$100K+ elitists can't afford living costs

[NesuD]

Yeah but Michigan.

Seriously?

 

[brainhulk]

@brainhulk

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-san-gabriel-housing-20170223-story.html

interesting, but it also says at the end that the rich people will find a way eventually to start buying again...

 

[Exterous]

Yeah but Michigan.

I must agree with this even though I love the lakefront.

Pft - once the Water Wars start Michigan will be the most powerful country in the Americas, having taken control of the vital Great Lakes Region over the pathetic and puny resistance attempts by Chicago and the single tank sent by Canada. If you're nice we might be willing to share some but the cost will be high

 

[K1052]

The suburbs of a big city seem affordable given the high salaries. Our mortgage is $3200 but the household income makes it livable. Why does everyone NEED to be in the city? Sacrifice is the commute. Or don't do it at all. Entitled is a good word.

If your job is in the peninsula or SF proper you're probably talking about a 2 hour commute, each way, to get to something substantially more affordable. They don't exactly have the LIRR out there.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

If your job is in the peninsula or SF proper you're probably talking about a 2 hour commute, each way, to get to something substantially more affordable. They don't exactly have the LIRR out there.

And that gets pushed out as more and more people find 4hrs of driving a day acceptable.

This happened to a lesser extent in NYC, and that was with them building upward. I don't honestly know how SF can justify a single floor city with this situation the way it is.

 

[Red Squirrel]

i blame rich Chinese property buyers. They offer way over asking price and pay in cash.

That's a huge issue in Vancouver actually. I think Toronto too. Then when the city wants to do something about it people say it's racist. :/ Someone should not be able to buy a house, never live in it, never pay property taxes or upkeep the lawn etc... just so they can use it as an investment. It drives the prices up for people that actually need a place to live.

 

[K1052]

And that gets pushed out as more and more people find 4hrs of driving a day acceptable.

This happened to a lesser extent in NYC, and that was with them building upward. I don't honestly know how SF can justify a single floor city with this situation the way it is.

NIMBYs in SF fight density increases at every turn even though the city desperately needs them. The issue is largely generational in my experience. Boomers who are bought in decades ago don't want the city to change at all but that's an impossible position that just screws everybody else. The entitlement process and ability to put stupid stuff on ballot initiatives have enabled them.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

NIMBYs in SF fight density increases at every turn even though the city desperately needs them. The issue is largely generational in my experience. Boomers who are bought in decades ago don't want the city to change at all but that's an impossible position that just screws everybody else. The entitlement process and ability to put stupid stuff on ballot initiatives have enabled them.

Yeah, the city has already changed. It's not the trendy west-coast Portlandia they seem to think it is, it's a city burgeoning under the weight of overpriced lofts, homes with 10 people sharing rent, and hundreds (thousands?) of self driving $100k cars.

 

[RockinZ28]

I'm working in SF right now. It's probably only a few weeks, but with the rate they're paying me here I figure I'll be bringing in over $3k/week after tax.

Employer wants to find someone local so they don't have to pay like 3-4k/mo for a hotel. Told them if that's their hang up, I'll rent my own fucking apartment. Still be bringing in at least 10k cash per month after expenses.

Make decent money with my standard salary, but nothing like that.

 

[ponyo]

I'm working in SF right now. It's probably only a few weeks, but with the rate they're paying me here I figure I'll be bringing in over $3k/week after tax.

Employer wants to find someone local so they don't have to pay like 3-4k/mo for a hotel. Told them if that's their hang up, I'll rent my own fucking apartment. Still be bringing in at least 10k cash per month after expenses.

Make decent money with my standard salary, but nothing like that.

You can't afford rent in SF. Don't you know even million dollars isn't enough? You didn't read The Guardian article? You have no chance with $12k a month.

 

[Fardringle]

Admittedly I don't know how things are laid out in the area since I've never lived in California, but this bit stuck out to me:

Sick of his 22-mile commute to work, which can sometimes take up to two and half hours, he explored buying a property nearer work.

If I was spending 2.5 hours crawling along at an average of less than 9 miles per hour, I'd ride my bike. I am not in great shape and I can still cruise along without too much effort at 20mph on a mountain bike with knobby tires, especially on relatively level ground. A road bike with slick tires would make it even easier. Granted, that means having to actually put forth a bit of effort, but it would make the rider more healthy and knock as much as 2+ hours off of the daily commute.

Heck, a lazy person could ride a Segway at 12.5 mph and cut a half hour each direction off of that commute..

 

[repoman0]

Admittedly I don't know how things are laid out in the area since I've never lived in California, but this bit stuck out to me:



If I was spending 2.5 hours crawling along at an average of less than 9 miles per hour, I'd ride my bike. I am not in great shape and I can still cruise along without too much effort at 20mph on a mountain bike with knobby tires, especially on relatively level ground. A road bike with slick tires would make it even easier. Granted, that means having to actually put forth a bit of effort, but it would make the rider more healthy and knock as much as 2+ hours off of the daily commute.

Heck, a lazy person could ride a Segway at 12.5 mph and cut a half hour each direction off of that commute..

20 mph on a road bike for an hour on level ground is definitely in "great shape" territory, let alone on a mountain bike.

I'm a "ciclist" so I'd be biking to work too rather than bitching about 2.5 hour commute but it's an hour-hour and a half ride and brutal with those hills

The other option is lane splitting on a motorcycle, but that's a stressful 22 miles.

