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Anybody live & work in Silicon Valley?

regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
I'm considering a move out west and I'm curious about the black experience working in tech.

What's the housing situation like? I understand that it's expensive but I have other questions.
Do you have to pay extra for parking at your apartment (if you have one)?
How bad are property taxes?
How bad are the income taxes?
How bad is racism with the cops?
How bad is racism with your employer, and is it more of an industry thing or an individual company thing?
Is your office filled with coons?
Are you paid similarly to your white counterparts?
How bad is racism with random folks that you run into on the street?
What the social scene like for black folks outside the office in general? Is it hard for single bruhs to meet women without driving across/out of town?

Any thing else you'd like to add would be great.
 
regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
Amajorfucup said:
If your compensation package doesnt start at 300k+, stay your ass right where you at.
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What makes you say that? Why wouldn't $140-200k plus bonus be enough? I see that rents for nice apts are around $2.5-3k a month. What are the other major costs?
 
regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
kogalee muhammad said:
Which is the better city to move to for jobs:

Memphis
Nashville
Atlanta
D.C. DMV
Dallas
Houston
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I'm in DC now and hate it. I was trying to get back to Houston and these oil and banking companies are trying to pay $50-70k for highly experienced developers. In SV a bum could probably crack $150k. I lived in Atlanta and don't want to go back. It was like living in an episode of The Boondocks. A lot of those people have moved to Houston since I left. Dallas is doable but I don't know about Memphis or Nashville. The thing that SV has going for it is all of the networking and infrastructure to support entrepreneurs. I don't want to work for other people for much longer.
 
Amajorfucup

Amajorfucup

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Platinum Member
regulus said:
What makes you say that? Why wouldn't $140-200k plus bonus be enough? I see that rents for nice apts are around $2.5-3k a month. What are the other major costs?
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To uproot your life and move on a fulltime basis to an area with such a high cost of living should require a significant pay raise. I cant imagine you're making much less than 140k range in that sector in DC. Personally i dont think its a sound business/career move without the pay bump.
regulus said:
I'm in DC now and hate it. I was trying to get back to Houston and these oil and banking companies are trying to pay $50-70k for highly experienced developers. In SV a bum could probably crack $150k. I lived in Atlanta and don't want to go back. It was like living in an episode of The Boondocks. A lot of those people have moved to Houston since I left. Dallas is doable but I don't know about Memphis or Nashville. The thing that SV has going for it is all of the networking and infrastructure to support entrepreneurs. I don't want to work for other people for much longer.
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Why would a young well paid black professional hate living in DC?
 
regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
Amajorfucup said:
To uproot your life and move on a fulltime basis to an area with such a high cost of living should require a significant pay raise. I cant imagine you're making much less than 140k range in that sector in DC. Personally i dont think its a sound business/career move without the pay bump.

Why would a young well paid black professional hate living in DC?
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Because I'm not well paid. I did tech work as a direct govt employee for the benefits, stability, training, and interesting work. They lied about the benefits, it's not as stable as they made it out to be, the training isn't anything I couldn't have learned on my own, and the work is no longer interesting. After my student loans I'm living check to check. On the day I started I was told by another employee that someone with my skills could get 2X-3X as much on the outside. I'm ready to cut my losses.
 
Amajorfucup

Amajorfucup

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Platinum Member
regulus said:
Because I'm not well paid. I did tech work as a direct govt employee for the benefits, stability, training, and interesting work. They lied about the benefits, it's not as stable as they made it out to be, the training isn't anything I couldn't have learned on my own, and the work is no longer interesting. After my student loans I'm living check to check. On the day I started I was told by another employee that someone with my skills could get 2X-3X as much on the outside. I'm ready to cut my losses.
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Understood. If you direct gubment it may indeed be the right move for you then . If you live and work in SV you prob looking at 40k/annum housing and utility. If the numbers work then take a look at the opportunity. Also, i assume you already pursued contract and private sector gigs in the district?
 
regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
Amajorfucup said:
Understood. If you direct gubment it may indeed be the right move for you then . If you live and work in SV you prob looking at 40k/annum housing and utility. If the numbers work then take a look at the opportunity. Also, i assume you already pursued contract and private sector gigs in the district?
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Yeah, there is stuff here but it's all touching the government in some way. I've seen a couple of decent jobs in Baltimore but fuck it, I'm ready to go. Healthwise, moving here was the worst thing I could've done. The weather and food options here suck. It's hard for me to make it to the gym as often as I'd like for large parts of the year because of seasonal affective disorder, snow, and flash floods. I'm trying to eat better but I can't find the stuff I need for healthy recipes locally, so I have to order online or drive to a neighboring town for groceries. I've never been sick so often in my life.
 
C

ceedizzle

Rising Star
Registered
I'm in a similar situation to you. I'm a 40 year old black professional that's currently in DC (moved here from Atlanta) making good money but I'm considering moving to LA. I've been here for almost seven years and I still don't understand why people say black professionals should love it here, the city is expensive and when you go out it seems really white. Gentrification has moved most of my black friends to Maryland, to get more for their money. The young to early 40 black professionals crowd rarely show up to all the events unless it's a music festival. This is the most cliquish city I've ever lived in, people aren't as friendly as people on the west coast. I know LA is known for being fake but every time I'm out there I meet a bunch of cool ass people that don't seem to care what you do for a living or in life and just want to enjoy life and have fun. If you're going to live in a HIGH cost area might as well you get some great weather, beautiful women and a laid back lifestyle. That being said, DC is full of people that are career driven and do really well for themselves so I can't say it's all bad.
 
K

KoolJay

Vidi Veni Vici
BGOL Investor
Amajorfucup said:
To uproot your life and move on a fulltime basis to an area with such a high cost of living should require a significant pay raise. I cant imagine you're making much less than 140k range in that sector in DC. Personally i dont think its a sound business/career move without the pay bump.

Why would a young well paid black professional hate living in DC?
Click to expand...

Right, i aint NEVVAAAA gonna leave the DMV, yall will have to get National Guard to get me out!!!!
actually bout to take my Youngest and my Nephew to the African American Museum in a few minutes.
 
regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
ceedizzle said:
I'm in a similar situation to you. I'm a 40 year old black professional that's currently in DC (moved here from Atlanta) making good money but I'm considering moving to LA. I've been here for almost seven years and I still don't understand why people say black professionals should love it here, the city is expensive and when you go out it seems really white. Gentrification has moved most of my black friends to Maryland, to get more for their money. The young to early 40 black professionals crowd rarely show up to all the events unless it's a music festival. This is the most cliquish city I've ever lived in, people aren't as friendly as people on the west coast. I know LA is known for being fake but every time I'm out there I meet a bunch of cool ass people that don't seem to care what you do for a living or in life and just want to enjoy life and have fun. If you're going to live in a HIGH cost area might as well you get some great weather, beautiful women and a laid back lifestyle. That being said, DC is full of people that are career driven and do really well for themselves so I can't say it's all bad.
Click to expand...

Don't get me started on the cliques out here. I literally don't know anyone that's not a coworker or someone I buy goods/services from. People just stay in their own bubbles out here even if they're miserable. The houses out here are expensive and ugly too. People are dropping McMansion money for buildings that looked like the projects did back in Houston. The inside will be fixed up but it's still tiny and ugly on the outside (and it's still filled with people that act like they're in the projects; see last paragraph). I used to wonder why a two car garage was such a big part of the american dream. I took for granted that two car garages were the norm because they were all over the south. Out here most houses have a one car garage, if any at all.

It's crazy seeing brand new luxury vehicles parked on the street because the owner can't afford a house with better parking. