Twitter Employee Making $160,000 in San Francisco Says He's Scraping By
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It's expensive to live in San Francisco — even if you make six figures.
In an article published earlier this year, The Guardian reported on an anonymous Twitter employee in his 40s who says that, even on a $160,000 annual salary, he's barely scraping by in Silicon Valley.
"I didn't become a software engineer to be trying to make ends meet," he told The Guardian.
The employee's biggest expense is the $3,000 monthly rent he pays on a two-bedroom house where he lives with his wife and two kids, which he describes as "ultra cheap."
"Families are priced out of the market," he says, explaining that it's hard to compete with the hordes of 20-somethings willing to pile into a shared house — and still pay $2,000 per person for a room.
The employee's grievances are echoed by many of his fellow tech workers in the Bay Area.
Another woman who spoke to The Guardian says that although she and her partner make a combined salary of over $1 million, they can't afford a house. "This is part of where the American dream is not working out here," she says.
San Francisco is notorious as one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S., and the booming tech industry has only exacerbated the cost of housing. The median rent price is $3,320 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $4,430 for a two-bedroom, according to real estate site Zumper. That's more than twice as much as the median rent price for the country overall, which sits at $1,164 for a one-bedroom and $1,377 for a two-bedroom.
Engineers at prominent tech firms can expect to fork over 40 to 50 percent of their annual salaries to rent an apartment near work, according to one study cited by The Guardian.
Things are even worse in San Francisco for those outside of the most lucrative sectors. Doctors can't afford 58 percent of the homes in the city, according to a recent study by Trulia, and teachers can expect to put up to 77 percent of their income toward housing, Curbed San Francisco reports.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/twitter-employee-making-160-000-123000991.html
In an article published earlier this year, The Guardian reported on an anonymous Twitter employee in his 40s who says that, even on a $160,000 annual salary, he's barely scraping by in Silicon Valley.
"I didn't become a software engineer to be trying to make ends meet," he told The Guardian.
The employee's biggest expense is the $3,000 monthly rent he pays on a two-bedroom house where he lives with his wife and two kids, which he describes as "ultra cheap."
"Families are priced out of the market," he says, explaining that it's hard to compete with the hordes of 20-somethings willing to pile into a shared house — and still pay $2,000 per person for a room.
The employee's grievances are echoed by many of his fellow tech workers in the Bay Area.
Another woman who spoke to The Guardian says that although she and her partner make a combined salary of over $1 million, they can't afford a house. "This is part of where the American dream is not working out here," she says.
San Francisco is notorious as one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S., and the booming tech industry has only exacerbated the cost of housing. The median rent price is $3,320 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $4,430 for a two-bedroom, according to real estate site Zumper. That's more than twice as much as the median rent price for the country overall, which sits at $1,164 for a one-bedroom and $1,377 for a two-bedroom.
Engineers at prominent tech firms can expect to fork over 40 to 50 percent of their annual salaries to rent an apartment near work, according to one study cited by The Guardian.
Things are even worse in San Francisco for those outside of the most lucrative sectors. Doctors can't afford 58 percent of the homes in the city, according to a recent study by Trulia, and teachers can expect to put up to 77 percent of their income toward housing, Curbed San Francisco reports.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/twitter-employee-making-160-000-123000991.html
Comments
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Yawn.
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? that I know software engineers that live here and make the same money as they pay in Cali. Why anyone would choose to live there when there is opportunity in the tech field in most major cities
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He should move and try to work remotely.. And make twitter fit the bill on travel expenses when he has to come into the city..
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Makes 150,000 and rent is 3,000 and still "scrapping by"
KYS -
It's San fransico
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EmM HoLLa. wrote: »He should move and try to work remotely.. And make twitter fit the bill on travel expenses when he has to come into the city..
Thats what I do. But Charlotte instead of San Francisco.
They pay for 4 trips a year back to NJ for me too. -
I doubt he's scraping by, but the Bay Area is a pretty expensive place to live. 160K isn't as much there as you might think it is.
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160 there is like 80 anywhere else.
That's why i was never convinced when software engineering was all the rage. " get a degree in engineering and earn 100k out of college!
