Silicon Valley is a Dystopia - Tech Nomad in SF

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Silicon Valley is the cradle of innovation. Uber, KZbin, and Apple all first released from this patch of land. But what many don't know is that it is also a dystopia. Rent is expensive, housing is expensive, and the homeless population has skyrocketed. Companies like Google have built small cities and don't want their employees to leave, making it impossible for the locals to afford to live in the neighborhoods they grew up in.
The main reason why the cost of living is so high in California is housing. Regulations from the '70s and '80s have made it almost impossible to build vertical living, which would be the ideal way to ensure affordable living. Gas, electricity, and just about every other aspect of living in California is more expensive than other states.
Diversity is also a major issue in Silicon Valley. Black workers in tech are a statistical oddity, and only 4.7% of the tech working force is Latino. Women make up only 26% of leadership roles even when they are 44% of the workforce. Burnout, anxiety, and depression are also rampant.
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[@AkuNoHana]

I make north of $200k working in tech in the bay, and somehow it still feels impossible to buy a house. NIMBY, low density housing, and complete absence of regulations that would protect the community against exploitation from both local and foreign investments are a bigger problem. I cannot fathom how those not in the tech manage to survive. I'm talking teachers, ones working in grocery & department stores, bankers, construction workers. You see them everyday on Caltrain, Muni, and Bart, and you can just tell how freaking exhausted they are. Even the faintest joy to be had in living has left them a long time ago. I truly feel for them. It truly is a shit hole to live in, at this point I'm saving my money and getting the fuck out of here for good when when I've had enough, which is pretty fucking soon.

[@atmoz_]

For me it's a while ago that I've been over to the bay area. Have been there for many years and seen it unfolding. Always as a developer helping warehouses doing there business with our software. Then I do see the big difference, the workers of those warehouses all come from very far. Public transport isn't a real option for them. To many stops. I do understand that those Tech Companies building there campuses for there employees. It's couple of pluses. More time for work because the commute is less, no stress about housing for there employees and that also keep them at there company. They will think less fast to move jobs, the best employees are worth the most to them and would be bad for them to loose them to the competition. But do think it would be good for the cities, even when they only house there own employees it are still more houses. If they not need a house close by it will get another house empty for a potential local.

[@Lomhow]

Good for you. You're money will be worth a LOT anywhere other than hellscape Cali

[@a1gray1]

i can flip your 200k for you. its easy.

[@linmal2242]

Move to Orlando FL so you can watch NASA and SpaceX rocket launches! Orlando is only 44 miles from KSC.

[@honestiguana]

Human life is EASY, SAFE and CHEAP. Whenever you see a reality different from this, you can rest assured it's by design.

[@googleislame]

I am a (now retired) tech worker and I left San Francisco in 2008 because I could see the writing on the wall - the entire Bay Area is unaffordable to anyone outside of tech and finance. And you cannot have a community consisting entirely of tech workers and bankers. You need school teachers, nurses, garbage men, plumbers, artists, electricians, etc. So I sold my condo and never looked back.

[@La_br00tal_mija]

This school year Milpitas unified school district put out an official call to action asking parents to rent out rooms to teachers because they couldn’t bring new staff in due to the cost of living being a major deterrent

[@MustbeTheBassest]

@@La_br00tal_mija that's insane..

[@michelleallen2294]

Best thing I ever did was work as an escort for 3 years to pay for a nursing degree and buy a home just 10 minutes away from my family... Medicine is the future in my opinion because we'll always need it. Tech helps, but even during a power outage we still get it done.

[@TimothyCHenderson]

@@michelleallen2294 Especially nursing. So many nurses needed everywhere.

[@selgoog8251]

and the (San Jose) school teachers who cant afford to buy their own homes buy the travel trailers for their babysitters to live in.

[@parrish8386]

It was a very bad decision to remove the Glass-Steagall Act in the late 1990s, which led to the spectacular failure of huge banks during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. To prevent another disaster, Dodd-Frank and this statute both need to be reestablished right away. What happened with SVB is only the beginning of what will happen if nothing is done to address the current situation.

[@hasede-lg9hj]

I believe SVB was making an effort to reorganize their bond portfolio. Yes, they would lose money if they sold their low-yielding bonds. But, they were trying to make up for it by repurchasing bonds on the open market at the higher interest rate.

[@lowcostfresh2266]

Although the economy has so far held up, the SVB scenario serves as a warning that Fed rate hikes are still having an impact. At times like this, investors must be vigilant about the next inevitability. You don't have to act on every forecast, therefore I'll advise you to hire a financial counselor. This has been my fallback position for a while.

[@TomD226]

@@lowcostfresh2266 Would you mind telling me how to contact this specific coach using their service? Unlike the rest of us, it appears you have figured everything out.

[@lowcostfresh2266]

@@TomD226 My trustworthy advisor, Laurel Dell Sroufe, works for a fee only. She actually offers free consultations and always has the interests of her clients at heart. She and I have been colleagues ever since I turned 40. She is a busy woman, but if you can catch her attention, she might be able to help.

[@lowwastehighmelanin]

Hear hear!

[@spectrum838]

I go to college in Silicon Valley but I’m from the Deep South. I regularly meet people living in RV parks who’s income would make them upper class where I’m from. It feels like a completely different planet and it’s wild to think that it’s the same country

[@TheGrmany69]

Well, Cali is technically a new territory, it's not as old as the south so there is lots of entropy.

[@kevinmahaley4916]

That's why I hate cali

[@Trollificusv2]

The people there are "the best and brightest", and yet this tottering dystopia is what they've designed?? I am not impressed. It's like some bad YA novel: "The poor lived in desperate poverty while the ruling class occupied airy palaces of unimaginable luxury" Somehow, I don't want this for the rest of the country, much less the whole world.

[@sct4040]

With remote work, tech workers can live outside of SF?

[@martinmerrill5366]

Democrats?

[@FindTheFun]

I've been to cities all over the US and Europe. Some where nice, some were dingy, but NOTHING compares to the horrors in West Coast Cities. When I went to SF in 2018 for GDC I saw things I never thought I would. I saw a homeless man with no legs crawling up a sidewalk with his hands. In a Jack in the Box two heroin addicts started fighting in the bathroom and they fell through the door with their pants down covered in shit. I got sick and threw up black slime. I could go on. I will never go back, and honestly the whole experience made me rethink my career in game development.

[@kheyovski8569]

We do actually have homeless, drug addicts and mentally ill people but most of them are being treated/helped in some way. Even heroin users have shooting rooms for them to take drugs in an official context. I really really don't understand why American citizens pay taxes for this level of "country management". Like who didn't thought blocking building construction would create a household crisis?

[@NotJustAnotherAverageJoe]

You don't have to be there to work in this field

[@FindTheFun]

@@NotJustAnotherAverageJoe I know. I'm an indie developer now because I never wanted to touch SF where all the big AAA companies are. Montreal is a much better option. Even though they have their own homeless problem, it really does not compare in the slightest to West Coast cities.

[@soonahero]

@@FindTheFun why was your vomit black slime

[@kileNoe]

@@soonahero he ate some of that Dookie the 2 men were covered in fallin out da bafroom

[@AndrewBeals]

As someone who escaped the Valley, I can assure you that this is 100% true. It was an awful place then and it gets worse every time I go back to visit friends - and he didn't even talk about the age discrimination issue.

