American here, in silicon valley. I'm actually a bay area native, and the only reason I'm able to stay close to my parents is that I make a "tech salary". I bought a moderately sized condo, and it was a huge stretch at the time when I bought it - now that I've advanced my career, it's not such a huge load.
But, the fact that, at $110k a year, a two bedroom (yet small) place was a huge stress. And that was not even in not one of top 3 most expensive cities in the bay area, which should say something.
I'm extremely grateful that I can live close to my parents, and will be able to help take care of them as they age.
Something is broken when it's a financial pressure for someone in the top 10% of income to live within an hour drive of where they want to be. And, that's kind of a luxury, tbh. I have extreme sympathy for the working class. There's something fundamentally broken with our housing policy.
Sure, but there's so much open, empty, and underutilized space. With some more aggressive building and well implemented transit policy, we could really fit a lot more people into the area without creating a decrease in quality of life. Not even like a huge amount of people, like 10% more.
But, the fact that, at $110k a year, a two bedroom (yet small) place was a huge stress. And that was not even in not one of top 3 most expensive cities in the bay area, which should say something.
I'm extremely grateful that I can live close to my parents, and will be able to help take care of them as they age.
Something is broken when it's a financial pressure for someone in the top 10% of income to live within an hour drive of where they want to be. And, that's kind of a luxury, tbh. I have extreme sympathy for the working class. There's something fundamentally broken with our housing policy.