 

[BxgJ]

22 miles taking 2.5 hours??? Oh hell no. Are they as reluctant to expand roadways there as they are to build housing upward? I complain about my 85 mile commute taking 1.5 hours, doubt I could stand just creeping along for that amount of time.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Admittedly I don't know how things are laid out in the area since I've never lived in California, but this bit stuck out to me:



If I was spending 2.5 hours crawling along at an average of less than 9 miles per hour, I'd ride my bike. I am not in great shape and I can still cruise along without too much effort at 20mph on a mountain bike with knobby tires, especially on relatively level ground. A road bike with slick tires would make it even easier. Granted, that means having to actually put forth a bit of effort, but it would make the rider more healthy and knock as much as 2+ hours off of the daily commute.

Heck, a lazy person could ride a Segway at 12.5 mph and cut a half hour each direction off of that commute..

That may depend on your source/destination:

 

[ponyo]

Admittedly I don't know how things are laid out in the area since I've never lived in California, but this bit stuck out to me:



If I was spending 2.5 hours crawling along at an average of less than 9 miles per hour, I'd ride my bike. I am not in great shape and I can still cruise along without too much effort at 20mph on a mountain bike with knobby tires, especially on relatively level ground. A road bike with slick tires would make it even easier. Granted, that means having to actually put forth a bit of effort, but it would make the rider more healthy and knock as much as 2+ hours off of the daily commute.

Heck, a lazy person could ride a Segway at 12.5 mph and cut a half hour each direction off of that commute..

The key word there is sometimes. It's like just because I once had one way commute that took me over 8 1/2 hours because of the snowpocalypse, I can now claim my commute sometimes take up to 8 1/2 hours. If you live in any major city in the US, everyone can sometimes have two and half hours commute or more if there's accident or backup. At least in SF, there's public transit you can take unlike lot of major US cities.

 

[K1052]

The key word there is sometimes. It's like just because I once had one way commute that took me over 8 1/2 hours because of the snowpocalypse, I can now claim my commute sometimes take up to 8 1/2 hours. If you live in any major city in the US, everyone can sometimes have two and half hours commute or more if there's accident or backup. At least in SF, there's public transit you can take unlike lot of major US cities.

Yes, this is true. Californians (Bay Area residents especially) are such good drivers that accidents occur with the frequency of freak blizzards.

 

[madoka]

That Guardian article quoted someone who said they lived in a closet for $1,400 a month. Another said they paid $1,000 a month to rent a bunk bed with 5 other people in the room. So they're paying $5,000 to rent a room.

From what I read, the dude in the closet got a good deal compared to his four roommates living in bunk beds.

One Apple employee was recently living in a Santa Cruz garage, using a compost bucket as a toilet. Another tech worker, enrolled in a coding bootcamp, described how he lived with 12 other engineers in a two-bedroom apartment rented via Airbnb. “It was $1,100 for a fucking bunk bed and five people in the same room. One guy was living in a closet, paying $1,400 for a ‘private room’.”

 

[Linux23]

That may depend on your source/destination:

Holy Hill Batman

 

[purbeast0]

I wouldn't even move to San Diego for a salary of $160k. That's not enough to live how I want to live with the housing costs out there.

Having that Salary in San Fran? Fuck that lol.

 

[OutHouse]

Admittedly I don't know how things are laid out in the area since I've never lived in California, but this bit stuck out to me:



If I was spending 2.5 hours crawling along at an average of less than 9 miles per hour, I'd ride my bike. I am not in great shape and I can still cruise along without too much effort at 20mph on a mountain bike with knobby tires, especially on relatively level ground. A road bike with slick tires would make it even easier. Granted, that means having to actually put forth a bit of effort, but it would make the rider more healthy and knock as much as 2+ hours off of the daily commute.

Heck, a lazy person could ride a Segway at 12.5 mph and cut a half hour each direction off of that commute..

all talk until its time to do that 5 days a week twice a day in shitty weather.

 

[OutHouse]

22 miles taking 2.5 hours??? Oh hell no. Are they as reluctant to expand roadways there as they are to build housing upward? I complain about my 85 mile commute taking 1.5 hours, doubt I could stand just creeping along for that amount of time.

i would be popping xanax like tic-tac's.

 

[ponyo]

all talk until its time to do that 5 days a week twice a day in shitty weather.

The average people who's paying $3,600 a month for 1 bd apartment in SF do not have 2 1/2 hour one way commute. That's complete horseshit and you're stupid if you believe that.

 

[Ns1]

The options in SF seem to be:

1) Pay a lot, live in a shoe box, walk / Uber / BART to work
2) Pay a lot, live in a suburb, suffer in traffic

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I wouldn't even move to San Diego for a salary of $160k. That's not enough to live how I want to live with the housing costs out there.

Having that Salary in San Fran? Fuck that lol.

SD is Super cheap compared to SF Bay Area. Price per sq ft is 50-70% cheaper so you get a lot more house for your money. I'd take a 40% pay cut to move to SD tomorrow just like the guy in the article who took a 50% pay cut. Way better quality of life.

It's not just housing. At $13/hr for minimum wage in SF everything is ridiculously expensive.

 

[purbeast0]

SD is Super cheap compared to SF Bay Area. Price per sq ft is 50-70% cheaper so you get a lot more house for your money. I'd take a 40% pay cut to move to SD tomorrow just like the guy in the article who took a 50% pay cut. Way better quality of life.

It's not just housing. At $13/hr for minimum wage in SF everything is ridiculously expensive.

I know it is, and that was my point lol.