San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents • Hacker News Board

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

#501

Post by geebee » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 1:14 PM UTC

mtviewdave wrote: post #475

geebee wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The french quarter in new orleans is also probably less safe than modern buildings, but I wouldn't want to see it torn down just because rents would be cheaper. SF does need to build, badly, but I'm wary of the term NIMBY-ism. It is descriptive, but I think it invites false equivalence. There are degrees of NIMBY. I actually think that some of the burbs, like walnut creek or mountain view (especially the latter) have…

>Mountain view's NIMBYism is especially objectionable since it actually green lighted the corporate construction that brings many new workers to the area, while almost with the same stroke of the pen banned new housing around those places of business. This is out of date, and has been for a while. The voters of Mountain View responded to the housing crisis by voting in a much more pro-housing city council. There are…

Fair enough, I'll check out the link.

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

#502

Post by JBReefer » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 1:39 PM UTC

bogomipz wrote: post #198

hellameta wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People like you perpetuate some myth that you have to pay $4500 a month if you want to work in tech. Nonsense. This is a little harsh and I doubt what the OP was saying. If someone interprets it like you suggested that is their problem. I don't see the implication that you NEED to live in SV to work in tech. I don't think anyone claims that you can't find thriving tech communities outside of SV, but the reality tha…

That is what the OP said. I was quoting him. Where is the harshness? Really the auto industry moved to SV? I'm pretty sure they are all in Detroit still, but I guess that doesn't count because its not Tesla? Who I don't believe moved there but actually started there. Funny that you should mention Hollywood because Hollywood isn't thriving in Los Angeles, California any more and hasn't for some time. Hollywood is in V…

Yeah, exactly to your point, Cadillac _did_ just move to Manhattan.

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

#503

Post by nunez » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 2:11 PM UTC

cylinder wrote: post #423

nunez wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I live in SF, but I wouldn't make the choice to move here today. It simply isn't worth Manhattan prices to live in a city full of tech bros where you can't get a good meal after 9:30. This one took me by surprise when I visited SF for the first time five years ago. I thought it would be booming with activity just like NYC, so I thought nothing of trying to find food when I arrived at ~11pm. NOTHING. Nothing was ope…

NYC is not that different. The only things open 24hrs are bodegas and diners, which serve shitty food. Even the Whole Foods in Union Square, the busiest in the nation, closes at 11pm, which is later than the grocery stores in suburban TX. I guess bars can stay open late.

You can find bunches of places in lower Manhattan (for example) that serve good food and are open til 2 or 3am or 24 hours.

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

#504

Post by ralphc » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 2:22 PM UTC

jimminy wrote: post #205

timr wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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 have remained very reasonable, despite the rapid economic growth. This would have prevented exactly this problem where tech workers are forced to…

The fact that everything closed so early blew me away, when I moved there. Compared to the middle of nowhere WV it made zero sense. Even the grocery stores closed by midnight in SF. In WV, you can find food at most places until 12-1am 7 days a week. And the major local grocery is a Walmart, which is open 24 hours. Last Easter I had no clue nothing would be open, and didn't prepare for that. So I just had some crap pi…

Since you're on HN I assume you're doing some kind of software or technical work. What's the market like for that in WV. My family's from Man, a little dot in Logan county.

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

#505

Post by ebiester » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 2:30 PM UTC

bunderbunder wrote: post #309

ebiester wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've thought about that, but as far as I can tell, it means about $10-$15k of equipment and a dedicated work room. I need a mobile-connected "smart" whiteboard for every team member, a good microphone, webcam, speakers, a separate computer + monitor devoted to video conferencing, and a team that is geographically dispersed rather than partially-colocated. ...and hopefully, everyone has first class redundant internet,…

I hope that by "mobile-connected smart whiteboard for every team member" you mean "laptop or tablet with touchscreen, and a stylus". You shouldn't need most of the rest of that, either. Make sure everyone has a 2nd monitor, and you'll need to buy a $30 webcam if they don't already have laptops. I wouldn't worry about the headset, either - cell phone headsets or earpods generally work fine and most everyone has a dece…

By the parent comment, I was assuming a distributed team.