[@theprnvanand]

what's with the age discrimination issue

[@Yatukih_001]

@@theprnvanand Silicon Valley companies are discriminating against people based on how old they are, based on whether they are for or against vaccines, based on whether they believe the Moon landings happened or not. The roots of the problem lie in narcissism. Narcissists rise to the top in these companies and bully the people who work for them. They start by discriminating. First they discriminate based on age. Then they discriminate based on disability. Then they discriminate based on gender. The numbers of people they discriminate against continues to rise, until high level people are discriminated against, and are offended as a result. If you look up to a guy like Edward Jenner of course you are going to consider utopia as the highest and most noble form of living, where the weak are discriminated against and denied opportunities. They don´t care about how knowledgeable you are or how much you have worked in the tech sector. What they care about, are your beliefs. If you believe in some sort of propaganda, especially if it´s made in a country like North Korea you become more valuable to them. The idea is to use you as a flying monkey later on. Narcissists are constantly searching for a person called a narcissistic supply, so they can use people as flying monkeys to bully the supply to keep the bully from rising to the top. Soon these narcissists will feel like company managers in China feel now, when people left because they saw they were not going to do anything for them.

[@aaaMDML]

@@theprnvanand It is believed that many companies are hiring engineers in their 20s,30s and ignoring those in their 40s,50s+ despite the older engineers being equally, if not more qualified.

[@ButWhyMe...]

@Yatukih001 Very interesting and enlightening point. That's capitalism for you.

[@spacemanapeinc7202]

@@aaaMDML Older employees really are needed to mentor younger employees. Not to mention outdated coding languages that needs to be taught to the younger generation.

[@jfitz6517]

So basically the main theme of the video is: California’s focused on protecting the wealth of wealthy individuals & companies, everyone else be damned. Basically California is saying, “Want things to be better for you? Then get rich.”

[@idonteven3712]

basically no safety net for the poor but a welfare net for the rich only

[@salmansengul]

Things I remember when I visited SF in 2019 1. Beautiful parks, sights, big tech companies etc. 2. Homeless people shitting on the sidewalk and some guy washing it off with a water hose. 😂

[@duraynoodle]

Tech people from SF were the most self-important people I have ever met.

[@fvwak]

Were there African Americans or women?

[@thunderb00m]

I'm surprised sf has not collapsed into a black hole under weight of their massive egos

[@matthew8153]

@@thunderb00m It’s happening. As soon as people realize they don’t need smart homes and can pay their bills by check in the mail it’ll all collapse.

[@robbliss4921]

I grew up there. The cluster B diagnostic criteria have become cornerstones of the collective consciousness of those people.

[@unlink1649]

I live in Berlin and know a lot of people who used to live in the bay area. They quit their life there and moved here to chill and do cool stuff again without running themselves down for a job.

[@jonathanpritchard6464]

I moved to the bay area in 2015 after accepting an entry-level engineering job paying around $90k, which was far more than both of my parents ever made combined. It didn't take long to figure out that $90k doesn't go very far in the bay. I had a smaller discretionary budget during my 4 years living there than I did working odd jobs in college, between paying $1,400 for a room, the inflated cost of basic staples, and paying on my $60k of student debt. The massive sprawl and lack of good transit in the area also sucks. I lived my first year there without a car before finally buying a beater so that I could feasibly get to places other than work and the grocery store. Finally there's the incredibly warped mindsets of the tech workers that live there. All social interactions revolved around work, tech toys, and the status that those things brought. Non-stop networking was the norm, "where do you work?" was always the first question that people would ask so that they could make a judgement of if they should suck up to you, or ignore you completely. Once I paid off my student debt, I saved up about $10k and moved back to be near my family in the PNW in 2019. There are still problems here, but they seem trivial compared to the hellscape of the bay area. I live a far less stressful life on an $80k income here, around far less arrogant people, and with less sprawl and better transit.

[@alexnice2221]

How much was your student loan ?

[@kileNoe]

@@alexnice2221 he said 60k

[@Trent_0001]

It's true that with more money, there's more problems. I sold my car years ago, and bought an electric scooter. Finding jobs is more difficult, but car maintenance and fees were brutal.

[@yuppers1]

Good move. Glad you left before they destroyed your body. I got burned out but am getting better and don't want to go back

[@cdub5033]

Proof that no matter how much money is earned, if it isn't enough to cover basic living expenses, life will always be a stress filled struggle & consequently utterly shit.

[@ryan_danger]

This is horrific. I work on the railroad. I could not imagine going home to an apartment community that was also owned and branded identically to the railroad, full of pretty much exclusively people doing the same job as me. That is dystopia incarnate

[@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368]

Yeah, being paid a quarter-million dollars a year. Brutal.

[@ryan_danger]

@@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368 Yeah it's one thing to get paid too much to code and go home and it's another thing to never leave the influence of the company you work for because you live, eat, and shop in the exact same place you work and surround yourself with people doing exactly the same thing

[@MrEdrftgyuji]

​@@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368 It is brutal when rent, utilities and food ends up costing $260,000 a year.

[@cavejohnson4306]

Company towns again

[@elfodelputoinfierno]

It's cult-like almost

[@andreysleepdeep]

I briefly worked at a hotel in downtown SF. The building was very old and I heard from inspectors that a lot of old buildings and most residential houses in SF are not structurally strong enough to withstand an earthquake.

[@Vannabee13]

Worked for a company that retrofitted buildings in SF for earthquakes and can 100% confirm. Various measures were passed incentivizing people to do the retrofitting but most people put it off because they don't want to deal with the inconvenience of their building being renovated.

[@tedjohnson64]

Lines at grocery stores are often ridiculously long because Safeway can’t find enough cashiers. Why? Because no one (unless they’re living their parents, who bought a home decades earlier) can afford to live there. Same applies to many other blue collar jobs.

[@BobbyGeneric145]

And companies are closing SF locations because of the cities decriminalization of theft under $900.

[@honkhonk8009]

Yet Californians lecture Texas about being a hyper capitalist shithole, even though their entire state is that INCARNATE.

[@loverrlee]

Weird it’s almost like Safeway (a multibillion dollar company) could stand to pay their workers a living wage? This is what happens when a company’s greed is allowed to run rampant in a country that puts profits over people. Everyone (and I mean everyone) suffers. If you think grocery store workers or retail workers don’t deserve a livable wage because they didn’t “go to school to get a ‘real job’” then you’re part of the problem and karma is coming for you. Have fun living in your dystopian hellscape where nobody is happy and everyone is suicidal because people just like you stopped respecting your fellow man.

[@mattd5240]

That's where the collapse starts, soon there will be no one operating the utilities and maintaining the city. California will be a ghost state in the future unless something is done about these problems.

[@heyborttheeditor1608]

What if they paid their employees more. What an idea.

[@mau5atron]

This video reminds me of the time I left college after a year to become a software engineer from 2016-2018 and lived out of my car for an entire year on and off. This was mainly as a way to try to escape the valley and make connections, find work, and make money. I delivered with Postmates in the evenings until I made enough money for the day, then programmed through the night at a 24/7 starbucks. Would find a suitable spot after 3 am to park my car and slept until the sun came up. I would wake up and start programming again until the sun went down.

[@Ap_twsh]

Damn, you didn't let the obstacles get in your way. Nice to know someone with a determination and grit like you exist.

[@jamesbw2]

@@Ap_twsh dude this sounds like hell

[@joshuaconstable6323]

Sounds like shit, but honestly proud you, not many would do all that

[@CatcherOfBass]

Did you succeed on achieving your dreams?

[@mau5atron]

@@CatcherOfBass yes! For about 3 years. Unfortunately I’m unemployed right now, but working towards an online degree to get past HR filters. I’ve used a lot of my downtime to learn new things I wouldn’t normally learn, like Rust and Erlang for example.

[@christinekinzel7850]

I was born and raised in San Jose. You have no idea how 100% right you are. The problem was already beginning back in the 90's, right around when I left, for the same reason. Mainly, the cost of living was undoable. And it kept getting worse.

[@kristinnhouse]

I love the Bay Area so much. I was born and raised there. We moved last year to Tulsa with the Tulsa Remote program and as much as I miss California, it feels good to be able to just breathe and actually afford my life. It’s heartbreaking for so many natives to not be able to afford living there but I’m thankful for the opportunity to move and create a livable life

[@MsXfi]

Worst 3 years of my adult life were while living in the Valley, hardest part we all seemed to be having the ride of our lifes while in private everyone was mentally and financially broke.

