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Comment by afavour | Hacker News Reader

This just in: some very well compensated workers discover that affordability isn’t the biggest motivator in their lives.

Maybe I’m too much of a cynic but when everyone was hyping up moving to Texas (or Miami before that) the only pitched seemed to be affordability. But more or less everywhere is more affordable, the question is why move to [destination state/city] specifically. And I never saw a hugely compelling reason.

Off topic perhaps but personally I’m much more interested to know the future for things like the arts in the face of inaffordability. Like, if aspiring actors can’t afford to stay in LA long term waiting tables and going on auditions what might that mean for the film industry? Could we see other cities get some of that cultural cache?

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Someone (who generally is more perceptive) said to me: I can buy a house in Austin that is X time bigger than in the Bay Area. Of course; but then why not move to South Dakota.

The higher housing prices in CA reflect much greater demand - people want to live in CA, despite all the reactionary political media campaigns - and it's for good reason. When Austin prices match SF, then things have changed.

I was surprised that so many people just followed a hot trend on such a long-term, high-impact decision.

This exactly. I tell people if they’re moving due to a desire for cheaper housing, there are many options (Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia, etc.) that make much more sense than Texas.

This is just wrong. You’re commenting on demand while ignoring supply.

The Bay doesn’t have any more land (and nimbys tend to prevent new, denser development). This drives prices up.

Texas has an absurd amount of empty land. This helps keep prices down.

Making a comparison between the two and attributing the difference to desirability doesn’t make sense.

(I don’t disagree that the Bay is desirable for many reasons or even that it does have higher demand.)

A fair point, but the land is all developed because of the high demand. Unless we restrict ourselves to the peninsula, there's lots of land - it's just too far away.

Texas is larger than the Bay Area, but Travis County is not. It's not like you can live out in Lubbock or any of the hundreds of square miles between and get the benefits of living in Austin.

> Like, if aspiring actors can’t afford to stay in LA long term waiting tables and going on auditions what might that mean for the film industry?

Aren't you excited for eternal movie stars? Thanks to improved graphics/"AI" you can have Tom Cruse be the star in every movie for the next 500 years.

> some very well compensated workers discover that affordability isn’t the biggest motivator in their lives.

I'm not American and know nothing about SV, but I am quickly learning money doesn't matter that much to be compared to being around friends/family. At this point money would not be the deciding factor in any move I made.

> very well compensated workers > the only pitched seemed to be affordability

I think that is the key point, if you have money to burn, sure it's great in California, but a lot of people really are having a hard time making it work and are moving specifically for the affordability. This includes junior devs from what I'm seeing.

Ditto. Though I had the chance to live in Austin for 2 weeks for work in the early 2000s to know what to expect.

Being employed in tech AND Bay Area (therefore California) leaves one pretty spoiled for pay, perks, diversity, activities, etc.

Even moving out of Bay Area, like to SoCal, the tech quality of life is just not the same.

You're not too much of a cynic. While the COL is high in the Bay Area, people still live here and come here because you get something for that money. The pleasant climate is certainly one factor, but there are certainly others.

> the only pitched seemed to be affordability

I’m sure everyone was also talking about the filthy streets and daily car break-ins, too…

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