Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

651–660 of 1001 posts

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#651

Post by 9nGQluzmnq3M »

csomar wrote: post #510
presentation wrote: post #486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhh, maybe US cities haven’t, but here in Tokyo I never smell feces, step on needles, nor are there hordes of homeless people in every major part of the neighborhood, in a city that has affordable housing, a truly phenomenal public transit network, streets that pretty much never have potholes, and endless cultural and culinary amenities, in a place with GDP per capita far lower than SF. And it similarly was the case…

I don't think you are reading the parent poster. Tokyo was probably rubble in 1945 then it re-invented itself into a world-class city. Hong Kong was (probably still is for now) a world class city for the rich and the free and now is on path to become a hell-hole for both. Cities swing through a pendulum of up and down. SF might be going to ruins but it'll be back. It might have to reach rock-bottom first before re-in…

Property is extremely expensive in HK, so it's long been a hell-hole for the poor: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/05/the-coffin-homes-o...

That said, the city does not have visible homeless or crime problems of most large US cities, partly because you can legally get a coffin for $300/month.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#652

Post by burlesona »

captaincole wrote: post #102

I am living in SF now and this confirms a very clear pattern that I have seen emerging, particularly of tech workers. I would say that >50% of the people I know who were living in the city have left, or are in the process of leaving. Some examples (there are countless): 1) All three of the roommates that I had are choosing to leave either permanently or temporarily. 2) A friend who works for google who is going on a…

My family and I are in group 5. We had a neat, but very small, apartment in SF. It was great when I was going to the office daily and my kids were in school or at the parks / Cal Academy / etc. With all of us at home and me trying to work... not so much.

It was sad leaving, but my productivity is massively up. Right now we’re enjoying seeing other parts of the west coast, while playing the waiting game. I want to know how much of a pay cut I’d face if I moved permanently (company hasn’t said yet), and I’m also nervous about the winter coming up and how different regions will handle what I’m afraid will be an inevitable super-surge.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#653

Post by rtlfe »

WWLink wrote: post #611
colechristensen wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SF has an extreme homelessness problem, there are places where you can walk two blocks from posh shops to tent lined streets and open air drug markets. Working at a previous gig had me looking at the ground carefully to avoid stepping on needles, feces, and humans, all of which were nearly daily obstacles. Because of the mild weather and culture, SF is somewhat of a destination for the homeless which is less of an is…

That you have an affluent area on one block and a poor area on the next is not new at all. it was like that back in the 80s. And it's probably a good thing, in terms of making it easy to climb the ladder. If you live in a wasteland of poor people you'll never be able to sell any services at all, or make any money, or climb the ladder.

I agree, but it seems like "poor area" means something different in SF. Most cities don't have any areas where the sidewalks are littered with needles and human feces.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#654

Post by OldHand2018 »

ojbyrne wrote: post #649
OldHand2018 wrote: post #636

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless something has changed in the past few years, you kind-of-sort-of-maybe need to do that. The US doesn't actually enforce anything like it, but all of my naturalized coworkers were required to surrender their previous passport when they took the oath of US citizenship. The US gives the passport back to the home country. Canada mails it back to you and says you are still Canadian too, while China does not and say…

My wife (dual Canadian/US) got her US citizenship 2 years ago. Nothing like what you describe happened.

I appreciate the feedback. My Canadian coworker was naturalized about 5-7 years ago.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#655

Post by nostrademons »

dongvsascript wrote: post #508
captaincole wrote: post #102

I am living in SF now and this confirms a very clear pattern that I have seen emerging, particularly of tech workers. I would say that >50% of the people I know who were living in the city have left, or are in the process of leaving. Some examples (there are countless): 1) All three of the roommates that I had are choosing to leave either permanently or temporarily. 2) A friend who works for google who is going on a…

i have an honest question here. i haven't lived in sf -just visited. i have however been to most states and about 40 countries for comparison. food - most of what i saw was not good food. hipsterish overpriced food made by chefs trying to show off by putting a twist on dishes -not to be good, just to be different or weird. tiny portions, not tasting above average, on a huge plate. all presentation, not actual taste.…

> culture: there is no culture. culture was when i lived in versailles. sf is all snooty people with no content, trying to show off. culture is down to earth, with class.

