Re: TW and relocation

[Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM>]

Warren, David wrote:
>
>      My costs are based on the following sources:
>
>      * San Jose paper (Mercury, I think--always seem to confuse it with
> the
>        Sacramento Bee)

The paper is the San Jose Mercury News; it's been online longer than
almost any in the country; it's the technical flagship for the
Knight-Ridder corporation, which owns a lot of media across the country.

>      * Rent.Net
>      * Cahill & Assocs. (headhunter)
>      * Relo. specialist of our local realtor
>      * Varied other net sources

I submit that your sources, despite your efforts to have them appear
unbiased, don't really know the local situation in Silicon Valley.  I'm
in Silicon Valley (Mountain View, to be exact), have been since 1968,
and know that the figures used by Bob Morisette are accurate.  The
reason that's applicable is because our company sometimes hires writers
from outside this area, and we have to nurse them through the real
estate sticker shock.

>      * Co-workers hired from that area

If they're FROM Silicon Valley, obviously they're not up on the latest
trends, are they?
>
>      I stand by what I wrote (or sit, as the case might be.)  Of course
>      someone willing to spend several hours a day driving to get a
> cheaper
>      house spends less...but I value my time (and sanity).

And that's the tradeoff.  35-60 minutes from the heart of Silicon Valley
is the ocean coastline of Monterey Bay, and properties a couple of miles
from the beach can be had for somewhere in the vicinity of $200,000.
People make residential decisions partly on affordability, partly on
schools, partly on climate, partly on other factors.  If you want a
5-minute commute, you'll probably have to pay more.

One of the more common arrangements here is for several single people to
share a house.  There are two such on my block, and they're treated as
just another kind of family.  If you're married and/or have children,
that option is probably not open to you, but there are still affordable
residential areas not far from work.

Companies in Silicon Valley tend to pay more for technical writers - and
for other technical occupations - than elsewhere for several reasons:
(1) There's a high concentration of skilled technical talent here, with
LOTS of opportunties if you don't like your present job, so companies
know that to get top talent they're going to have to offer top pay.  (2)
The cost of housing. Yeah, we know.  So do the companies. (3) There are
probably more, and more diverse, lifestyle and amenities options in this
area than any other place in the world.  (4) Climate. Our normal summers
are about six months long and so predictable that the weather
forecasters get bored.  We get snow about once every 15-20 years. It
rarely freezes. We're such spoiled pansies that when it rains in June
(as it did this year) people get grumpy about "this awful weather." (5)
There is a long tradition of business/university cross pollination, with
participation by everything from the primo universities (Stanford and UC
Berkeley) all the way down to the local junior colleges.  Not
surprisingly, a significant number of "best" school districts and
schools in the state (as measured by a number of criteria) are in the
Silicon Valley area.

When a company wants technical talent it can't find in the local
applicant pool, it's more likely to be willing to pay relocation
expenses for someone currently located elsewhere.  With Silicon Valley's
current economic engine running at full throttle with no end in sight,
and the demand intense for top quality technical talent,  my guess is
that local companies are more willing to pay relocation expenses than in
less busy times.

That said, however, it all has to do with how marketable your particular
set of skills and experience is in the environment where you want to
live and work.

Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems