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Comment by mentat | Hacker News Reader

It's plenty for people who already have a pile of cash. That seems a bit problematic right?

Depends on your lifestyle but for the bulk of Americans $120k is extremely cushy, at nearly 4x the median salary of $35k

> Depends on your lifestyle but for the bulk of Americans $120k is extremely cushy, at nearly 4x the median salary of $35k

True, though it is closer to 3×

lol, ok I'm not quite sure how discussing fractions of an integer would change the conversation in this case since we're already trying to compare one person's $120k to a statistical median of ~$35k.

If you're actually interested in the numbers on different groups they're here [0]. For ex $120k is ~5.77x the median for a woman without a college degree.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_...

> I'm not quite sure how discussing fractions of an integer would change the conversation in this case

It doesn't, really, hence the “True” part of “True, though...”

It apso puts you in the ~75th percentile for household income in the US, if your spouse also works you're doing far better than the vast majority of Americans.

In Seattle though - it is not a cushy amount. If you’re wanting to buy a home without a huge commute - you need to make more than that.

Similarly if you’re looking to buy in the southern tip of Manhattan, Star Island Miami, or Brentwood.

You’re getting unfairly teased for this; I do think its a bit weird. But it’s mostly a problem for FAANG. My advice to everyone who can get a job at FAANG is to put in 5 or 6 years there, raking in a few million dollars (!!). Pay off student debts and secure your future, and then work for ~100k on something you care about or good for the world.

FAANG has to pay so much that they can actually have trouble retaining people. This pattern I have described seems to be becoming more common.

Uh, no, it's plenty for everyone. Leave it to HN to pretend that $120k is a starvation wage.

According to Foster City (Bay area, California) affordable housing, a 4 person family is considered low income at 146,350

See the table under "What are the income limits for the program?"

https://www.fostercity.org/commdev/page/frequently-asked-que...

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