Speaking from far-too-much experience, partially colocated teams are a productivity suck.

But I really do mean a fully distributed team needs a way to properly sketch things out. One of the biggest weaknesses I've seen is that people get limited by the equipment. So long as that's a separate piece of equipment from your video conferencing, it should be fine.

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

#506

Post by ebiester » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 2:30 PM UTC

bunderbunder wrote: post #309

ebiester wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've thought about that, but as far as I can tell, it means about $10-$15k of equipment and a dedicated work room. I need a mobile-connected "smart" whiteboard for every team member, a good microphone, webcam, speakers, a separate computer + monitor devoted to video conferencing, and a team that is geographically dispersed rather than partially-colocated. ...and hopefully, everyone has first class redundant internet,…

I hope that by "mobile-connected smart whiteboard for every team member" you mean "laptop or tablet with touchscreen, and a stylus". You shouldn't need most of the rest of that, either. Make sure everyone has a 2nd monitor, and you'll need to buy a $30 webcam if they don't already have laptops. I wouldn't worry about the headset, either - cell phone headsets or earpods generally work fine and most everyone has a dece…

By the parent comment, I was assuming a distributed team.

Speaking from far-too-much experience, partially colocated teams are a productivity suck.

But I really do mean a fully distributed team needs a way to properly sketch things out. One of the biggest weaknesses I've seen is that people get limited by the equipment. So long as that's a separate piece of equipment from your video conferencing, it should be fine.

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

#507

Post by thearn4 » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 2:34 PM UTC

zjaffee wrote: post #313

thearn4 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cleveland wants to become one, but it's an uphill battle.

As someone who's very familiar with the tech scene in Cleveland. Get out, it's so incredibly dead end there.

FWIW I'm pretty happy at NASA GRC. If I wasn't though, Its true that I probably would have already left for Pittsburg or Chicago. I am one of those suckers that does like the midwest ultimately.

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

#508

Post by jperras » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 2:35 PM UTC

stuxnet79 wrote: post #144

jperras wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who lives in Toronto proper, $1k/month is ridiculously cheap unless you live in a basement apartment with possibly a roommate, depending on location.

What are the typical going rates for basement apartments downtown or close to downtown? An apartment from what I've seen is at the very least $1200 a month.

It varies quite a lot from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, and of course proximity to major public transport ingress/egress points.

I haven't looked recently, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find anything below $1000/month that wasn't out in the middle of nowhere.

Also: beware. Some basement apartments aren't actually legal; make sure you sign a legitimate lease agreement, and get confirmation from the landlord that the unit is up to code with the housing board. Happened to a friend of mine not very long ago.

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

#509

Post by nicholasjarnold » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 2:54 PM UTC

planteen wrote: post #468

nicholasjarnold wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a tip for Denver real estate that just worked very well for my wife an myself (who are closing on a house this week): Do not use a buyer's agent (get real estate attorney to help you instead), and make your offer 2.5% lower than the asking price. When making the offer just say that since there is no buyer's agent commission to pay out from the funds at closing you are choosing to offer less. Don't worry if the…

Thanks for that. I'm in Denver also looking to buy in the best future. Do you have a recommendation for a real estate attorney? My email is my username @gmail.com if you don't want to say publically.

Email sent. Good luck.

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

#510

Post by ec109685 » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 2:57 PM UTC

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #346

cubano wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still to this day argue that by a significant margin, the best thing about living in Vegas was the everything goes 24-hour lifestyle where you can literally do or eat anything you want 24/365.

Just so long as you ignore the colossal waste of water and other resources needed to run a city in the middle of a desert with no real reason to exist.

The water gets recycled, eventually.