It takes a net worth of millions to be comfortable in Silicon Valley

Re:It takes a net worth of millions to be comfortable in Sil... by cimmanom on Thursday April 18, 2019 @04:17PM (#19694407)

All these "you need to make a gazillion bucks to live a middle class life in SV" articles fall prey to the same fallacy.

Comfortable !== Luxury

Yes, SV is one of the most expensive places in the country (maybe the world) to live. But if you're willing to live even a 20th percentile lifestyle instead of a 2nd percentile lifestyle, you don't need 2nd percentile money, even there.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:It takes a net worth of millions to be comfortable in Sil... by sorryforthethro on Thursday April 18, 2019 @04:23PM (#19694458)

I can't picture what percentiles look like, but $120k in SF was a hard life compared to the $90k in Seattle I get now. And I consider myself plenty rich.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:It takes a net worth of millions to be comfortable in Sil... by wskinner on Thursday April 18, 2019 @04:22PM (#19694449)

I think most readers will correctly interpret your comment. But it should be "80th percentile", "98th percentile". 98th percentile means 98% of observations are below that level.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:It takes a net worth of millions to be comfortable in Sil... by cimmanom on Thursday April 18, 2019 @04:23PM (#19694459)

OK, good point. I was kind of thinking of "the 1%". Debating whether to edit and fix, but leaning towards leaving it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:It takes a net worth of millions to be comfortable in Sil... by nopzor on Thursday April 18, 2019 @04:57PM (#19694701)

Sv is expensive, and id believe it’s the most expensive city in the USA.

but definitely not the most expensive place in the world.

I think cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, and others have a higher cost of living.

Yes, normalized in usd.

[ Parent | on HN ]