City recently? Rents for a 1 bedroom are nowhere near that. Lets talk about that community - there are meetups? Wow. You can go to a meetup on any night of the week in New York or Austin. Besides that explain "the community"? Oh you go out and drink craft beers after work? You can do that anywhere.…

I don't agree with the amount of vitriol in your comment, but I agree with the overall sentiment. I feel like tech workers in San Francisco are fully bought-in to the "this is the best and only place to be if you're in tech" idea. So much so that they can't quite see that the grass is just as green on the other side, so to speak. You have to be fully bought-in to it, there's no other way you would be able to justify…

Vitriol really? Because I said "BS"? It certainly wasn't meant to be vitriolic, I didn't think there was anything abusive in my post. Exasperation? Yes. Cynicism. Ditto.

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#178

Post by ghaff »

pklausler wrote: post #93
Apocryphon wrote: post #46

So are there any tech hubs right now that aren't dealing with issues of rent increases, gentrifications, and growing pains?

Try North Carolina, which has regrettably chosen to become a former tech hub.

Not what I hear from various co-workers complaining about the prices of buying or renting condos in downtown Raleigh.

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#179

Post by esmi »

Apocryphon wrote: post #25
TYPE_FASTER wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://www.zillow.com/phoenix-az/home-values/ http://www.zillow.com/sunnyvale-ca/home-values/

I wonder if the tech sprawl will force people to live further and further south. Coyote Valley, Morgan Hill, Gilroy?

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_27809931/traffic...

Re: San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents

#180

Post by vinay427 »

technofiend wrote: post #172
vinay427 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also no state income tax in TX, I believe.

Yup. From Bankrate.com - Seven U.S. states currently don't have an income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. And residents of New Hampshire and Tennessee are also spared from handing over an extra chunk of their paycheck on April 15, though they do pay tax on dividends and income from investments.

It's similarly worth noting that CA has the highest income tax rates of any state in the nation for most individuals.

For instance, for incomes between around $51k and $263k the rate is 9.30%. My state's rate is 4.25%, which is closer to not having a tax at all.

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