This is a classic case of "Nobody ever comes here anymore; it's too crowded."<p>It is hard to make the argument that people are fleeing silicon valley when real estate demand keeps reaching new highs.
Not surprised at all that this trend is starting to get big enough for news outlets to finally notice.<p>Only once I moved to small town did I realize how much my quality of life was degraded by the long commutes, the over crowding, and the general scramble for access. Now I have 10min commute, up to 20min driving for any errands or shopping, and can't imagine moving back to the traffic jungles of a major city anytime soon. Especially since an average large townhouse in my neighborhood goes for $250K compared to $400-600K in Chicago.<p>It used to be that in small town America the only decent technology job you could get is by working remotely, or through the local university. Perhaps I got very lucky, but my current company[1] works with the biggest global companies, and I get to ship more software and work with much more diverse technology (most in the mobile space) than in my previous 10 years combined.<p>All I'm saying is that if are frustrated with Silicon Valley, or any other big city, don't assume that is your only option. I was pleasantly surprised when I landed in Charlottesville, VA.<p>[1] Its called Willowtree, and we are hiring, but I don't mean this to be recruiting spam, so look it up if you're interested.
FWIW a lot of renters don't pay those prices. If you are buying a house, you are going to have to pay full market value. However, the rental market has different influences, because of widespread rent control and the fact that property taxes are based on the price of the sale (which is <i>way</i> lower than market value for any property owned for more than 10 years). This isn't necessarily good for a multitude of reasons, but it means a large percentage of renters are not paying skyrocketing prices.<p>This is still my favorite piece on the subject (long but good): <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/14/sf-housing/" rel="nofollow">http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/14/sf-housing/</a><p>Also if you are planning to move to Seattle, you should follow the ongoing saga of Bertha. Always a fun topic of conversation: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_%28tunnel_boring_machine%29" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_%28tunnel_boring_machine...</a>
I live in Austin, TX and had 3 job offers earlier this year in Silicon Valley. I turned all of them down because of the high cost of living.<p>I have 3 children and a wife that I support. Even with the high wages offered from Facebook or Google, our quality of life in Austin was far better than it could ever be in Silicon Valley.
<a href="http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1612-W-Hacienda-Ave-Campbell-CA-95008/19659769_zpid/" rel="nofollow">http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1612-W-Hacienda-Ave-Campbe...</a><p>Here's a great listing I noticed this morning<p>2 beds 2 baths 827 sqft<p>"Bring your tool belt, this property needs some TLC! Great location, this property has much potential! Close to schools, shopping, and freeway access."<p>$900,000
At around $150k/yr, a bank will typically lend around $350-400k (more would be imprudent, even if the bank agrees). So even with two people working and making a decent, probably average wage for SV, it's still impossible to buy a median home there. Of course people are leaving.
I think that maybe more accurate for entry level developers. Housing is an issue to work around for sure.<p>Seattle - Yes (but also quite expense)<p>Austin - Yes to a less degree<p>Portland - Maybe.<p>All of these are great cities with plenty of dev jobs. You really need a strong CS program to build around if you want think about not moving to Silicon Valley. University of Washington totally fits that bill, as does University of Texas- Austin, but I would have to guess that Portland has a good local university (but I'm not familiar with it from afar like the others)
So is there any chance that the giant tech companies will band together to lobby local governments for measures that will improve living situations and transportation? Because if all they do is upping salaries (which is doubtful to continue indefinitely) all they do is empower landlords to keep charging higher.
From <a href="http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/05/22/san_franciscos_median_rent_climbs_to_a_whopping_4225.php" rel="nofollow">http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/05/22/san_franciscos_medi...</a><p>Median rent is now $4,225 in San Francisco.
I briefly evaluated a move to Silicon Valley. But after calculating that I was going to pay twice as much for half as much house, quadruple my commute, and have to send my kids to a lower quality (or private) school; the decision was made for me. My rough estimate was that I'd have to make about $300K/year to make it worth it.<p>Instead I'm enjoying the vibrant and feverishly growing tech community of Charleston, SC and the quality of life advantages that come with living in Conde Naste's #1 rated travel destination.<p>I suspect as housing costs in the Bay Area continue to rise, an increasing number of engineers will come to the same conclusion.
As a tabletop gamer, I want to see the disparity as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. If typical cost of living drives up wages by even just a 1.5-2x multiplier, you can min-max with lifehacks by, say, living in a van and making that into a disproportionate increase in savings retention, giving you a shorter runway to escape wage slavery.<p>Of course, if your desired end-game doesn't include escaping the paycheck cycle, it is really a wash anyway.. so you may as well go where the fun jobs are.
I think there's another effect operating here.<p>New borrowing rules went into effect that reduce the amount that can be borrowed for a given income. As interest rates rise, the approvable loan amount will be trimmed still further. Even if you have stock winnings, most people still need to borrow to buy a home. So buyers are looking at a declining amount that they can bring to bear in the market.<p>However, sellers conditioned on ever rising prices aren't willing to accept lower prices just yet. Some are starting to reduce prices, but recently there have been multiple homes that don't sell and then quietly roll off the market in the 'hot' areas.<p>Thus there is a market standoff, and buyers who want a house realize they can simply not afford a house here. Some react to that by leaving, a trend that is accelerating.<p>It will be interesting to see what happens as interest rates go up, and reduce borrowing amounts still futher. If the future will bring a decline in prices or long-term stagnation - it's anyone's guess.
I did a back of the envelope calculation on how much salary it would take to get me to move my family to Silicon Valley. The answer was "7 figures". Granted, part of that was due to the fact that my wife would have to recertify to find work, but it was still eye opening.
London has a similar issue with house prices / rents continuing to rise much faster than the rest of the UK.<p>I relocated from London to Barcelona 3 years ago to do remote freelance work. The cost of living is lower here with a good quality of life. There is lots of interesting work in London and its a good place to gain experience but I've got no plans to go back.