[@GAURAV25855ify]

You were lucky

[@alarriag1]

Funny how, whether it is low density Silicon Valley or high density Manhattan, it’s almost impossible to live decently in either place without being in the top 1% of earners.

[@christianzilla]

It just makes Friends even funnier.

[@xo-1320]

@@christianzilla or more dated.

[@rustyyb8450]

Both places have achieved a living density that is capped by regulation while incomes and individuals' desire to be resident fuels aggressive bidding for housing.

[@truth135]

Capitalism

[@tomholtslander7950]

Portland, Oregon is in a similar spot. The rent here is insane with a rising crime rate one would think it would help decrease rent but it hasn't. A coworker of mine pays $1,600 a month for a studio apartment. That's nuts. That's what a house SHOULD cost

[@ge2719]

the only thing that will decrease rent is for people to stop voting or the morons that you elected that created these problems in the first place.

[@cathuria5818]

@@ge2719 you mean leftists

[@OneRedKraken]

I find it interesting that in Canada, the Vancouver area has a similar housing problem. Where rundown shacks go for the price of a mansion.

[@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368]

Thankfully the hippie douchebags and the Chicoms parking their money offshore are walled off from the rest of Canada by the Rockies. Contain that shit.

[@semra156]

This video hits too close to home. I grew up in Austin and lived there for over 20 years. Now that I’ve finished school and I’m looking at moving back, the housing market is a nightmare, there’s traffic everywhere, and small business that I loved going to as a kid are leaving. Everything has become gentrified, and it pains me to see that the city where I grew up is a shell of its formal self, and doesn’t resemble the weird, fun-loving, laid-back city that I once knew and loved

[@Hollywoodintx]

Happened so quick too

[@newagain9964]

There’s always Iowa. 🥴

[@trevor852]

Grew up in Austin and left to Orange County after graduating as the cost of living in Austin nearly equaled being near the beach in SoCal. Might as well be here if I’m going to be paying that much 🤷‍♂️

[@ogami1972]

Am in my fifties, have lived in Austin all my life. We miss you, but listen: don't come back. It will break your heart.

[@jpmor7327]

This is what happens when you play the global game. Everything small that you loved dies at hyper speed.

[@Meitti]

19:00 There was a newspiece in Finland around a year ago where a half-finnish Silicon Valley worker moved his entire family to Finland for a tech job in the 3rd biggest city Tampere. The pay he received was a fraction of what he earned in Silicon Valley but he was overall much happier because he didn't have to save money for medical expenses- or high school for his children. Housing was also much cheaper and his kids could bicycle their way to school or in really crappy rainy days, easily take a public transport bus there. A secure, down-to-earth middle class lifestyle was a much better condition for raising a family than in Silicon Valley. Finland has been nominated the happiest country on Earth twice in a row even when the culture and weather outside is cold and dark. The key is not high wages (minimum wage is 11 dollars despite high taxes), but overall life security when living costs are relatively low and if things ever go wrong theres extensive safety nets ready to pull you back on your feet.Finland has only 800 true homeless total, because the police almost drag the homeless to temporary housing by force because of harsh winters would kill them on the streets. California claims to be progressive but in many regards its ironically well behind many european countries that are more Centrist in their politics.

[@churblefurbles]

Finland has demographics closer to california before the problems, but like so many they haven't actually learned, and are marching towards oblivion.

[@HeadStronger-HS]

Russia is very excited to visit you soon.

[@Meitti]

@@HeadStronger-HS Oh you can try, we'll make snowmen out of your frozen corpses like the last time.

[@JamesFromCanada]

'happiest country in the world' Hahahah man you need to go and live there. It's brutally unjoyous. Yes their standard of living is super high but the anxiety, depression, anti-social atmosphere is HEAVY. Same with Denmark. Homelessness basically doesn't exist and 'happiest' country, but having lived there I can confidently say it was the least happy place I ever lived (8 different countries now).

[@Meitti]

@@JamesFromCanada Thats true (I live there). But its still in the #1 ranking because finns feel secure on their living, they don't worry about not being able to pay their rent or medical bills the same way americans do.

[@carriehazel77]

Bay Area born and raised, but finally had to leave because my engineer husband and I were never going to be able to buy a house. It was a wonderful place to grow up in the 80s and 90s but it's hardly recognizable as the same place anymore. When I visit home my stress level spikes was the plane comes down because EVERYBODY is stressed to the max in the Bay. 😪

[@fddtrnsmssn1402]

Turning silicon valley into a collection of company towns being the only solution to a housing crisis is peak dystopia.

[@foxeye245]

Some of the most vile villains in history are often those who think they are saving the world.

[@hankmoody5514]

Bill Gates? The World Economic forum?

[@leeow3n]

Trust me, the majority of software engineers on the west coast are disgustingly self righteous elitists who are navel gazing and not actually innovating anymore, just reinventing wheels poorly.

[@GoldDiamond002]

@@hankmoody5514 in some way they are right. Most people are kinda retarded.

[@vylbird8014]

@@hankmoody5514 You could class Gates as a 'repentant villain.' He made his vast wealth through the use of underhanded, sometimes outright criminal business practices. He crushed all competition using every means at his disposal. A truly dirty and corrupt businessman. Then he retired with a huge pile of wealth - and the loathing of everyone in the tech industry. Since then he's been using his wealth to fund a lot of charitable causes. I suspect he feels a bit guilty now, having realised just how disgusted people are with his earlier decisions, and is trying to atone.

[@cinemint]

@@vylbird8014 And ironically, this atonement is causing even more suffering

[@333jjjjjj]

I lived there for 7 years, having recently escaped. It was great for my career but the rest of my life there was pretty miserable. My complaints mirrored a lot of what was in this video. A lot of people I knew there seemed to have this almost toxic positivity about SV and had no criticisms of it. The other odd phenomenon I saw was the number of people who had moved there and for some reason become urbanism bros, going on about the need for bike lanes, public transit, and dense housing. Those are great things, but the Bay is so fundamentally broken with regards to them and most people who own a house (and vote) are happy with the status quo, shuttling their kids everywhere in their SUV or Tesla. You aren't going to see progress anytime soon on that front.

[@justcommenting4981]

Maybe they just wanted to enjoy the weather without being stuck in traffic to go at most a few miles. Hard if everyone lives in a car I guess. I guess I'm an urbanism bro but I don't live in California.

[@tonysoviet3692]

@@justcommenting4981 I think in the sense of hypocrisy, they call themselves urbanists but do not take any action to improve the city like going to City Hall meetings or petitioning for more housing. They just like to rant and complain.

[@cattuswitch7246]

@@tonysoviet3692 Petitioning the city or trying to go through politics doesn't do anything, politics only moves when it benefits rich people as they have purchased all of the politicians through corporate donations. Sorry man but no longer is protesting and using politics an effective tool to make societal fixes, politics is fully captured by the capitalist class and the politicians only move for the richest of the rich. The political system in the U.S. literally doesn't work anymore because that's the tool that created all this income inequality in the first place by design. There's supposed to be homeless people everywhere so tech bros can tell them to just learn how to code like they did! Just learn how to code when you don't have enough food or water just like that.

[@AnDOnlineify]

Don't need to move there to be an urbanism bro. My life is hell with traffic

[@garygraham8373]

where everyone needs to be a rich celebrity, as seen on tiktok and instagram, that's social narcissism, that's silicon valley

[@kneckebrod5721]

Its interesting how people there seem to think unification of the public transport system is impossible. In Stockholm the tube, buses, and 8 (eight) different rail systems all use the same simple ticket. Makes it a joy to use.

