A moment of silence...

From: sjm <sethm_at_loomcom.com>
Date: Mon May 29 15:47:33 2000

On Mon, May 29, 2000 at 01:02:12PM -0700, Mike Cheponis wrote:
>
> If Silicon Valley weren't Paradise (esp. for geeks), it wouldn't make
> sense... But...

Actually, I mainly live here for the weather now. I've noticed the
quality of life in the area plunging faster than an Alaska Airlines
jet, and I'm more and more seriously looking around at other options.

I love the Bay Area. I was born in San Francisco, I really
consider this place home despite my family roots in New England
(which is just too hot in the summer, and too cold in the winter).
But unless there's a very serious housing market crash (and believe
me, I wish for one daily) I'm going to have to get out of this area
if I actually want to buy a house that doesn't suck. It's fine for
people who've owned a house in the area for more than a few years,
but for someone like me who's never owned a home, the barrier to
entry is far too high (even making a rediculously inflated salary,
as I think I do). Right now I can afford a very small one bedroom
condo in a fairly questionable area -- IF I can find one that doesn't
get bid out of my price range by competitors who want it more than
I do. Or, I can afford a four bedroom home in the nicest suburb of
Columbus, Ohio. (Yes, I realise Columbus Ohio fails my weather test.
Otherwise, I'd be there :)

So, I love living here, and I hate living here. For now I'll keep
renting (provided I can continue to find places to rent that I can
afford) but if the current trends continue for more than another
year, I'm very much _out_ of here.

> -Mike

-Seth

P.S. - I did a quick survey of friends, and friends of friends,
to see if I know anyone who's actually made it rich by being a
Silicon Valley geek. Out of the big network of people we came up
with, we were able to find a friend of a friend of a friend who
supposedly cashed in his company stock options and got just over a
million dollars out of it (the report is unsubstantiated so far).
But, of the rest of us, noone's made a dime from options. In fact,
some of us have been screwed because of tax rules governing options,
and companies trading below their IPO price. So, I definitely don't
buy the "Geeks Get Rich in Silicon Valley!" argument. Maybe 1% do,
maybe 2% at the outside -- better odds than the Lottery, to be sure,
but hardly worth screwing yourself over by working at a go-nowhere
work-until-you-drop Startup company. The collective editors of
"Fast Company" and "Upside" can shove their trendy media rags up
their collective spotty behinds.

-- 
"As a general rule, the man in the habit of murdering  | Seth Morabito
bookbinders, though he performs a distinct service     | sethm_at_loomcom.com
to society, only wastes his own time and takes no      |
personal advantage."  -- Kenneth Grahame (1898)        |   Perth ==> *
Received on Mon May 29 2000 - 15:47:33 BST

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