Yeah in sanfran or silicon valley that 100k is basically 45-50k anywhere else on top of horrendous traffic. ? all that noise. I'll deal with 3 months of winter than 2 hours traffic for a 15 mile trip. -
Hes an idiot
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That cost of living is ridiculous and I thought MD was too high.
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Shizlansky wrote: »Makes 150,000 and rent is 3,000 and still "scrapping by"
KYS
Students loans are probably kicking his ass -
Shizlansky wrote: »Makes 150,000 and rent is 3,000 and still "scrapping by"
KYS
Students loans are probably kicking his ass
Cosign. My sister makes over 100K in San Diego, but the student loans for that masters degree has her living in a one bedroom bungalow. ? is ridiculous. -
Them student loans are a monster. Im glad I got a job before a degree.
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move to the south
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move to the south
nah brah...let the IC tell it, the south is the worst region to live in
keep living out west and out east sharing rooms with 6 people to pay rent in an apt -
move to the south
I might have to move down south myself but I don't know how y'all deal with the heat all year round. -
160k a year and scrapping by or buried in student loans.
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VulcanRaven wrote: »
depending on where you are, its not that hot all year
In Louisiana its the humidity more than the heat (outside of summer).....once you're used to it its normal but coming from up north or out west, you aint gone be able to breath for a min lol
Texas is just plain hot ass heat, sun just chillin on your neck....melt the tint off your windows ? ....gotta have a garage or carport or you lost -
Looks like he is living above his means
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Learn how to budget and ? . nobodies trying to hear about those problems
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160k and living in SF won't take you as far as most people think from other places.
Taxes and living will expenses will eat u up. It's also likely he has at least 5% of that coming off the top for a retirement plan.
3k for rent on a two bedroom house is very cheap in SF.
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It's expensive to live in San Francisco — even if you make six figures.
In an article published earlier this year, The Guardian reported on an anonymous Twitter employee in his 40s who says that, even on a $160,000 annual salary, he's barely scraping by in Silicon Valley.
"I didn't become a software engineer to be trying to make ends meet," he told The Guardian.
The employee's biggest expense is the $3,000 monthly rent he pays on a two-bedroom house where he lives with his wife and two kids, which he describes as "ultra cheap."
"Families are priced out of the market," he says, explaining that it's hard to compete with the hordes of 20-somethings willing to pile into a shared house — and still pay $2,000 per person for a room.
The employee's grievances are echoed by many of his fellow tech workers in the Bay Area.
Another woman who spoke to The Guardian says that although she and her partner make a combined salary of over $1 million, they can't afford a house. "This is part of where the American dream is not working out here," she says.
San Francisco is notorious as one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S., and the booming tech industry has only exacerbated the cost of housing. The median rent price is $3,320 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $4,430 for a two-bedroom, according to real estate site Zumper. That's more than twice as much as the median rent price for the country overall, which sits at $1,164 for a one-bedroom and $1,377 for a two-bedroom.
Engineers at prominent tech firms can expect to fork over 40 to 50 percent of their annual salaries to rent an apartment near work, according to one study cited by The Guardian.
Things are even worse in San Francisco for those outside of the most lucrative sectors. Doctors can't afford 58 percent of the homes in the city, according to a recent study by Trulia, and teachers can expect to put up to 77 percent of their income toward housing, Curbed San Francisco reports.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/twitter-employee-making-160-000-123000991.html
Dont believe these white american lies you guys. First off dude is in his 40's, that means hes most likely been doing this a long time and making good money. Second off every time a story like this is written and they show their expenses, 2 things become clear. They're living way above their means AND they consider barely getting by, if after they're finish paying all of they're expenses at the end of the year (i.e. car payment, rent, private school, vacations, credit cards, new cloths, health insurance, student loans, savings & retirement.), if they only have a few thousand left over, it ? they're broke and barely getting by. Some of you are forgetting they're regular people broke and rich people broke.Another woman who spoke to The Guardian says that although she and her partner make a combined salary of over $1 million, they can't afford a house. "This is part of where the American dream is not working out here," she says.
? impossible.
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that whole "cant afford" phrase has a different meaning depending on the person and how they're living
they dont mean they make a milli a year and cant buy A house
they mean they make a milli a year and cant buy the property that they would like, all while keeping the luxuries they've already grown accustomed to
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