[@Demopans5990]

Bureaucracy and unions. Having no unions could lead to the curious case of no one having money to buy stuff (Great Value anyone?), while having too strong unions ends up stagnating everything. Also, it doesn't help when the US is entrapped by car culture

[@sualtam9509]

@@Demopans5990 What does a unified transport system has to do with unions? I would say it's a general American problem with public owned stuff. Everywhere else the trains were nationalised in the 19th century because that's more efficient. Transport companies just get forced into a general ticketing system. Easy peasy

[@Demopans5990]

@@sualtam9509 Unions seek to keep their members in jobs. Unifying the bureaucracy eliminates the redundant work currently being done

[@merefinl6914]

I grew up in the Bay Area with a parent who worked at Apple, and as soon as I was old enough to understand the homelessness crisis I knew I couldn't stay there. I didn't want to work in tech, and my future there even as a wealthier kid was dehumanizing. I live in Oregon now, where I'm still surrounded by homeless people, but the difference between this place and the Bay Area is that people here are not chasing a wealth fantasy. Tech companies are extremely manipulative and blind their employees to anything but a reality where they are special and don't have to worry about anyone else. They create and foster class divisions and even though I have family who work in tech it makes me sick to my stomach to visit them. I never want to go back there.

[@coolbuddydude1]

That’s deep my guy. You’re describing a cult lol

[@merefinl6914]

​@@coolbuddydude1 It really is, my mom called it a golden cage all the way up until she retired.

[@coolbuddydude1]

@@merefinl6914 damn...I always wondered what my future would have been if I became a programmer like my friends. Now I know I am not missing out lol Thank you for sharing.

[@natedogg890]

It's becoming really dystopian up here in Canada too, especially in he Greater Toronto Area and on the West Coast where I grew up. The root of the problem is similar, basically everyone wants to live there, there just isn't enough housing to support it, and the private development sector isn't incentivized to build anything but expensive single family dwellings or "luxury" condos. The government needs to step in, scrap these ridiculous local zoning laws and start building public housing again, there's just no way leaving it up to the market forces will result in anything but a further slide into dystopia. This is a formula that's worked in so many other countries, but in North America we've been brainwashed for generations to think of housing as an investment asset instead of a basic human need, I don't think we will be able to change

[@roymarshall_]

I am extremely confused how you identify the problem of ridiculous zoning laws but then in the next breath imply that the problems are the result of "market forces".

[@fenixfve2613]

The problem is not the real estate companies or capitalism, the problem is the homeowners who did not let anything build

[@natedogg890]

@@roymarshall_ Market forces exist within frameworks of rules/laws, thus developers have to work within zoning ordinance. Most areas in North America are either zoned for single family detached houses or for high rises with very little in-between or much mixing of commercial and residential. Which is why I suggested the 2 pronged approach of zoning reform and investment into public housing infrastructure. Simply just reforming these zoning laws and leaving it to the private market doesn't fix the issue that these developers are not incentivized to build low-to-medium income housing. So the government doesn't interfere too much, I would suggest that they only build public housing on federal/government land to start.

[@natedogg890]

@@fenixfve2613 It's not one problem, the housing crisis, like pretty much every major problem we face, is the confluence of many issues. NIMBYs are just one of those issues. Also, we live in a Capitalist society, so problems like this are, by definition, problems with Capitalism too, or at least our version of it.

[@joylox]

I'm farther East, and it's not that great out here either. Especially a few years ago when a lot of people could work from home, a lot of people from Ontario wanted to move to the Maritimes, and it got so bad that some places put in extra taxes you had to pay if you were buying land/housing and didn't live in the province already. It led housing prices to basically double over the last 5 years, and combined with "renovictions" (people evicted from apartments due to renovations), there are tent communities around, while the luxury apartments for $2500-$4000/month are mostly empty. They seem to think there's more of a market for the fancy luxury buildings that there really is. The problem here is that when you can't afford a place to stay, what do you do in the snow, how do you stay clean, and where do you go to dry off? I've seen people sleeping in public libraries, which isn't great because then there's nowhere to sit for those who need to sit for a break from the busy street. They put a cap on rent increase here, but it was too little too late for a lot of people I know.

[@thedude7319]

I just love how they are moving outwards to low cost areas instead of fixing the mess they made in cali, they do know that it will just be a vicious circle this way

[@honkhonk8009]

They never learn and make everywhere they go equally a shithole. They vote for the exact same policies that made their areas a complete shithole, and then move on after they utterly ravaged their new host like a fucking parasite.

[@loverrlee]

Don’t blame the refugees, who only left everything they ever knew to try to stay off the streets, blame the tech companies who don’t care what happens to the people. This is what happens in a society who values profits over people. Nowhere is safe when these massive conglomerates have power over our public policy. Get mad at the companies who let this get so out of hand by lobbying our government. Get mad at the government for taking their bribe blood money. Real people are dying and it’s all because of the greed from these companies that are in bed with the government.

[@honkhonk8009]

@@loverrlee At this point man, i dont know if we can blame the companies at this point. It should hte governments job to regulate the private sector. It shouldnt be a companies fudicial responsibility to do that. Its just ridiculous. All because of the two party political system this country has

[@loverrlee]

@@honkhonk8009 I blame the companies because they hire lobbyists billons of dollars just so they can bribe the government. The government is no longer working for the people, they are working for the companies, so they are at least both to blame.

[@honkhonk8009]

@@loverrlee Lobying has its uses but at this point its gone too far. It needs to GO. Its practically legal bribery and is disproportionately against the people. Either we get rid of lobbying in general, or we have a legally mandated "Public Interest" lobbying group whenever this shit happens. Eitherway im glad that bribes are atleast public and not behind closed doors. But still its fucked.

[@selgoog8251]

It was the mid 90s in a Santa Clara (a town next to San Jose) at a tech mfg biz, a fellow engineer commuted 2 hrs away so he could afford a home for his wife & two children. When his son was 8 & daughter was 4 there would be days when their mom (a nurse) had to work late & the kids would be home by themselves. We both were on edge hoping there wouldn't ever be an emergency at home with the kids.

[@imseeno]

Holy crap. This is insane. I lived in Daly City back in the late 90s early 2000s during my elementary and middle school years. I had no idea of this situation as a kid and never really thought of it after my family moved to the Sacramento area. Watching this now really makes me shocked at what everything has become. This was a really interesting video and had me engaged the whole time. Thank you for making this video.

[@willvincentparrone3339]

Jesus christ I never realized how big slidebean is now. I was already an avid supporter back when it still had 15,000 subs. Never been more proud of you bro

[@slidebean]

OG subscriber. Good to see you back 🙌

[@MirageX47]

Same , i wasn't subscribed and always had vids in my recommendation

[@jimreuss]

I used to work at Comcast as a technical trainer. I was making 52k a year. When I got promoted corporate asked if anyone wanted to transfer to San Jose to train. I thought that would be cool. Was told it came with a whopping 10% salary increase. Average home prices then we're still 600+. Not sure they got much traction for $57,000/year.

[@scoodler]

I live in the East Bay. You've done an excellent job of describing the housing crisis and how we all got here.I started seeing the rents climb about a decade ago. In some parts of Oakland, for example, I saw rents triple in a matter of a few years, whereas non tech wages went up only a notch or two. I can't offer any solutions, only testify on how some of us that don't work in tech still manage to keep a roof over our heads. Many people rent a room in a larger house or apartment and share the kitchen and bathroom space with others. There's also a few studio/cottage places here and there that are relatively affordable. It can feel a little like you are in a state of perpetual college living, but it beats homelessness.

[@423gtrman]

Kudos to you for this insanely informative work.

[@mafiousbj]

Having visited San Francisco in November, I was just shocked at the amount of homeless people and odor of bodily fluids that concentrates in a belt around Union Square, and I come from Latin America myself. I was lucky we read about it and made reservations for a hotel in the heights around Alamo Square away from downtown, but our first day in the city we walked back to our hotel from Union Square and it just felt like being in an episode of the Walking Dead!

