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Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

mercurynews.com

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Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#41
post #14

Montana, a land of National parks, natural beauty, fast internet, and a low cost of living has a number of high tech jobs open. Full disclosure, I own an internet company here and want more tech savvy people in the area ;) Social Finanace (SoFi) | Helena, MT Oracle | Bozeman, MT OnXMaps | Missoula, MT Zaneray Group | Whitefish, MT Submittable | Missoula, MT Applied Materials | Kalispell, MT

>I own an internet company here and want more tech savvy people in the area ;)

I hope you enjoy crowded national parks and a high cost of living.

Be careful what you wish for. Denver used to be what you've described. Now it's just California's ski lodge.

Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#43
post #34
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it worthwhile to work there for a few years as a 20-year old though? I'm thinking it's a unique experience even if monetarily it's a poor choice.

It's definitely good for your resume.

There are lots of places good for your resume that aren't a drain on your bank account.

Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#44
post #19

We gained 50k jobs in the last year, this is a loss for september of which happens every year as temps etc are usually hired again in Nov. > Over the 12 months that ended in September, the Bay Area added 50,400 jobs, a 1.3 percent increase in total payroll jobs during the one-year period. The interesting part is the percentage slow down over the year, which is what requires more thought than headlines about "hammered…

In my five months of living here I've noticed the Mercury isn't exactly known for its depth or subtlety in reporting.

Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#45

I've been thinking that apartment cooperatives might be a way to break "investors'" stranglehold on housing. The last landlord I had was a decent fellow - the property was well maintained and he fixed problems promptly. But my rent certainly went to pay his mortgage on the property, and I now have nothing to show for the $thousands I paid him. One time he was showing off the little 8-unit complex to someone he wanted…

I'm not sure if Poe's law is working here but, if not, you are talking about condominiums (condos) and, at least in California, they are really popular since the 1970's. In many cities, especially San Fran, the laws actively discourage and prevent the conversion of rentals into condos.

Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#46
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A fourth category: people who have lived here for a long time, and were able to buy property back before it became unaffordable. These are typically the managers or senior employees. It makes me wonder that as the young rockstars and H1B recipients age, where will they go? They certainly can't afford to buy a house. I imagine as time goes on, companies in the Bay Area will be awash with young junior talent but will s…

> It makes me wonder that as the young rockstars and H1B recipients age, where will they go? They certainly can't afford to buy a house. I imagine as time goes on, companies in the Bay Area will be awash with young junior talent but will struggle to attract more senior folks. They leave for more affordable cities or head back home to be close to family when they decide to have kids. EDIT: May I offer up Tampa as a ye…

This is exactly true. I've seen many senior engineers and H1B visa holders relocate from the Bay to Seattle/Austin/Colorado etc. I think its great that the major Tech companies are fanning out. Perhaps the other centers will become more or less like SV and ease the pressure somewhat. Or at least induce the landed SF residents to consider reasonable adjustments to accommodate the influx of people into the city.

Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#47

I've been thinking that apartment cooperatives might be a way to break "investors'" stranglehold on housing. The last landlord I had was a decent fellow - the property was well maintained and he fixed problems promptly. But my rent certainly went to pay his mortgage on the property, and I now have nothing to show for the $thousands I paid him. One time he was showing off the little 8-unit complex to someone he wanted…

Sounds like you want a condo.

Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#48

Why aren't tech companies buying or building massive apartment complexes, making them appealing with a few amenities, and renting them out for cheap to their employees? I know building development in San Francisco proper is limited, but in the general bay area or South is not. Now you have a very attractive package: a relatively big salary and somewhat affordable housing. Talent would be much more willing to relocate…

Leaving aside any restrictions on development which do exist, it’s still a pretty awful thought. Now if you leave for any reason you presumably also have to find new housing in short order.

Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#49
38, two kids and a wife. Have been living in a 900SQ/FT apt, I don't know how much longer I can take this before rage quitting and relocating somewhere else (don't know where). The sad part, as a ethnic-minority, I have just found our community for my kids, etc. It would be really tragic if I have to tear my kids away from that.

Don't get me wrong, my daily 30 minute commute on BART isn't the worst. The worst part is that I make $185,000-$238,000 (with bonus and all) and still can't afford to buy a home because I can't compete with other investors that have deep pockets filled with cash, not to mention buying a semi-decent home in a semi-OK neighborhood sets you easily back by $850K-$1.2MM. It's insane! The best I'm able to do is to pay for a $3550/mo rent and tuck away as much money as I can while providing for the wife and kids, which isn't the cheapest.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Back to work.

Edit: Armenian. Also, I'll check myself, there are others in far worse financial/living condition in the Bay Area. Comparatively speaking, I have it easier than most.

Re: Bay Area hammered by loss of jobs: Lack of affordable housing strangles hiring

#50
post #16

Most of the bay area employees are divided into 3 categories from anecdotal experience: young rockstars that are willing to live in relative squalor for a chance to prove themselves, vested and moneyed elites (CEO's, presidents, VC funded overlords) who are so out of touch with the average employee its best they not show up to the office that frequently, and H1B visa recipients that endure the soul-crushing San Jose…

There's also a fair amount of people "grandfathered" into the region. Bought back in the 90s/early 2000s in closer in cities or neighborhoods. They have it pretty good, but at the expense of everyone else.

Could you explain that bit more? How is that at the expense of everyone else, did they achieve their wealth illegally?
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