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Comment by ryandrake | Hacker News Reader

As someone who grew up in the NYC area, and who is currently feeling the crushing suffocation of SF Bay Area cost of living, I'd love to go back. But aren't the problems similar? In order to afford to own a home I'd likely have to live in Pennsylvania and commute 2+ hours--not much different than in SF. Plus, my understanding is that back east, tech is what companies use rather than what companies make, so at most companies you'll be in a supporting role rather than building the products. Is this true or are my assumptions outdated?

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If you can afford a child's closet in SF, you can afford a small house in NJ that is far closer than the 2+ hours you'd need to spend each way from PA.

> In order to afford to own a home I'd likely have to live in Pennsylvania and commute 2+ hours--not much different than in SF.

Why do you want to own a home so badly? Most people in NYC are perfectly happy to rent. But if you plan on staying in the city long term and have a tech salary you can definitely buy and save money eventually.

> Plus, my understanding is that back east, tech is what companies use rather than what companies make, so at most companies you'll be in a supporting role rather than building the products.

The first part is definitely kind of true, the second part depends. If you're really passionate about tech as an industry then yes you might like SF more, but if you care about products that provide value to everyday people and not Uber for X then maybe you'd like NYC companies more.

Buying a home in NYC is expensive and not really worth it considering the alternative return you would get for the money in an index fund. Renting is actually not that bad though, especially these days in the segment of the market that a software engineer would be looking in. There's been a glut of luxury/luxury-ish new construction that has been driving prices down. And there's many more rentals coming on the market in 2018 [1], so I anticipate rents dropping even more. Like I said though, buying is still expensive for what you get because you're competing with professional investors and other folks who blindly think NYC housing is a good investment no matter what.

[1] https://ny.curbed.com/2017/8/2/16082774/nyc-vacancy-brooklyn...

From what I gather from friends who have moved out of the expensive boros / neighborhoods, you can easily get really affordable housing just over the river in NJ. I grew up in CT and there are also way more affordable options there (Stamford, Norwalk, etc).

The "NJ option" in particular is definitely trending - a friend just bought a house near Union City for around 300k and its a 35-45 min commute into Manhattan.

You don't have to live in PA to find something affordable. From what I know about the bay area, that radius of "I just can't afford this" housing is much larger.

I used to live in Brooklyn (quite far) and a colleague in Stamford. Most days it used to take him less time to get to Manhattan than me! You don't have to live in Manhattan - there are relatively cheaper places if you don't mind an hour or so in the train, including NJ/CT and Queens/Brooklyn etc.

One very good thing about NYC is the subway. It might be crowded, dirty etc but it runs almost all times. I remember during severe winter and during Sandy, very few trains were canceled and that too just a handful of days.

> In order to afford to own a home I'd likely have to live in Pennsylvania and commute 2+ hours

An hour on Metro North gets you into reasonably priced home areas.

If you are looking to relocate, why go to a place that offers the same challenges. Isn't going to Denver or Portland or Seattle a better option ?

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