5 ms·
Take-home pay is indeed higher in the bay but unless already had a family, that take-home pay is worthless in what is without a doubt the most socially dull maj
by trzy 2y ago
Take-home pay is indeed higher in the bay but unless already had a family, that take-home pay is worthless in what is without a doubt the most socially dull major metro in the US.
- hot_gril 2y agoSounds like an exaggeration, cause there must be plenty of worse places. But yeah Silicon Valley rubbed me the wrong way.
- SoftTalker 2y agoWhy is that? Monoculture I assume? Everyone works in tech so you never meet interesting people who work in completely different fields?
- hot_gril 2y agoIt's something else that I can't easily explain. I'm a remote SWE now, and I go to a local office I'm not assigned to. Just in that tech circle, I have way more friends at work here than I did in Silicon Valley, where I saw my team and department each day in-office. I was just as friendly and outgoing in both places, and similar place in my life (married). There are a lot of good things about living in Silicon Valley, so it's a bit annoying when people take all that for granted. I do miss being able to bike everywhere I needed in Mountain View. But I was happier after we left.
- trzy 2y agoThe problems are roughly: - Monoculture - Generally risk-averse and cliquish population whose primary concern is (understandably) survival and accumulating the money needed to live a normal middle class life and are drawn to the “peaceful” atmosphere of the region (a word you’ll hear especially frequently) - Terrible urban planning and poor density for socialization: sprawling suburbia, lifeless downtown cores, everyone is far away from each other and as a result of the grueling commutes, few are willing to spontaneously hang out after work It’s a toxic mix that leads to a social death spiral.
- iforgot22 2y agoThe downtown areas of Mountain View, Cupertino, San Jose, Los Altos, Saratoga, and Palo Alto are pretty lively (sorry Sunnyvale). And most of America is suburbia, but people are still friendlier there.
- hot_gril 2y agoI had the issue with people not wanting to hang out after work, but it wasn't due to commute distance.
- itake 2y agoTake-home pay isn't higher if you consider taxes. I go on way more road trips and hikes than what San Francisco ever permitted. While SF has a few good hikes, it expensive to own a car (parking, insurance, break ins, ticketing). Seattle has access to Canada, islands, mountains, snow skiing, and boating.