7 ms·

> I lost count of the number of times that, say, some engineer 3 years out of college couldn't afford a 5 bedroom house in Palo Alto for them, their partner and

> I lost count of the number of times that, say, some engineer 3 years out of college couldn't afford a 5 bedroom house in Palo Alto for them, their partner and their dog and how they were underpaid and this was unfair and a problem Is it not a problem that someone with one of the best jobs in the world can't afford a decent house near work? It might be related to why the contingent workers have 2.5 hour commutes.

xapata 7y ago
> decent house He described something more than decent.
jciochon 7y ago
Since when do 2 people and a dog need a 5 bedroom house? And does that really only qualify as “decent”? Especially 3 years out of school... In any case OP was just trying to point out the entitlement that gets instilled, and how it can be particularly blinding when you’re wrapped up in your own decadent lifestyle. It’s a very common trait among people in the valley, in my experience.
- tastygreenapple 7y ago
  Someone 3 years into their career at P&G can buy a mansion in Cincinnati, an IC5 at google probably can't even buy a 2 bedroom in Palo Alto without a few hundred thousand as a down payment. 2 people and a dog don't need a 5 bedroom house, but if one of those people has one of the best jobs in America and they can't even buy a house for their partner and dog in a safe neighborhood near their work, it's a sign that they live in a messed up housing market. I get OP's point about entitlement, but I think the root issue here is the bay area's hostility to new housing.
magduf 7y ago
No one needs a 5-bedroom house. In most of the rest of the world, that's something that only very wealthy people can afford. And if you don't like the housing options in the Bay Area, don't move there. It's very simple. The only reason housing is so bad in the Bay Area is because people keep moving there and complaining about it, but still putting up with it.
- tastygreenapple 7y ago
  You're right that no one needs a 5 bedroom house. However, for a regular working joe, a 5 bedroom in the bay area is as unaffordable as a 2 bedroom which is to say housing is unaffordable.
ummonk 7y ago
5 bedroom house is an exaggeration. People just want a reasonable (say, 3 bedroom for older folks, 2 bedroom for folks 3 years out of college) house near work, which they can’t afford. That doesn’t make the fact that ordinary workers have to travel multiple hours each way to afford housing any better. It is just a canary in the coal mine that even very highly paid workers struggle to afford housing in the area.

xapata 7y ago

> decent house He described something more than decent.

jciochon 7y ago

Since when do 2 people and a dog need a 5 bedroom house? And does that really only qualify as “decent”? Especially 3 years out of school... In any case OP was just trying to point out the entitlement that gets instilled, and how it can be particularly blinding when you’re wrapped up in your own decadent lifestyle. It’s a very common trait among people in the valley, in my experience.

tastygreenapple 7y ago
Someone 3 years into their career at P&G can buy a mansion in Cincinnati, an IC5 at google probably can't even buy a 2 bedroom in Palo Alto without a few hundred thousand as a down payment. 2 people and a dog don't need a 5 bedroom house, but if one of those people has one of the best jobs in America and they can't even buy a house for their partner and dog in a safe neighborhood near their work, it's a sign that they live in a messed up housing market. I get OP's point about entitlement, but I think the root issue here is the bay area's hostility to new housing.

magduf 7y ago

No one needs a 5-bedroom house. In most of the rest of the world, that's something that only very wealthy people can afford. And if you don't like the housing options in the Bay Area, don't move there. It's very simple. The only reason housing is so bad in the Bay Area is because people keep moving there and complaining about it, but still putting up with it.

tastygreenapple 7y ago
You're right that no one needs a 5 bedroom house. However, for a regular working joe, a 5 bedroom in the bay area is as unaffordable as a 2 bedroom which is to say housing is unaffordable.

ummonk 7y ago

5 bedroom house is an exaggeration. People just want a reasonable (say, 3 bedroom for older folks, 2 bedroom for folks 3 years out of college) house near work, which they can’t afford. That doesn’t make the fact that ordinary workers have to travel multiple hours each way to afford housing any better. It is just a canary in the coal mine that even very highly paid workers struggle to afford housing in the area.