How does the Silicon Valley change people? (San Jose, Santa Barbara: tech job, living in)

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by spicydreamt

As for self-oriented, wealth or the blind promise thereof or its unreachable proximity will do that to many people. Others just go by minding their own life and are very pleasant. You choose whom you associate with...

All these people trying in vain to make millions in SV are laughed at by those of us making peanuts and doing work we actually believe in, in non-profit work. We don't even hate each other; in fact, we trade higher-earning cut-throat BS culture for an environment where we actually (get this) work together, enjoy each other's company and respect what we do individually and collectively. Too bad this ethic has all but died in tech with the onslaught of the greedy bastards that have infiltrated SV.
Associate with greedy bastards and the companies that encourage them - you sleep in the bed you made.

[spicydreamt]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

All these people trying in vain to make millions in SV are laughed at by those of us making peanuts and doing work we actually believe in, in non-profit work. We don't even hate each other; in fact, we trade higher-earning cut-throat BS culture for an environment where we actually (get this) work together, enjoy each other's company and respect what we do individually and collectively. Too bad this ethic has all but died in tech with the onslaught of the greedy bastards that have infiltrated SV.
Associate with greedy bastards and the companies that encourage them - you sleep in the bed you made.

To soften a bit the message (i.e. for-profit isn't intrinsically evil), I'd add that many self-funded small businesses have the same environment * work together * enjoy each other * mutual respect, if only because it's a requisite condition for survival. Of course these business also wouldn't have higher-earning salaries nor cut-throat politics, also for survival reasons.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

All these people trying in vain to make millions in SV are laughed at by those of us making peanuts and doing work we actually believe in, in non-profit work. We don't even hate each other; in fact, we trade higher-earning cut-throat BS culture for an environment where we actually (get this) work together, enjoy each other's company and respect what we do individually and collectively. Too bad this ethic has all but died in tech with the onslaught of the greedy bastards that have infiltrated SV.
Associate with greedy bastards and the companies that encourage them - you sleep in the bed you made.

While I applaud your ability to stay out of the rat race and shun materialism, I do think your college-type lifestyle with multiple roommates is not realistic for the average person in the Silicon Valley (long-term). What most would consider a middle-class lifestyle elsewhere is prohibitively expensive here and almost forces you to push yourself on the treadmill. The alternative is to live in a shoebox, but that doesn't seem like a good lifestyle to most people, who are college educated (often with advanced degrees) and have been successful professionally. It really forces you to keep up with the Jones' and I don't think it is a healthy long-term lifestyle and conducive to a family environment.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

All these people trying in vain to make millions in SV are laughed at by those of us making peanuts and doing work we actually believe in, in non-profit work. We don't even hate each other; in fact, we trade higher-earning cut-throat BS culture for an environment where we actually (get this) work together, enjoy each other's company and respect what we do individually and collectively. Too bad this ethic has all but died in tech with the onslaught of the greedy bastards that have infiltrated SV.
Associate with greedy bastards and the companies that encourage them - you sleep in the bed you made.

It sounds like your prescribed simplify-and-work-for-the-greater-good lifestyle is making you pretty bitter.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

It really forces you to keep up with the Jones' and I don't think it is a healthy long-term lifestyle and conducive to a family environment.

^^^This. Whereas otter (previous post) proposes that enjoying the simplified life somehow makes one bitter, I offer the above observation as evidence of why so many are working so hard and getting nowhere doing it around here. Keeping up with the Jones' as a lifestyle choice is a ticket to misery anywhere, not just SV.

If most people want to simply follow what most other people do, than it's apparent that most people aren't going to be living a terribly meaningful, satisfying, interesting life, no? Lesson: Don't be sheeple.
A great many folks in SJ ascribe to this ethic, and do so quite admirably. But they don't get the press that the angry Dilberts do. No problem, though - we would rather enjoy our beautiful weather after earning our little piece of the pie, while the rest grind their teeth over not getting the latest promotion they didn't deserve, thus putting that McMansion way out in the middle of nowhere that further out of reach.

