Comment by jerfelix | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jerfelix | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if this idea could be mimicked on land, for Midwesterners who want to move close to Silicon Valley, but can't tackle the housing prices. I know of several - no, many - entrepreneurs who would love to move to SV, but the money's too good back home and the risk is too high simply because of the difference in cost of living.

Maybe you Californians can give me your opinion. Would it be possible to set up an incubator's Headquarters outside of Silicon Valley, in some cheaper area, and still get the benefits of the SV culture, by commuting periodically (much like the boaters would do)?

I see on Zillow [1] that the average home cost in San Jose metro is $552K, while it's only $130K in Modesto (90 miles away).

Or is there another cheap area a little closer? Pleasanton? Fremont? (any other suggestions?) Maybe the incubator could get a bunk room apartment in SV for overnights or when there's an early meeting or a late-evening event.

Would that make any sense? Or do they just need to bite the bullet and move to Santa Clara or Sunnyvale, and pay outrageous prices for housing?

And if it wouldn't make sense, what does that say about this floating incubator idea?

[1] http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-home-value/r_9/

Not only is Modesto 90 miles away which would be pretty damn awful as a daily commute, but it's also not the nicest spot to live in. If you're getting paid a Silicon Valley salary, you can easily afford Bay Area housing. You could find spots like Modesto, Fremont or Oakland that are much cheaper… but there's a reason they're cheaper. For the most part, they're pretty crappy places to live.

I say this having lived in Oakland for a year, and trust me when I say that it's a huge shithole. Insane crime, crappy acomodations, and a very depressing atmosphere. I got mugged at gunpoint there once, too.

fremont actually seems like a great place to live to me. it was pretty high on my list of fallbacks if i did not find a decent place in san francisco.

Just once? You got lucky.

You have to make a lot to 'EASILY' afford Bay Area housing... I currently live in Arizona and to live in an equivalent house like I live in here (nothing too special, just a 3 bed 1 story newer home) would be at least 2.5 to 3 times the cost (if living right in the hotspot areas of Silicon Valley. I'm honestly not even sure as it may be more, I pretty much gave up looking and resigned myself to living a bit further out because my salary wouldn't triple if I move there, as I'm sure it won't for most people.

I have lived in Oakland for 8 years, dont drive a car, take public transit, walk, shop, and work here. Never been mugged. Perhaps the problem was with you and not the city. Anyways, with that attitude Im glad to hear you left. Dont come back.

I don't live in Oakland, but glad there was someone with a dissenting opinion to counter this nasty diatribe.

I see this sentiment a lot, and I appreciate that your visceral reaction is because of the tone of the post you're replying to, so please don't take this too personally.

But, and I say this as a happy resident of the East Bay, you're simply sticking your head in the sand if you ignore the fact that Oakland and some of it's neighbors are very good places to become a victim: ranked fourth in the US, actually. 2010 FBI crime rate data; sort by "violent crime":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_r...

I love living over here, but this is a terrible statistic, and Oakland has more than earned it's reputation. Expending all your effort telling people they're wrong to be afraid feels like such a waste; there are so many more productive things that could be done with that energy that might actually address the problem.

True that. I didn't mean to insinuate that Oakland is the safest place to live. I simply found the comment calling it a "huge shithole" mildly offensive. It may be more dangerous than other cities but I do believe, going on years of personal experience as well as observing the experiences of others, that the danger can be mitigated by one's own attitude and actions. I expend much energy in my community and leaving even that aside I believe I make Oakland a better place to live for everyone by smiling and saying hello to my neighbors every day. Perhaps not, just my take.

Yes, I think you're on to something. However, if you're an entrepreneur who doesn't mind just renting a room in a house or apartment, then the cost isn't so bad. You can rent a room for around $650/mo easily. Of course, you miss out on all the perks of having your own place, but how much time are you going to be spending there anyways if you're really so driven that you're willing to move across country?

My recommendation for an entrepreneur in the Midwest who wants to move, but is afraid of the costs of living: Consider radically downsizing and renting a single room.

Now for a lot of people this isn't an option (e.g. married with kids, mortgage, etc, etc). And that's exactly why VC's talk about a "drag coefficient."

Being from the Bay Area and planning to move back at some point, I can say that you don't have to go all the way to Modesto to get a lower cost, if you're going to build a community you could do it somewhere down south of San Jose, such as around Gilroy, maybe not as cheap as Modesto but closer and better natural surroundings IMO. You have to go over a hilly 'pass' to get to Modesto thats so windy they use the ara for windmill farms so its not the most pleasant drive. Also, I think the communities in the mountains (such as on the way to Santa Cruz) are cheaper than the valley and it'd be a lot cooler to live there than in Modesto

Thanks. I just picked Modesto because it appeared close on Google Maps and was on the Zillow list. I prefer not to live in a dump in a slum (as others seemed to suggest). I wasn't looking for cheap rent in a small dumpy place that was close. I was trying to emulate the boat proposal (far enough away that there's an advantage, but close enough that you can commute on occasion for meetings with Google, HP, Yahoo, Apple or whoever.)

In the Midwest, you can get a nice 3500 sq ft home for 250K. Owners of such homes are the type of people I would be trying to get. So a 300 sq foot room for $650/mo isn't going to cut it (as someone else suggested).

Looks like Gilroy might be a good answer. Over 100 properties on Realtor.com between $250 and 400K. 42 miles from Silicon Valley.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Gilroy_CA/b...

> Looks like Gilroy might be a good answer.

Everything tastes of garlic in Gilroy.

yeah it does reek of it when you drive through

There are cheap pockets in Bay Area, like Oakland for example. There is a reason why nobody who can afford to not live there doesn't live there. Such pockets would definitely benefit from influx of educated enterpreneurial people.

Living in SF and paying the super high rent, I think it would make sense. If there was a nice bus with Wifi that allows for a good commute, that might be a good option. I would miss the SF lifestyle however, esp. in Modesto. A lot of the advantage of being here is that you meet a lot of people. However, you might meet a lot of people on the bus... I personally would want the incubator not to be located in Modesto however. Maybe there is some nice little town north along the 101?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com