[@elfodelputoinfierno]

I kept thinking it was just a modern-ish looking São Paulo tbf. It was like walking on Liberdade but everybody spoke English

[@mafiousbj]

@@elfodelputoinfierno totally! Like I bet in San Francisco there's just 10% of the crime we have here, yet the filth levels were probably worse, specially for such a centric zone. After that it's clear Americans barely walk anywhere, otherwise people would complain much more about it ^^

[@sumedhgarimella6024]

For most of my time as a CS student in college, I saw myself going to LA or San Francisco and was super excited about that and the lifestyle it brought with it. Now that I'm about to graduate, I'm actually glad I ended up taking a job in the Washington, DC area instead, at least for now. Now I just want to treat that area and its culture with respect instead of becoming an entitled and self-obsessed tech worker.

[@mysticfellow9843]

Based. Entitled tech bros are the most insufferable people on the planet. Hope you enjoy DC.

[@product_of_august]

DMV area is very nice

[@missmia196]

DC is its own networking nightmare

[@sumedhgarimella6024]

@@missmia196 so i've heard

[@AustinAlvaro]

@FutureTrader Hey would help me with my coding journey with the insider tips you journeyed .

[@Kuvantor]

I find it funny that people just assume they need more regulation for everything when obviously all you need is to stop the regulations that created the problem on the first place

[@CPTR111]

Big Government and NIMBYism have greatly contributed to this problem

[@JustMe99999]

I love it - "company towns" from the early days of industrialization are making a comeback...

[@CBRN-115]

Slavery will make its return soon. History sure does love to repeat

[@TheCarnivoreSoprano]

Bingo.

[@MustbeTheBassest]

As a tech worker in SF for 8 years. All of this is depressingly true. I moved to NYC two years ago. It's a little better, but not by much.

[@bdp295]

Moving from SF to NYC... wow. That's legit moving from one urban shithole to a barely less shitty urban shithole. How could you possibly do this to yourself?

[@MustbeTheBassest]

@@bdp295 it's not all bad. There is some amazing things that an urban shit hole brings. Best food in the world, best drinks, best shows, lots of single young professionals... There's a reason it's one of the most expensive places to live in the world and it isn't because it's a shit hole 😉

[@untitled795]

i think you're making truly daft choices and you kinda deserve it at this point. you listed the 2 most expensive cities in the US, while most likely being a privileged WFH situation. don't blame your idiocy on someone aside from you.

[@chistovmaxim]

@@MustbeTheBassest "There's a reason it's one of the most expensive places to live in the world " and that reason - artifical blocking of affordable houing in favor of existing land larods who don't want their homes to lose value

[@MustbeTheBassest]

@@untitled795 Wow, what a sad miserable response that was. Have a nice day.

[@loverrlee]

This is why I left and never looked back. It’s sad though that I had to leave all my friends and family and the place I grew up, just so I could have a better life. It’s tragic that we let this persist. When will enough be enough?? I pray for everyone who is still stuck in that dystopian nightmare of a place. People should be able to have a comfortable life without having to make 6 figures. Read that again.

[@honkhonk8009]

Honestly man its fucking shocking seeing other people live in perfect homes in perfect suburbs litterally living the American dream in every way possible. Meanwhile your earning like 6 figures working in borderline poverty conditions for no fucking reason. I hate Republicans and i feel like their anti-intellectual at times. But iv gotten to the point where I might just start voting for them. After seeing how Texas is doing, i think iv basically been either brainwashed or lied too. Texas just does shit at the most simple level. THeres no complications in their public policy towards shit. And guess what? They do so well off that. No 900 page peer reveiwed study needed to decide whether drugs are bad. No $30 million UC Berkeley funded study on the effects of crack needed to realize shit is bad. Its just so simple and effective how they govern their cities its insane. Sure texas has its downsides, but they make up for it in their zero bullshit policies imo

[@heyborttheeditor1608]

Don’t tell me what to do

[@annapavfan4680]

Yup. It’s the way that greed and power will only dissolve in the form of self destruction.

[@aljo8200]

@@heyborttheeditor1608 noone asked

[@kloakovalimonada]

What a fantastic video, wow. Informative and super well produced.

[@xdeathcon]

This kind of stuff is why I'm glad I live in a much poorer rural area. You can have a good life making much less money because the costs are so much less. Being into software also means that despite not making the crazy amounts of money people in Silicon Valley make, it's still much better than average. Selfishly, I'd like for the majority to stay over in California so that my area doesn't get gentrified.

[@ProPimpProductions]

Great video, spot on. I've been using the dystopia word to describe the bay ever since I moved here. One thing you didn't focus much on that is a big contributor to the problem and what makes it so especially bad in the bay is the uniquely unbuildable geography of the region. There's only a small amount of buildable land, but it's uniqueness scenery and good weather that attracts people and businesses there. However the more that people and businesses come and expand there, the more these people compete for the same amount of land, which is artificially even scarcer from single-family zoning. And because the land there is so desirable then, there's no place out of sight for homeless people to hide. This is amplified too by the fact that single family zoning is what some people are explicitly looking for, or those who have it in their neighborhood are not looking to take it away. And those who never had the money for homeownership are subject to the market to force them elsewhere.

[@tomtaber1102]

Good Point. Most of the Bay Area consists of water and mountains. Unlike flat parts of the U.S. there is no room for the urban/suburban area to expand.

[@MonsieurArlequin]

Sometimes I legitmately think that America needs 2 things more trains and cheap large housing complex and apartments

[@dudeofdargon]

Another city suffering from the same problem but more artificial is Hong Kong. A massive financial center of Asia made the land incredibly desirable. The massive influx of highly skilled labor desiring a good place to live near work always drives up the price near the center of these cities. Another big issue with San Francisco and the Bay Area, in general, is we are near a fault line, and the cost of maintaining and ensuring a building won't collapse with a major earthquake hits is expensive. San Francisco is an old city with old city planning, designed for a much smaller population than it is right now. No one could have foreseen the massive population boom a hundred years ago. We're trying to squeeze more people into a city that can't sustain it, and the solution to fix it could cost trillions of dollars and might not fix the problem in the end.

[@zeitgeistx5239]

This guy doesn’t think Asia exists. It’s not the geography dummy but the density. What do you think happens when you artificially constrain supply? It’s called when you put zoning up to locals, their going to reject increasing the housing supply to protect their investment and increase the value of their house. Capitalism only works in a well regulated market but the housing supply not regulated and largely up to existing home owners to choke off further supply.

[@eng3d]

"There's only a small amount of buildable land," That is not true. It still has a low density in comparison with many other places, including Japan.

[@francescaintheusa]

Not a tech worker but I grew up in the Bay. My parents’ townhouse has more than doubled in value despite structural issues. When I moved to Chicago for school and a friend who stayed visit, she told me that the rent I pay for a one bedroom in a historical building in one of the nicest neighborhoods is what people pay to rent out a linen closet in the Bay. I love visiting my parents and I love being from California, but the inability to get communities to accept housing is keeping people who work non-tech jobs from considering a move. Seeing how Woodside tried to make the entire town a mountain lion sanctuary instead of having to build multi-unit housing did not shock me but it told me how some people there care more about wild animals that kill their dogs than people who can afford a “lowly” $1 million condo or half of a duplex. I would also argue, frankly, that SF would benefit from a mass building of housing because there would be fewer unhorsed people. People would pay more for that! I appreciate your empathy with the activists who wanted to preserve public space and the character, as sometimes the situation is only vilified. But we are past that. Love your content overall and this is a remarkably cohesive video for under half a hour. Thanks for profiling the humanity and a lot of the nuance of this situation

[@seaportsthename]

i definitely feel worse for the mountain lions than humanity. we are at fault for our own issues, not innocent wildlife that is already being decimated by our actions. people like you are exactly why some species have gone extinct.