Sorry kids, it ain't 1953 anymore. You want those ginormous salaries in these fabulous companies available all in one little region, you drive the price of living there through the (sun)roof.

[Wry_Martini]

I am a bit embarrassed to admit that living here has turned me into a bit of a Yuppie.

[Azmordean]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

.

Sorry kids, it ain't 1953 anymore. You want those ginormous salaries in these fabulous companies available all in one little region, you drive the price of living there through the (sun)roof.

I can't speak for others, but I don't "want" it all in one little region. There's this persistent idea that companies are in Silicon Valley because "the talent is there." I would submit the reverse is now largely true - the talent is here because the companies are here. Of course, to some extent it's a vicious cycle, since relocation of any kind is a significant "barrier."

But I know for myself, while I love many things about this area - I'm really here for work. My family and closest friends are on the East Coast. If I could get a transfer, I'd almost certainly go back to Northern Virginia (outside DC). And while it is not a cheap area by any stretch, it's an absolute bargain compared to here.

But the bottom line is my job out here amounted to a 100% pay raise for all intents and purposes. And it offered me the chance to work at a great company doing cool stuff for real users rather than in the Government contracting sector (nothing wrong with contracting, I was just starting to tire of the red tape).

I am not here because I "insist on being in Silicon Valley." I am here because the job is here, and tech companies thus far refuse to let you live anywhere else. I'm not sure why - I'd be willing to take a 30K a year salary cut to move back to Virginia - which seems like a good deal for the company - but for the most part they just don't care. Most of the people I know at work all say the same thing - they'd love to live somewhere cheaper but the job is here. None of them are dearly in love with Silicon Valley.

I think a lot of the hyper rich founders of the tech giants don't realize Silicon Valley has lost its luster for the common tech worker. We are no longer here because it's the "center of tech on earth" (though that factor is cool) - we are here because we have to be. If we had a choice, many of us wouldn't be here at all. It's just too expensive, end of story.

[jbunniii]

Azmordean nailed it. It certainly isn't the workers who benefit anymore from the overconcentration of tech jobs in Silicon Valley.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

^^^This. Whereas otter (previous post) proposes that enjoying the simplified life somehow makes one bitter, I offer the above observation as evidence of why so many are working so hard and getting nowhere doing it around here. Keeping up with the Jones' as a lifestyle choice is a ticket to misery anywhere, not just SV.

If most people want to simply follow what most other people do, than it's apparent that most people aren't going to be living a terribly meaningful, satisfying, interesting life, no? Lesson: Don't be sheeple.
A great many folks in SJ ascribe to this ethic, and do so quite admirably. But they don't get the press that the angry Dilberts do. No problem, though - we would rather enjoy our beautiful weather after earning our little piece of the pie, while the rest grind their teeth over not getting the latest promotion they didn't deserve, thus putting that McMansion way out in the middle of nowhere that further out of reach.

Sorry kids, it ain't 1953 anymore. You want those ginormous salaries in these fabulous companies available all in one little region, you drive the price of living there through the (sun)roof.

I agree with most of what you're saying here. Despite the fact that the middle class has taken it on the chin for the last 30 years, the typical American middle class lifestyle is still ridiculously wasteful in so many ways that so many folks aren't aware of. But at the same time, having roommates wears thin for most people by the time they're 30. And for anyone who wants to raise kids in SV, life really does become a rat race for most. Housing costs are just too high for it to be any other way. If I wanted kids but was not a big earner, I just wouldn't live here. Life is about making tough trade offs and unfortunately, I don't think most young people are clued into this reality. I know I wasn't.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Azmordean

We are no longer here because it's the "center of tech on earth" (though that factor is cool) - we are here because we have to be. If we had a choice, many of us wouldn't be here at all. It's just too expensive, end of story.

Really? So you're being compelled to suffer here against your will? No other choice at all? There are hundreds of millions of people in this country alone. Most of them apparently don't feel so constrained.

You do, in fact, have freedom of choice in the good ol' USA. So many others across the globe can't say such.