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Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

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Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#311

Post by kerbalspacepro »

kzisme wrote: post #278
rubicon33 wrote: post #38

I used to live in SF. It was exciting, but also shitty. I felt connected and alive, which was great, but also drained of resources, which really sucked. Oh, and there were 6 of us, in a 3 bedroom apartment. I had the living room. Yea. I lasted 3 years, until I met my wife, and by then I was ready to move. We did. Now, life in the suburbs, is slow. I feel somewhat disconnected and like I don't really belong to this co…

This comment resonates with me. After leaving university, and moving on to a full time position in a suburb I feel completely disconnected. I didn't attend a ~huge~ school, but the sense of community was there. The lack of this feeling has been hard to explain, but this comment explains it very well. I'm not sure if I will(or can) ever do something about this feeling either.

i read this as "those commas resonate with me"

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#312

Post by ryandrake »

vostok wrote: post #310
ryandrake wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I make good money. Why should I have to live in a cramped city when I can live in a 3000 sq.ft house on 10 acres of land and send my kid to an elementary school that doesn't need metal detectors and armed security guards?"

Oh, I have no question as to why others don't live in the city. I was explaining why I do live in the city. For completeness, the elementary school that I went to and that my kids will go to does not have or need metal detectors. I believe the security guard is armed. Are security guards outside the city completely unarmed? I have no point of reference for this.

Yea, different priorities for different people. World is not one size fits all. Sorry if it looked like I was accusing you of implying that!

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#313

Post by the_watcher »

henrikschroder wrote: post #145
rubicon33 wrote: post #38

I used to live in SF. It was exciting, but also shitty. I felt connected and alive, which was great, but also drained of resources, which really sucked. Oh, and there were 6 of us, in a 3 bedroom apartment. I had the living room. Yea. I lasted 3 years, until I met my wife, and by then I was ready to move. We did. Now, life in the suburbs, is slow. I feel somewhat disconnected and like I don't really belong to this co…

> Oh, and there were 6 of us, in a 3 bedroom apartment. This is such a weird American phenomenon, the whole roommate thing. What on earth can make adults choose to share their home with a stranger? Why isn't there intense pressure for building many small apartments, rather than building larger apartments that are meant for roommates? Is it connected to the equally weird college dorm roommate system? Why are people ac…

> What on earth can make adults choose to share their home with a stranger?

There's a really simple one: lack of funds to afford their own place.

Also, plenty of roommates are not strangers. I've lived with my brother and one of my best friends from high school, and really only lived with a true stranger during my first year of college, the first year I lived in Austin, and the first 9 months I lived in the Bay Area.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#314

Post by Muromec »

sidlls wrote: post #270
Muromec wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I know for a fact their salaries are less than 1/3 domestic salaries. What are absolute numbers?

The median domestic salary for the engineering positions the remote workers have is about $110k/year.

Yep, around 3k per month sounds about right for Ukraine:

https://dou.ua/lenta/articles/salary-report-dec-2016/?from=s...

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#315

Post by the_watcher »

rmc wrote: post #253
Anderkent wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is such a weird American phenomenon, the whole roommate thing I think you're just sheltered; in every country in Europe that I lived in or had friends live in (Poland, UK, Portugal), students and young professionals flatshare. Or live with their parents, but it comes out to the same thing. If you're not already independently rich, you can't afford a single bedroom flat on your own. The simple fact is that a tw…

Yes, but when Americans (e.g. college students) talk about "roommates" they mean they share a bedroom ! Literal room mates

This is not true. Sometimes it refers to this. The vast, vast majority of the time, they are referring to someone who has their own room in the same apartment. Source: I had "roommates" in the way you refer to it in college, and after graduating, most people who I describe this to are actually shocked that this happened after freshman year.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#316

Post by the_watcher »

TACIXAT wrote: post #251
iplaw wrote: post #217

Just because developers can feasibly work from anywhere, especially remotely for already-established companies, do not immediately presume that it is best for developers to work from anywhere. Working remotely is not for everyone. Some people have problems with efficiency and procrastination when working from home or when working without immediate oversight. Some people have poor communication skills which are furthe…

Austin seems incredibly cheap to me (when considering southern California as the alternative). You can get a nice house on a large lot for less than 500k. It's not in the city center but I prefer having more space anyway. In San Diego and any reasonable commute around it you get a repair project with anything below 500k. Couple the cheaper housing with income tax savings and I see the appeal.

Having lived in Southern California, Austin, and now San Francisco, I can confirm that Austin remains laughably cheap, despite what Austinites like to claim.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#318

Post by cgh »

henrikschroder wrote: post #145
rubicon33 wrote: post #38

I used to live in SF. It was exciting, but also shitty. I felt connected and alive, which was great, but also drained of resources, which really sucked. Oh, and there were 6 of us, in a 3 bedroom apartment. I had the living room. Yea. I lasted 3 years, until I met my wife, and by then I was ready to move. We did. Now, life in the suburbs, is slow. I feel somewhat disconnected and like I don't really belong to this co…

> Oh, and there were 6 of us, in a 3 bedroom apartment. This is such a weird American phenomenon, the whole roommate thing. What on earth can make adults choose to share their home with a stranger? Why isn't there intense pressure for building many small apartments, rather than building larger apartments that are meant for roommates? Is it connected to the equally weird college dorm roommate system? Why are people ac…

The most crowded co-living situations I ever saw were in Amsterdam, a place with a dramatic shortage of affordable rental housing. They were a mix of students and newly working people.

> Who perpetuates this system?

Low-cost rental housing generally isn't a good financial proposition.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#319

Post by anovikov »

muse900 wrote: post #285
anovikov wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These people have been there since decades ago, early 1990s, and not much new ones arrived recently apart from developers. Large scale corruptioners you mentioned definitely don't increase prices on cheap rental apartments.

The development of the area in general is though. Limassol 5 years ago is no where near to what Limassol Now has become. And that has nothing to do with Tech/Dev's moving to the area.

Well, 5 years ago it was in the middle of crisis, but 10 years ago it was way richer and better place than it is now, i don't know what development do you mean. Then, Brits left, real estate prices collapsed, and it became much worse.

It's easy to see that Cyprus GDP is now lower (both nominal and real terms) than 10 years ago.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#320

Post by gervase »

vostok wrote: post #295
TACIXAT wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why would you expect me to live in the middle of nowhere when I can live in the greatest cities of the world? I mean, I don't expect you to do it, but personally, I like to save aggressively so that I can reach financial independence sooner.

Why do you think I'm not saving aggressively? I have saved at least a six figure quantity every year since my early 20s, which seems sufficiently aggressive to me. Being able to save is part of being able to afford living here. You're right that I could take a higher paying job in the suburbs or in a rural area and save even more, but money isn't everything to me.

If you can live in NYC/SF and still save 6 figures a year, I think your current job would already qualify as "high paying", depending on your lifestyle and expenses.
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