[@francescaintheusa]

@@seaportsthename I’m not saying there shouldn’t be protected areas. What I’m saying is what that town was doing by saying the entire already populated town is a mountain lion sanctuary is dishonest and a clear indication that one of the richest zip codes in America doesn’t want the risk of slightly reducing its median home value

[@honkhonk8009]

That is facts. People care more about their vague political bullshit than they have over their own fellow countrymen. This is partially one of the reasons why Texas is honestly so goated. They just dont tolerate the same "liberal bullshit" that Californians are on. Its so refreshing man. Its so simple too. Theres a problem, and it gets fixed if theres enough public support. Texas's whole zero bullshit policy is something to live by. Its so minimalist and really focuses on keeping shit practical. Ion know what to think abt cali at this point but god damn

[@sampletext02]

@@seaportsthename Animal sanctuaries are fine to have, but if you have to choose between the well being of wild animals and people, you obviously choose people every time. This is not forsaking animals so some rich people can have acres all to themselves, it's forsaking animals so humans aren't left on the fucking street.

[@heyborttheeditor1608]

It’s a fallacy. NYC has no height limits. It’s gross over there. Still expensive.

[@jayfrei]

I’ve been here 20 years now. Moved out from NM to be a youth pastor - which basically pays nothing. God has sustained us and then some. I’ve had to work outside the church the whole time but God has blessed it immensely. I’ve taught the Bible about 48 Sundays/year all these 20 years. My wife & I have been blessed with 3 amazing boys and she’s been able to stay home and raise them. Everything in this video is true but I’ve felt like Peter, walking on water while so many around me hustle 24/7, barely make it, and even those doing “well” financially feel so weighed down because other areas of their life are lacking (due to extreme work demands). It’s been wild, and I almost feel bad because I’ve been so blessed, coming out here for ministry, and making ends meet in construction, and then getting into tech and excelling. I’ve often thought, “I wish everyone could trust in God as a good Father…”

[@emilyhamilton1789]

Such a great video, really helped me understand the housing crisis in my own hometown better, Oklahoma City. This past year, the city had the highest increase in rent prices in the entire nation! This is a crisis across the entire country!

[@rngQ]

Wow. Even after a few of my friends moved to Cali, I didn't realize how bad so many people really have it there. It seems like the same thing is also happening in Seattle, whenever I visit the city it looks worse, the homeless situation doesn't improve there, it just moves around, the city and the citizens are so incredibly intolerant to these individuals simply because they can't afford housing. Mental health is spiraling to a massive degree nowadays.

[@genericscout5408]

The thing is the desperate often take desperate measures. That's how you get robberies and thefts skyrocketing just because someone needs to eat. The last people in the area that fed them were literally the Mafia, but that got shutdown.

[@connordrake5713]

Most of them are Democratic lead cities. We can't detach politics from this issue. All this mess that y'all complaining came from dems policies.

[@yusefkhan1752]

90% of mental health issues can be solved with a livable wage

[@CBRN-115]

@@yusefkhan1752 or a firearm lol

[@Kapik1081]

@@CBRN-115 Calm down Adolf

[@seanbullough6296]

IMHO the ridiculous and unnecessary hiring practices of many companies is a fairly decent part of the problem as well.

[@stay_puft]

There is an interesting book called The Nine Nations of North America, and this region is referred to as "Ecotopia", which stretches from Vancouver to San Jose, hugging the Pacific coast (like a North American Chile). It's fascinating, and very sad, to see nearly identical issues destroy this region in the last decade.

[@Lambinoyt]

That's a great book!

[@Cruznick06]

I'm in Lincoln, Nebraska and my neighborhood has some mixed housing. Most of the oldest part is single-family with fairly big lots. But then in another development that's newer it's duplexes and townhouses. Then the newest development has small lots, smaller houses, and is mainly 55+ people who don't need big homes. Across the nearest main street is a neighborhood that's got single family homes, duplexes, and apartments. We still definitely don't have enough full-time housing here. A large amount of the apartments downtown are used by students during the academic year for the local university. There's also serious issues with ONLY single-family homes or Luxury Apartments being built. We need affordable housing that's clean and safe. Not massive single-family houses and apartments that cost my mortgage in rent each month.

[@noneofyourbizness]

very well put together production. as a foreigner with zero first hand experience of America i found the broad range of issues covered fascinating and obviously enlightening. the team's frugal background fitted in nicely too. personalised the issues being discussed. hopefully you get to where it appears this level of production is taking you...soon . ;-) cheers an australian from london.

[@masatanida9119]

I pay over 3K a month in rent for a small studio apartment in Silicon Valley. I'm not even near the city. Everyday, when I walk home from work, I notice vans parked all along the streets, and I'm pretty certain there are people living in most of them.

[@Apenschi]

Awesome stuff! Your videos are getting better and better! Thanks!!

[@josephsuarez650]

Great storytelling & explanation, tons of people don't quite grasp how we got to where we are today

[@leeow3n]

hubris, arrogance, and a lack of wisdom.

[@kalisticmodiani2613]

Covid had an idea by allowing people to work from anywhere they wanted. But I don't know how much we've walked away from that idea (several big corps have said no to work from home).

[@BBkeeper]

All the good talent (who want to) are moving to hybrid or remote. Any company not offering the option is shooting themselves in the foot.

[@evanfinn6454]

Extremely thoughtful, beautifully done piece. Thank you for creating this.

[@purpledaddy6077]

Lived in Ingleside for a couple of years, ended up moving as it was just unsustainable even renting a single room cost as much as paying a monthly mortgage on a house (even here in Chicagoland). Even though I was trying to get my computer science degree there, it still felt as if I was socially alienated a lot of the time as I didn't grow up there. I just lucked out with having my landlord as a friend because he was from Chicago too. Hopefully someday something can click and things can change for the better for the people out there.

[@cyrillius123]

Really cool video. Amazing production.. how did you guys create that 3d-esque map effect?

[@bigk8210]

Bay Area born and raised. Public transportation should be like in New York/New Jersey with a Port Authority in charge of all busses, trains, cabs, ferries, bridges and airports. Think about it: people commute from Los Banos. Not only is it so far but it literally translates to "the bathroom. " 🚽

[@I.amthatrealJuan]

Can relate We love to take baths

[@michaelgormley2294]

First time watching your videos, you broke it down extremely well, look forward to following you for more great, well explained content in the future.

[@JamezGrimm]

Best decision I ever made was leaving Cali. I’ve made the same amount of money as a systems engineer everywhere else. But instead of living in a cardboard box, I actually have my own home. The California dream is dead and has been for a very long time.

[@giovannirodriguez5338]

Whoever did your audio editing for this deserves a raise.

[@gvetech]

This is quite insightful. Thanks for shining a spotlight on this.

[@IAmSolomon]

Phenomenal video as always - I always look forward to these type of videos :)

[@ripwednesdayadams]

I’m a millennial and the future has never looked more bleak. I’ll likely never be able to buy a home. I can’t have kids because I can’t afford to raise them nor do I want to bring kids into this world that is getting worse every year due to climate change, wealth inequality, affordable housing crisis in most of the major cities, etc. i haven’t taken a vacation since 2016. Life is exhausting and I feel like I’m drowning all the time. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t stressed or anxious. Hell, I can’t remember what happiness feels like. As bad as everything is for me, I know so many people who have it much worse than me. It honestly feels like the poor and middle class have been thrown to the wolves. Look how the homeless are treated. Wealthy residents and politicians treat them like they’re not even human beings. Instead they are viewed as a problem that needs to be dealt with simply because the wealthy residents think that it’s ruining their quality of life. Not the people living in abject poverty- no one cares about their quality of life. Greatest country in the world… if you’re rich.

[@-Jason-L]

simple solution - 99% of the country is not like this. move.

[@mrmhj9925]

You really believe in climate change when the same leaders that went to this COP meeting were in private jets? Celebrities that preach to you to stop using fuel/gas, are still using private jets. Harry and Megan preach to us and they used their private jet 3-4 times in a week. You really believe in climate change when the same people preaching don’t believe it themselves? Ever think they wanna scare you to conform and change your way of living? Look at you, you’re scared already and your anxiety has gone up. You seem to just want to be “happy” ? Why don’t you stop watching the media? It’s brainwashing. Depressing you everyday. You can literally change your life, don’t let people with higher power tell you differently. They want to brake you to control you. Mass dystopia is a plan. This is all planned.

[@grimproteusverum]

*is a millennial too* Your comment unnerved me on account of how relatable an outlook it is. I flinched when reading the second paragraph.

[@Angelcynn_]

Yea good for you. The rest of us that don't live in a shit hole have our own houses with plenty of extra money and time to raise kids and do what we want. Keep allowing all the bogeyman to destroy your life, it sounds like fun.

[@ripwednesdayadams]

@@-Jason-L Got a source for that 99% comment or are you just being flippant and dismissive to a stranger for fun? I don’t live in SF if that’s what you’re assuming. There’s affordable housing crisis in many major US cities. I live in philadelphia and have watched luxury condos I can’t afford take over entire city blocks. Suburbs are expensive too plus the added cost of needing a car because the public transit system is terrible in both PA and NJ. I guess I’ll just go to the magical job depot and pick up a brand spanking new job somewhere else. Then I’ll walk into the bank and rob it because thats quite literally the only way I could come up with the money to move somewhere else and sustain myself until I get paid at a new job. Not to mention I have serious health issues now. Luckily do have pretty good healthcare that doesn’t cost me a lot in my state. That’s absolutely not the case “99% of places”. I’m in survival mode just trying to pay off my student loans and take care of my health.

[@marvhan888]

1x speed watching your awesome documentary. great great work

[@cheickdiarra6015]

I have to say, for a company who’s main business is not making youtube videos, you make really high quality youtube videos, I love them.

[@the_expidition427]

and that is why they are high quality

[@maxbaugh9372]

A contributing problem is SF's tolerance for open drug dealing. Michael Shellenberger has documented how some areas are functionally open air opium dens, people suffering from addiction are not given any treatment and their situation just deteriorates.

[@honkhonk8009]

Dont tell that to anyone from SF though. The sheer cognitive dissonance from these people is insane.

[@sidehustletips]

Nope. Drugs not illegal and in Portugal and they don't have any big issues. It's unchecked mental illness for homeless population. SanFran is way nicer than DC. Nicer people and more chill. No one is FORCING people to stay in SanFran if it's too stressful for them. This is a gigantic nation. 80% of it is basically empty.

[@newagain9964]

Bro. If only they had opium. That sht is classic. Instead they got all the whack synthetics.

[@CBRN-115]

So this is Gotham city

[@rustyyb8450]

It begs to be asked why SF residents don't fund counseling not only for addiction but also placement in a community where the individual has relevant job & housing opportunities. SF isn't the right place for former addict. Too many addiction opportunities and little need for a high maintenance low value worker.

[@campbelllin3323]

I used to be a San Franciscan 5 years ago living within the proper city limit and working a decent accounting job straight out of college. I was able to afford rent in the Sunset District and maintain my sedan. I was living financially well. But seeing the homeless problems and rising costs caused by institutional systems that I cannot voice to change, I felt very depressed to live in a city seeing all these happening on a daily basis and had to leave for another country to find “better” life.

[@matkowalewski]

As an European, I was fasctinated with America throughout my childhood, but the more I learned as I grew up I driscovered that US is fundamentally broken and my cousin's adventure in the Bay Area proved it. Wouldn't mind visiting, but can't imagine myself living in places like New York or California.

[@ryanconners3048]

"Company Towns: the most American phenomena that goes most against American values" Something along those lines was said by the youtuber knowing better in a fantastic video and i feel like that really applies in the bay area.

[@Bonanzaking]

Not entirely American actually. The dutch east India and British East India companies come to mind.

[@johnd9357]

Nick Johnson?

[@ryanconners3048]

@@Bonanzaking I would argue those were much much bigger than company towns. They were more like corporations in the business of colonialist extraction. Watch knowing betters video, he does a great job explaining the whole phenomenon.

[@ryanconners3048]

@@johnd9357 it's possible that knowing better was quoting someone when he said it and I've just forgotten that and attributed it to him... I don't remember

[@Bonanzaking]

@@ryanconners3048 more like private mini empires.

[@Leopoldcold]

I’m sad that the place I’ve always dreamed at working is actually so horrible

[@ruthpower4892]

You need to research your dreams more................

[@brandonpham7308]

Don't come here to the Bay Area looking to start your career. Make sure your resume is solid and then come here when you're confident you'll have a high paying job lined up. And always have a backup plan to leave the Bay Area in case you lose your job. Be very wary of signing a lease, losing your job, and being on the hook to continue paying very high prices for rent. If you play it right, you can do very well and make much more than you spend. But the margin for error is low.

[@Kombo-Chapfika]

Why do you dream of working in such a horrible place? Honest question

[@Leopoldcold]

@@Kombo-Chapfika because it’s got warm weather, technical development centre, and 2x higher wages than in other places

[@peteryozell7325]

@@LeopoldcoldAustin

[@WokerThanThou]

There's the Bay area and there's San Francisco. There's Innovation and there's Fin Tech. The South Bay (Silicon Valley, 50 miles away), East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley and Livermore Nat. Labs) and the North Bay (Wineries, Marin County) are all in their own worlds thinking themselves separate from SF. Otoh, SF thinks that's not the case - pushing that it's all about them.

[@UnidentifiedAngelfly]

It's absolutely shocking that a salary of $250k will buy you the bare minimum in the Bay Area... I just can't even wrap my head around that. I feel so sorry for the non-tech workers there

[@velocirapture89]

It's just the reality there. Most of the country is rightly shocked by that. $250k is a great salary in 95% of the USA.

[@SYDAirlineEnthusiast]

Yes, this is the sad truth. 63K rent or mortgage a year requires a minimum income of 250K for landlords to rent you an apartment.

[@TupacsStepSisterlocoman]

great video, you did a great job hitting all of the points that culminates in this issue.

[@Mhe620GO1]

Your channel gives such high value content, hope it keeps on growing and growing

[@GreatValueBleach]

looks high value until you look at the details

[@George-jx8zh]

Amazing video! Very well made

[@gloofisearch]

Greed and no laws against it is a big part of this. I lived in Sunnyvale from 2008-2011 and I liked it. Was lucky enough to get a decent place to rent just because we were in a recession. However, once the situation improved, the landlord wanted more and more money. He always said "I have 20 people lined up that pay me more. So either I pay more or I am out!". There is/was no decency and that is the way capitalism works. Get as much money as possible out of something, no matter the consequences.

[@jarlaxle3588]

This just keeps getting more insane. That shitty house for $1.3 million they showed at like 13:15 is nuts. I live in a big city and that would sell for maybe $25k here at the very very most.

[@briansimons2703]

What city are you getting a house for 25000

[@intermediate212]

There's no way you would see that house for 25,000 no matter which city you're in.

[@jarlaxle3588]

@@briansimons2703 St. Louis

[@jarlaxle3588]

@@intermediate212 Yea, I've seen plenty. I used to rehab houses. We would get a house for $5k-$15k and put some work into it then sell it for $25k-$80k. That house they showed was a tiny one bedroom that looked like it still needed some work (like DIY work but not a rehab level of work) so it would be like $25k tops...based on what a ready to live tiny one bed would go for

[@tiamystic]

Right like that would sell for $15,000 down in the Deep South

[@Mhe620GO1]

In France, contractors, nurses or other people who work in peoples' homes don't want to work in big cities anymore because driving and parking is too expensive and challenging as cities are trying to erase cars from their sight. It's not profitable, it costs too much time and money to work there do they desert these cities and now there's a shortage of nurses to take care of people, contractors to maintain buildings or even housekeepers, babysitters etc

[@Ap_twsh]

Don't complain when the immigrants that want it more than you surpass you financially.

[@riccardoossanna8170]

I live in Paris and I’m not aware of this phenomena

[@Mhe620GO1]

@@riccardoossanna8170 I'm a contractor and chose not to work in Lyon anymore, many colleagues (not just in construction but they're independent) I know do the same in Paris. It exists.

[@kap1526]

Shortage? Meaning you get the help you need not right awqy but 30 mins later? Your full of lies .

[@Mhe620GO1]

@@kap1526 meaning nobody comes and show some respect, thanks.

[@NottheMaddenGOAT]

As someone how grew up in the bay area near San Francisco, I cannot even imagine being able to go back and live there again

[@thacrypt223]

Almost half way to a million subscribers baby!! Let's goooo!

[@MustafaYT8]

This is such a high quality and informative video. Thank you for making it

[@ylysergic1749]

Having grown up here me and all of the people I've grown up with have accepted that we will not be able to live here unless we come from wealth or inherit our parents properties. Even the ones who studied to work in tech and do cannot afford to live here without sharing an apartment will 3+ people. It is kind of disheartening because it is truly an amazing place to live but it has been getting worse over the years with homelessness and crime that it looks like it will unfortunately turn into another LA. The only good thing I can say is that this area has everything you need if you don't have to worry about housing

[@viridianacortes9642]

Dude. The entirety of my Dad’s side of the family live in CA. And they are all moving to AZ. That’s like at least 100 people. And they are well off. LA and CA are going downhill.

[@sashamoore9691]

Y’all have more homeless than LA with more than twice as less the population 😂

[@epeeypen]

keep voting blue and keep asking for more government regulation and im sure that will fix everything

[@violetverdict3760]

LA is better. People can still afford to live alone and it’s not just a wasted landscape of the same 3 upper middle class suburban restaurants and condos layouts since Bay Areans are boring, safe, obsessed with working. They have the most Applebees loving culture up there and anti-social. Did not enjoy it. At all.

[@Calizen]

LA proportionally is doing so much better than San Francisco the rate of homelessness per person is worse than LA

[@icryduringsex]

this video hits hard when u watch in on the way to work, on public transportation, then looking down and seeing your beat up shoes

[@DerDudelino]

There is a fix for a lot of these problems: In Germany we have something called Miet-Preis-Spiegel, it's basically the average allowed price for renting which gets determined by a government agency every two years and takes into account cost for water, electricty, gas, taxes and so on. You are not allowed to take more than +10 percent on this average housing price. It's a fair system, that ensures the profits for a real estate owner stay the same, but rents don't skyrocket. They go up slightly, but not to an extreme percentage - in Munich, one of the most expensive cities it's about 10 percent every 2 years. I've paid 1.3K for 85 square meters for two years, now it's 1430 for the next two years. Still quite some more but doable. Due to a lot of social shelters and government programs, we also don't have a lot of homeless people in Munich. There are social worker busses going around town, preparing medical aid for homeless, given them food, taking them to shelters if they want to or hospitals if they are showing severe conditions due to cold weather in winter. This is what tax Dollars should be used for.

[@Gilotopia]

Seems to me like the tax system is a problem too. If the house value rises rapidly then the owners are forced to leave their houses. As a consequence the individual landlords are forced to raise rents or sell their properties to companies. It's insane that the real estate tax system is forcing instability.

[@DanielleWhite]

Unfortunately, the attempts to address that tend to kick the problem to the next sale of the property. The effect is to look like it's controlled cost very well for a decade or two then start financially locking people out

[@anpeck464]

I live in the bay area, and we have a system in place so property tax can only go up about 1%. My neighbor pays about 10% of what we do, we pay about 40% market. The system actually incentives not selling, as moving would increase property taxes.

[@glennbeadshaw727]

It's not unreal if you realize the agenda of the New World Order is to divest people of personal property ownership

[@beng4647]

Rich people want everything for free.

[@computron5824]

The tax system in California literally works the opposite of what you mentioned. CA has some of the lowest property taxes in the US which as another commenter mentioned incentives not selling. Look around on Zillow and notice 1.5 million dollar houses that are tax assessed at like 200k, which means their property taxes are next to nothing. This had a huge impact on the housing crisis here, because the people who bought a long time ago can just sit on property, pay minimal taxes and watch the value sky rocket.

[@michaelbakowski5143]

I just found your channel and wanted to comment on the production value of this video! The edit, graphics, story telling, it’s just a cut above the rest. Amazing job!

[@anuragpandey2635]

When you see nearly all the start-ups in silicon valley is also in Bangalore, with 1/3rd the expenditure, you get the answer

[@nikmills]

Very nice documentary. I'll subscribe.

[@dqalombardi]

music WAYYY too loud. literally cant hear the narration. bummed because it seemed like an interesting video

[@MarketHustle]

Amazing to see the channel continue to invest in KZbin and storytelling!

[@Ap_twsh]

This must be creative fiction.

[@crystaldrano]

California had everything required to grow. It attracted young people with good univeristies, extremely good weather and a vibrant cultural scene thanks to two centuries of low regulations. Then the tax and regulations hell began in the 70s and prices started rising slowly but steadily, making it every year a bit more complicated to live there. California needs to go down the same path as Australia and NZ did in the 80/90s.

[@bundesdavid]

Definetly a very interesting documentation! I thought long time about going to SV myself to work in tech there... But sadly I had a hard time following the contents, as the cuts are so damn fast with not many breaks for the brain to let something sink in it gave me a headache >.

[@user-rc7ld1db8v]

Very nice and informative documentary. For urban and city planning look no further than Asian countries like Singapore or Taiwan that have overcome way worse conditions than our own. Their city planners brought people from poverty up to prosperity. Maybe we can learn something from their city planners. I would love for people to start talking about success stories from Asia and seeing if we could do the same in CA.

[@nithinsrivatsa4726]

@gongGong Agreed 100% Birth rate is becoming a common problem, but Singapore has it better than China or Russia for example. All three countries I mentioned have issues because of low birth rates, but Singapore is a dream city for many Asians and even some Europeans so they can make up for a lower birth rate with more immigrants.

[@Ap_twsh]

LOL, we give everything for free to people from out of state here in CA. Not sure why people are so surprised also that people like spending on crap they don't need.

[@qjtvaddict]

@@Ap_twsh china doesn’t let lunatics roam freely reopen the insane asylum and put em back there

[@maYTeus]

if only every city could be Singapore. The fun thing is many people had their welfare sacrificed to gain the wealth that they have now. asking the same from San Francisco 🙃

[@zeitgeistx5239]

White people don’t care they don’t want to live with significant number of minorities. You would know if you studied this topic. White flight is a well documented occurrence. Katy, TX is a perfect example of white flight.

[@bernardasjuzumas]

Love the videos you produce. It may be limited to my audio setup, but I found it difficult to hear your voice through background tune in the Slidebean ad segment.

[@TimothyCHenderson]

De-institutionalization wasn't so much that institutions wouldn't accept new patients, they were just shut down. Hence all the old abandoned asylums throughout the US. Also, many states still bus the homeless to other states, very common strategy.

[@walmartnibba4726]

what baffles me is a lot of them are moving to Austin, TX(a kind of silicon valley competitor) and theses people fleeing from unaffordable housing due to terrible zoning laws and gentrification are quite literally voting for stricter zoning laws and gentrification in Austin, like literally "welp ill be dead before its my problem." This video does a great job at not trying to put the blame on a single group of people, rather everyone involved.