Denver - is it worth the COL? (Aguilar: income, live)

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by SQL

I mean, does anyone really know? Even the "greatest" financial minds couldn't predict the 2008-crisis until Mike Burry and a few others started betting against the banks. I can say that the probability is probably pretty high that nobody on this message board really has a clue, nor have they done the diligence to actually understand these highly complex markets.

I think we have a better understanding of what is a bubble and what caused it to burst because of 2008. I dont believe it is a bubble due to the lack of inventory here and tighter lending practices.

That being said we shall see.

[hawkbill]

I don't know if there is a housing bubble, but whoever the next president ends up being, they're going to get stuck with the fed raising interest rates. This won't make it any cheaper to buy, but it will drive down housing prices by quite a bit.

A 300,000 30 year loan at 3.5% is roughly $1,350 monthly payment. Let's say interest rates go up to 6%. A 225,000 30 year loan comes in at roughly $1,350. The ability to borrow money is a pretty major factor for home prices. All the equity that was 'made' in this hot market could disappear really quick.

[Mr_Polymath]

Originally Posted by SQL

Interesting that the median per capita income isn't closer to $100k then, since there are so many of them out there. Maybe everyone's actually lying about that $30k/yr they claim to make, which is much closer to the median per capita income in this country/state.

Indeed. I know very few people that make notably over the $100k mark. A few close to it, a couple just over it (engineers, IT), but they hardly constitute the median cross-section of a major city.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

C level is the only way to make $100K?

Try sales, engineering, legal, doctors, web developers, etc, etc, etc.....

Lots of jobs pay $100K

The financial sector tends to be very high paying-- jobs such as investment advisors, portfolio/wealth managers, stock brokers, traders, investment bankers, etc. While nowhere near the level of NY, LA, SF, Boston or Chicago, Denver does have a significant (and growing) number of jobs in this industry. Schwab has a major branch in Lone Tree, for example. While not everybody there makes $100k or even close, a number of employees there do.

Also CPAs-- in many large accounting firms (and even in some small niche firms) managers (7-10+ years experience) can make >$100k. Even starting salary for brand new grads in the Big 4 CPA firms right out of college is in the $50ks.

Not to mention across all professions and industries, many individuals are self employed running profitable niche businesses. I'm sure there are dispensary/ grow house owners making a lot of $$$...

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by SQL

Interesting that the median per capita income isn't closer to $100k then, since there are so many of them out there. Maybe everyone's actually lying about that $30k/yr they claim to make, which is much closer to the median per capita income in this country/state.

Originally Posted by Mr_Polymath

Indeed. I know very few people that make notably over the $100k mark. A few close to it, a couple just over it (engineers, IT), but they hardly constitute the median cross-section of a major city.

I never said they were average. I said there were lots.

Any mid level management job at a large corporation pays $100k.

If you went to college and work in corporate America for a decade, chances are you're close to $100K.

[SQL]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I never said they were average. I said there were lots.

Any mid level management job at a large corporation pays $100k.

If you went to college and work in corporate America for a decade, chances are you're close to $100K.

I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2008 and have been working for nearly eight years now. The most I've been offered here was $75k/yr. for a Senior Business Analyst at a large telecom company. I work in public health care at the moment, and make a little less than that, but with far superior benefits. Not to say that you're wrong, but I haven't really seen companies throwing around $100k/yr jobs either, and I've worked for a few at this point in my career. I think realistically, it's probably closer to 15-20 years of experience that you start approaching those kinds of salaries, of course depending on your field.

[Mr_Polymath]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I never said they were average. I said there were lots.

Any mid level management job at a large corporation pays $100k.

If you went to college and work in corporate America for a decade, chances are you're close to $100K.

I'm not sure what companies constitute "corporate" ones (did they just need to be incorporated?) but $100k seems like wishful thinking IME. I've got a buddy in software engineering who was making $90k who's struggling to find $70k. Maybe it's just this crap town Phoenix, but I wasn't finding any ID openings in Denver that were worth finishing a read of the job ad either.

[Mr_Polymath]

Originally Posted by SQL

I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2008 and have been working for nearly eight years now. The most I've been offered here was $75k/yr. for a Senior Business Analyst at a large telecom company. I work in public health care at the moment, and make a little less than that, but with far superior benefits. Not to say that you're wrong, but I haven't really seen companies throwing around $100k/yr jobs either, and I've worked for a few at this point in my career. I think realistically, it's probably closer to 15-20 years of experience that you start approaching those kinds of salaries, of course depending on your field.

Again, agree here. $70k-ish seems like a ceiling that a lot of people hit, and that number hasn't moved with inflation over the last decade or so.

[maiamom]

Originally Posted by Mr_Polymath

^
This. It's nice and all... but with the way income distribution / wages in this country work, you quickly get into territory where only a few of us could even dare ask for that kind of scratch. I'm an industrial/product designer, was a Sr. level at my last job, and $70k/yr. was really pulling it down. To imagine getting $100k/yr. in Denver is pretty much fantasy land. Maybe as a design/technical director. Other than Cxx positions, I don't know anyone who cracks much above $100k. I mean what ARE all the people in Denver doing to make that kind of scratch?

It's like those homebuyer shows. I see these dullards who consider themselves middle class buying dumps in Toronto for $750k! Apparently, everyone's a CEO, CFO, CMO, etc. at their own companies with no actual workers... either that or someone's giving 100 year term home loans out. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but looking at median incomes, I just don't get the economics of it.

Frankly I am surprised at reading your comment. I know many people who work as engineers, or in IT, or in the medical field (nurses, PA's) who make at least 100k. There are even federal workers who get compensated extremely well (friend is in the FBI). My nephew is a physical therapist and is paid that much. So yes, there are many people who make six figures in this area.

[SQL]

Originally Posted by maiamom

Frankly I am surprised at reading your comment. I know many people who work as engineers, or in IT, or in the medical field (nurses, PA's) who make at least 100k. There are even federal workers who get compensated extremely well (friend is in the FBI). My nephew is a physical therapist and is paid that much. So yes, there are many people who make six figures in this area.

No one said there aren't people who make $100k. You know a handful of them; that's cool. I'm in my early 30s and I don't know a single person in my friends group that is making $100k or more. And yes, we are all college educated, white collar professionals.

Statistically speaking, the law of averages (and medians) illustrate that the majority of individual salaries are half that or less, depending on what data you look at.