- Tech workers come to Silicon Valley in droves with dreams of working for one of the world's biggest tech companies, like Google or Apple — or with hopes of founding their own.
- Such a position entails a comfortable salary, but having a tech salary in the nation's most competitive real estate market doesn't always promise a life of luxury.
- Here's what working in Silicon Valley's tech sphere really looks like.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The dream of working for one of Silicon Valley's many tech behemoths, along with the luxuries such a six-figure salary would afford, has resulted in droves of engineering degree-toting techies coming to the Bay Area.
Though, in reality, earning a tech salary is not all it's cracked up to be.
In one of the nation's most competitive real estate markets, it can be next to impossible to find affordable living accommodations. The housing crisis has left thousands struggling and has done nothing to help the city's homelessness epidemic.
It costs $3,550 on average for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. That means when the average starting tech salary of $91,738 is taken into account, some techies are shelling out a good portion of their paycheck solely on rent.
And when it's time for those tech workers to buy a home, forget it: A 2018 study found that 60% of them felt they couldn't afford one.
That's all before factoring in other lofty expenses in the city, like $7 bacon strips.
From fraternity house-style "hacker houses" to sleeping in a Google parking lot, here's what a tech salary in the "Tech Capital of the World" looks like.
Because of a housing shortage in the Bay Area, the high demand for living accommodations has sent real estate values skyrocketing.
And the region's behemoth tech companies aren't slowing down on talent recruitment. Engineers are constantly pouring in.
Many arrive viewing their new lives through rose-colored glasses, holding high expectations of what a tech salary will look.
Fancy cars, colossal homes, and a more-than-comfortable lifestyle fill their minds.
The reality is often much different than what they expected.
The biggest wake-up call? The astronomically priced rent.
They end up spending a good portion of their salary purely on rent, leaving little else to cover the other outrageous expenses in the city.
And so tech workers, both seasoned and newly minted, have had to get creative with how they can outsmart the city's notoriously absurd rental costs.
Like the people behind the Negev, a communal-living organization that houses tech workers in San Francisco.
Source: Business Insider
It's one of many communal spaces in the city designed to help techies circumvent the housing shortage and high rent. The home offers 50 rooms across three floors.
Source: Reuters
Many Negev residents sleep in bunk beds and shell out $1,900 a month to live here.
Source: Reuters
The tenants are software engineers, UI designers, operations analysts, or virtual-reality engineers, and most are under age 30.
Source: Business Insider
There's also a social element to the Negev. Residents are encouraged to bounce ideas off one another and to code and create apps.
Source: Business Insider
Zandar Dejah, left, told Reuters that it's "basically an extension of college. We sort of live in a frat house."
Source: Business Insider
Every Sunday there's a communal dinner for housemates, and on the weekend the house hosts parties.
Source: Reuters
As convenient as it is for its occupants, the home has been criticized for depriving natives of affordable housing.
Source: Reuters
But many young tech workers can't afford conventional housing ...
... especially if they have a family.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
Micah, along with his wife, Jana, and their son, moved to the Bay Area to pursue a tech career.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
To avoid the city's steep rental costs, they had a tiny house built for their family of three in Texas and lugged it out to California.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
The next step was finding a place to park it ...
Source: Exploring Alternatives
So they teamed up with a family who allowed them to post up in their RV pad, for a fee.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
They used an extension cord to stay hooked up to the house for power, and they also kept a generator outside for when they wanted to use the air conditioner or washer and dryer.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
They also kept solar panels in the yard for extra power.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
The pint-sized abode had everything the family needed.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
There was a washer and dryer in the bathroom.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
Guests were educated on proper toilet use with a handy cheat sheet on the windowsill.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
And there was a fold-down table for eating.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
The couple had a lofted sleeping nook.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
Their tiny house was squeezed alongside another family's home.
Source: Exploring Alternatives
The D'Andreas are also parents ...
Source: Tech Insider
Like Micah and Jana, they're accustomed to the small-living lifestyle.
Tech Insider got a tour of their home in 2016.
Source: Tech Insider
Googler Pete D'Andrea ...
Source: Tech Insider
And his wife, Kara, shelled out $1,900 for a Winnebago van and moved to Silicon Valley from Chicago when Pete snagged a job with one of Google's self-driving-car teams.
Source: Tech Insider
They parked their mobile digs in the Google parking lot and lived there for a year and a half to two years (before having their daughter,) putting 80% of their income into savings.
Source: Tech Insider
An upraised Ikea twin mattress served as their bed ...
Source: Tech Insider
And a small compartment opened up to a toilet, sink, and shower.
Source: Tech Insider
The sink pulls out from the wall.
Source: Tech Insider
The couple kept a mini fridge in their small kitchen ...
Source: Tech Insider
And there was a stovetop for cooking.
Source: Tech Insider
To maximize space, they placed a cutting board over the sink for when they're not using it.
Source: Tech Insider
Kara knows it's not an ideal set-up, but she didn't mind in the least.
Source: Tech Insider
“I think a lot of people think this is like the antithesis of comfortable, but I actually really loved it,” Jana told Tech Insider in 2016. “I was really happy.”
Source: Tech Insider
They saved up enough to put a down payment on a house. Seven months after moving into it, they got a dog, four cats, and three chickens. That was also when their daughter was born.
Source: Tech Insider
As for their van, they'll hang on to it and use it for traveling. Pete told Tech Insider that he sees plenty of other vans parked in the parking lot at Google. "We're not the only ones," he said.
Source: Tech Insider
- Read more:
- 15 modest-sized houses in San Francisco with huge price tags
- Silicon Valley's newest startup trend? Shoeless office policies.
- Inside drone startup Skydio's Silicon Valley offices, where it tests the autonomous gadgets using leaf blowers
- These are the 6 tips for starting a successful company in Silicon Valley — and they're surprisingly basic
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