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0 pointsbradlys6y ago0 comments

> https://www.padmapper.com/apartments/35506914/3-bedroom-2-ba....

Doesn't have AC. Looks like a pretty depressing home - tbh. HDR'd to hell but a brick yard and a BYO washer/dryer that's literally underneath the sun and skies isn't exactly where I'd like to put my expensive appliances.

You can check Craigslist and you won't have much better results. Adding AC | Air Conditioning to your search criteria makes it narrow. Go figure - homes with it are in high demand. God forbid they say, "Air conditioning" but really mean just central air and there's no actual air conditioning. Went to more than one showing that advertised that falsity. :(

Either way, this is beyond the point. Spending over 50% of your net income on rent alone isn't a great move. Which is what you'd be doing at $115k net income.

0 comments

taway90210_06y ago

Many people ignore more meta aspects than numbers:

Seriously, I went to a top-3-in-the-world engineering school...seriously dont I deserve something better than a shack?

Secondly, half the 40+ workers in tech I know are washed out and cant get hired, likely due to age discrimination. Tech is a lighter version of Football -- you better make the money in your 20s and 30s, because you need to live on that cash for the rest of your life. So I cant just blow ALL my post-tax income on rent, I need to save it for the post-40 slump.

Thirdly, you are constantly on the treadmill learning the new new technology. Its an uphill battle constantly for those high paying jobs.

borski6y ago

I think your standards may be too high. That looks like a gorgeous home to me.

To be fair, I will agree with you that most places in the Bay Area don't seem to have A/C, but that's also because it's not generally needed here except for a couple weeks a year. You could do what we did in NYC all the time: window A/C's.

scarface746y ago

That is kind of depressing. My wife would swear I was joking if I told her that we could rent a house for $3,000 more than our mortgage that was less than half size and looks like something built in the 70s.

And people on HN wonder why software engineers living in other major cities in the US have no interest in going to the west coast.

borski6y ago

Nobody wonders why. The Bay Area is clearly more expensive than anywhere else other than NYC. Nobody has ever argued that that isn't true. The salaries are also significantly higher, to compensate.

What is being argued here is whether you can live comfortably on a six figure net salary (after taxes).

That housing is expensive in the bay area does suck, no doubt, and is super annoying. But it's far worse for non-engineers. Engineers are fine, and frankly, are the ones who are driving the prices up, by virtue of being capable of and willing to pay more, as companies continue to increase compensation.

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astrange6y ago

They look like they were built in the 70s because they were. That generation decided there were enough houses and promptly banned building any new ones - so we've still got the same ones.

For some reason most of them have the original gross beige carpet too.

taurath6y ago

OTOH, they do - frequently. If you can bank half your take home which is totally doable you get to move out and buy whatever home you like nearly wherever you like and retire.

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davidjnelson6y ago

It’s 90 degrees plus 4 months of the year in many parts of the Bay Area, such as San Jose. So yes, you need air conditioning.

Gibbon16y ago

I grew up in San Jose. It's more like 2-3 weeks out of the year where air conditioning 'would be nice'

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skybrian6y ago

If you really want AC, couldn't you buy an air conditioner? You're eliminating most places in the Bay Area with an unusual requirement like that.

xenihn6y ago

I know people living in $2 million+ homes in SF without AC...

jacobolus6y ago

AC is completely unnecessary in most parts of SF.

briandear6y ago

San Francisco is not Silicon Valley. There is a substantial temperature difference between Mountain View and San Francisco.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsbradlys6y ago0 comments

> https://www.padmapper.com/apartments/35506914/3-bedroom-2-ba....

Either way, this is beyond the point. Spending over 50% of your net income on rent alone isn't a great move. Which is what you'd be doing at $115k net income.

0 comments

taway90210_06y ago

Many people ignore more meta aspects than numbers:

Seriously, I went to a top-3-in-the-world engineering school...seriously dont I deserve something better than a shack?

Thirdly, you are constantly on the treadmill learning the new new technology. Its an uphill battle constantly for those high paying jobs.

borski6y ago

I think your standards may be too high. That looks like a gorgeous home to me.

scarface746y ago

And people on HN wonder why software engineers living in other major cities in the US have no interest in going to the west coast.

borski6y ago

Nobody wonders why. The Bay Area is clearly more expensive than anywhere else other than NYC. Nobody has ever argued that that isn't true. The salaries are also significantly higher, to compensate.

What is being argued here is whether you can live comfortably on a six figure net salary (after taxes).

1 more reply

astrange6y ago

They look like they were built in the 70s because they were. That generation decided there were enough houses and promptly banned building any new ones - so we've still got the same ones.

For some reason most of them have the original gross beige carpet too.

taurath6y ago

OTOH, they do - frequently. If you can bank half your take home which is totally doable you get to move out and buy whatever home you like nearly wherever you like and retire.

1 more reply

davidjnelson6y ago

It’s 90 degrees plus 4 months of the year in many parts of the Bay Area, such as San Jose. So yes, you need air conditioning.

Gibbon16y ago

I grew up in San Jose. It's more like 2-3 weeks out of the year where air conditioning 'would be nice'

1 more reply

skybrian6y ago

If you really want AC, couldn't you buy an air conditioner? You're eliminating most places in the Bay Area with an unusual requirement like that.

xenihn6y ago

I know people living in $2 million+ homes in SF without AC...

jacobolus6y ago

AC is completely unnecessary in most parts of SF.

briandear6y ago

San Francisco is not Silicon Valley. There is a substantial temperature difference between Mountain View and San Francisco.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse