Silicon Valley Life…Maybe Not for Me
Posted by Cottontimer on 05 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: California, Career, Me
My parents, my sister, and I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in the second half of my fifth grade year. I moved away in 1994 to go to grad school, but my sister and her husband plus my parents and most of my close friends remain in the area. Some live and work in the heart of Silicon Valley and others nearby.
For a long time, I thought I would move back someday, somehow. This past Spring, we almost did when there was a strong promise of a job for me. But after talking to Marv, we decided that this wasn’t the time to return even if Silicon Valley feels like the center of the world (at least for my area of expertise - genomics and the Web).
Today’s NY Times article further confirmed our decision not to move back.
In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich
No one knows for certain how many single-digit millionaires live in Silicon Valley. Certainly their numbers reach into the tens of thousands, say those who work with the area’s engineers and entrepreneurs. Yet nearly all of them still have all-consuming jobs, not only because the work gives them a sense of achievement and satisfaction but also because they think they must work so much to afford their gilded neighborhoods.
Marv and I have a good life even though we live in London, UK, also one of the most expensive cities in the world.* Granted, we’re business expats so needn’t worry about some basic needs like housing, car, etc. Even more important, we’re able to save money for Stephen’s college education and still enjoy our life of books, video games, and toys. I’m sure we could do the same in the Bay Area made all the easier because we’d be with family and friends but my biggest worry is: I’m not sure I could resist joining in the chase.
Umberto Milletti of InsideView:
Here, the top 1 percent chases the top one-tenth of 1 percent, and the top one-tenth of 1 percent chases the top one-one-hundredth of 1 percent.
For now, I’ll enjoy watching the race from the sidelines. It’s a lot more comfortable here in my dining room next to the River Thames. Thank goodness for the Internet! We’re so far, yet still so close.
*Moscow has London beat, though!
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Oh Hsien, I so agree with you. I wouldn’t be able to resist, either. And considering that I doubt I’d be able to find jobs in my line of work that would actually put me in the race, I’d probably go crazy.
Alicia, You might be surprised at the opportunities for writers in Silicon Valley. Every company needs good content especially in Silicon Valley where the company website is the all-important front to the entire organization. Although, a writer’s salary certainly wouldn’t be as high as an software engineer’s, but many live well on low 6 digit incomes.
I don’t think I’d know how to act if I were offered a job paying six digits! That’d be, well, awesome!
I’m kind of glad that I’m not in the workforce around here. I don’t think I’d be able to cope with that chase.
Abigail, Heck yeah. I can imagine it being all consuming. My blood pressure couldn’t take the hit.
Having been in the Silicon Valley for most of my adult life (previously as a teacher and now as part of the tech rat race), I can definitely say that once you get sucked in it’s hard to go back. But for all the things money can by, I would say my teacher friends have (on average) a higher standard of living in terms of all the things that matter - time with family, joy in work, and purpose. But this also come with more worry about financial security.
This is not to say that you can’t have a work/life balance in tech, it’s just a little more difficult since competition is more fierce and there’s always bigger and better. Probably more room for disatisfaction and hence more propensity for change.
My personality is probably more suited for tech than teaching.
My take is that no matter where you are, what you do, or how much money you make, most people never think it’s enough.
Yeah. For me, it’s less about the money but more about feeling like that I’m doing something important, work-related prestige and so on. Gotta keep that old ego happy!
We had the same discussion in our house when we read the article this past weekend. I don’t think I could go back either - we have way too many friends and family in the area who are part of that elite group and make it a blast to visit, but how do you resist the chase when you live there 24/7??? Would love to go back but at with that present climate, we have to say “No, thank you”.
I think what’s worse is feeling like our kids are keeping up with their friends. I could probably manage to do my thing and not get totally insane, but I sure would like Stephen to have all the advantages other people’s kids have. Within a certain amount reason that is still probably over the top for most people.