The Truth About Silicon Valley -- Stop the Floodgate!

[Maurice King <benadam -at- CYBERDUDE -dot- COM>]

For the benefit of those people who wanted to know, and for those well-meaning people who posted me, here are my findings:

* Housing is exorbitant, but there are affordable places to the east and further out. The down side to the affordable housing, however, is that it usually means a killer commute, and everybody who addressed this issue said the same: commuting is a problem. However, many indicated willingness among many employers to permit telecommuting as a solution to the problem.

* Food isn't so outrageously expensive, but restaurant dining is.

* If you're used to an extravagant life style, you'll go through your salary in record time; there's nothing that different about this anywhere else, however.

* The horror stories that I heard could easily be true for a person who gets laid off and cannot find another job fairly quickly. Being without a source of income is a great way to end up on the street.

* Taxes are high.

* Gasoline is painfully expensive.

Several also mentioned that this very subject is now getting plenty of press in the San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/04/14/MN43MID.DTL

This particular article indicated that many psychotherapists and doctors in the Bay area have reported that more and more persons are literally suffering from ailments related to the financial stress of living in an area in which the cost of living is increasing steadily with no respite in sight. Apparently the topic has spawned a series of articles, as this one is the second in a series.

If I'm to take the consensus of opinions expressed as an indicator, I'd assume that the report I received may have exaggerated about a few issues, but most of the report was accurate. One person suggested that I discuss the issue with any employer negotiating with me; my experience in negotiating with employers would make me leery of doing this. Many employers ask in interviews, "Have you ever been out here? Do you know what it means to live here?" These employers I might trust a bit more; there are plenty, however, who seem to be looking for warm bodies and nothing more.

These are the findings. Make of them what you will!

- Maury

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