So I'm in the South Bay and only visit SF once in a blue moon now that I've got a family, but when I was younger & single there were quirky events that I've never seen in any other city. Things like Bring Your Own Big Wheel, Bay to Breakers, a random pillow fight with thousands of attendees (I guess San Jose has this as well, but it only drew a few dozen), scavenger hunts that covered multiple city blocks, poetry readings in the unpermitted basement of an antique shop, a game fair where indie game developers tested out their street games on the public, Carnivale, the Folsom Street Fair, etc. Maybe it's gotten too expensive since and this all moved out, but at the time it was worth making the trek up from the South Bay just for the events that you couldn't get anywhere else.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#656

Post by hnmullany »

foobarian wrote: post #590
radicaldreamer wrote: post #530

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only in the short to medium term... the characteristics which make SF an attractive place to live (just like NYC) are resilient and sticky. If you consider a post-covid world 5 years from now, do you think that SF with it's museums, bars, restaurants, and proximity to nature will be an unattractive place to live? Do you think that remote-first/remote-only companies where the majority of employees are outside of the b…

There are bars and restaurants and museums in hundreds of cities around the country. What makes the ones in SF so special? Or is it rather a tech gravity hole that was enabled by combination of chance and attractive climate?

The Bay Area has the highest concentration of Michelin stars in the country. The bars have great cocktails, decor and vibe. The SFMoma & DeYoung are first class museums as good as any city outside New York in the US.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#657

Post by rtlfe »

9nGQluzmnq3M wrote: post #651
csomar wrote: post #510

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you are reading the parent poster. Tokyo was probably rubble in 1945 then it re-invented itself into a world-class city. Hong Kong was (probably still is for now) a world class city for the rich and the free and now is on path to become a hell-hole for both. Cities swing through a pendulum of up and down. SF might be going to ruins but it'll be back. It might have to reach rock-bottom first before re-in…

Property is extremely expensive in HK, so it's long been a hell-hole for the poor: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/05/the-coffin-homes-o... That said, the city does not have visible homeless or crime problems of most large US cities, partly because you can legally get a coffin for $300/month.

> That said, the city does not have visible homeless or crime problems of most large US cities.

Why not? Are there support systems to give people shelter and reduce the need for crimes of desperation?

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#658

Post by bobsil1 »

dongvsascript wrote: post #650
dragonwriter wrote: post #632

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sf is definitely not known for tasty food. Yes, it is. It's mostly orthogonal to the trendy food scene, and if you follow the latter hoping to find the former you’ll likely be disappointed, but SF is known for excellent examples of both a wide variety of authentic ethnic cuisines and a wide variety of excellent unique creative/fusion offerings apart from the trendy scene.

so what is that food? the south is known for great bbq. chicago is the meat capitol, with deep dish and greektown. maryland for crab and maine for lobster, nyc has authentic jew-food that rivals what i ate in israel and jordan. what is the food sf is known for? because if i literally ask anyone i know, the answer will be 'fusion.' or 'pizza' with ranch and lettuce in it. you're known for california rolls. the big mac…

Mission burritos, dosas, nouveau veg/vegan, food trucks

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#659

Post by nmfisher »

josephg wrote: post #386
boringg wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a good deal.

Only because of how insane housing in SF is. For comparison I own a 2br apartment in Melbourne, Australia. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from here to the heart of the city. My mortgage repayments (including interest) are about $700usd/month.

I'm calling BS on this. I lived in Melbourne for the past 5 years (left 8 month ago) and never saw any 2br apartment that would be that cheap with a standard P+I loan with 10% down.

I guess it's possible if you took out an interest-only loan for only a fraction of the purchase price, but then you've painted a highly misleading picture.

Re: Remote work is reshaping San Francisco, as tech workers flee and rents fall

#660

Post by ckdarby »

paxys wrote: post #329
captaincole wrote: post #102

I am living in SF now and this confirms a very clear pattern that I have seen emerging, particularly of tech workers. I would say that >50% of the people I know who were living in the city have left, or are in the process of leaving. Some examples (there are countless): 1) All three of the roommates that I had are choosing to leave either permanently or temporarily. 2) A friend who works for google who is going on a…

About half of the young-ish employees at my company left SF (temporarily) to move back in with family. The company has also offered to make people permanently remote, but very few (less than 10 out of many hundreds) have taken up that offer so far. IMO it is too early to judge the permanent impact of this to the city.

There are probably more people but few want to discuss it out of fear about local market cost readjustment.
Post reply on HN