

Can the Silicon Valley be saved from ever growing cost of living? - kirillzubovsky
http://ramenapp.net/post/53c72ae33536620002000000

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oldmanjay
I made it this far:

"It's the only place in the world where visionaries and extremely talented
people live within an hour drive from one another."

and had to stop to laugh at the sheer arrogance of that statement.

~~~
asymmetric
I stopped at:

 _I suppose it 's not uncommon for a housing situation like this to exists
anywhere in the world, but somehow US and hostel-living for smart and talented
people, that just doesn't seem right._

Hostel-living for smart and talented people (= white males) doesn't seem
right. If you're poor and therefore uneducated, it's perfectly OK, I assume.

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shitlord
> Of course, engineers, designers, marketers, sales people and founders, and
> everyone else working in a startup, we don't come to the Valley for a pay
> check.

I will never understand this attitude. Why on earth would you want to work
yourself so incredibly hard for so little in return? The author makes it seem
like people are there primarily for some kind of 'shared experience'. If I
have learned anything in life, it is that people are primarily self-
interested.

If I was ever in a position like this, I would ask myself how much a shared
experience is worth. Is it worth working >40 hours every week for nothing in
return? Is it worth tolerating "hostel" conditions, as the author puts it?

~~~
mercer
> If I have learned anything in life, it is that people are primarily self-
> interested.

I don't think people are, but even if they are, they are still irrational.

There are many people who sign up to join the army or a rebel force for reason
that don't really make a lot of sense to many of us. Why would you volunteer
to likely die? There are people who 'voluntarily' join churches or cults that
heavily restrict their freedom. There are many young people who live in
ghettos who are likely to die young if they stay, and have the opportunity to
leave for a better situation (comparatively), and yet stay anyways. There are
people who spend their lives working hard on their career at the expense of
their family and friendships, something that few people would consider in the
best interest of the self.

If I have learned anything in life, it's that people usually don't really know
what's in their best interest, and the best we can hope for is that whatever
surroundings and values we grow up in and conform to to are ones that benefit
us.

And that's even assuming that our self-interest is our primary motivator,
which is not very likely.

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davidf18
It is called "rent seeking:" the use of politics to increase wealth. In this
case, it is using politics in various forms to limit the supply of housing
stock. "rent seeking" harms the economy. Perhaps passing "affordable housing"
legislation at the state level would help. State law would override city law.

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adamredwoods
I don't think it can be sustained. If someone wants to work in this area long-
term, then wages need to rise equal to rent inflation. My current apartment
rental has been raised about 10% year-over-year for 4 years (no rent control),
yet our income has remained the same. We aren't in high-paying jobs, so at
some point our time here will end unless something changes.

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pkulak
Seems to me like property values are going up so much because rich people are
accumulating so much wealth lately while interest rates are staying so low.
Might as well put those millions into property. Of course it puts any house in
a city out of my price range to buy with a mortgage, but oh well, I guess.

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crgt
Slightly off topic, but if you were relocating to the area with 3 kids (ages
7,5,2) in tow, any recommendations on where to live? Office will be somewhere
in SF, but exact location still unknown. Would appreciate any suggestions..

~~~
kirillzubovsky
Anywhere you could afford that's close to the Bart line :) I've got a few
friends who live almost an hour East, almost at the end of the Bart. Can't
remember the name of the area.

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kumarski
I've been curious about the politics/ specific policies regarding this.

It would be cool if rap genius did an analysis of the legal bottlenecks that
prevent free market housing.

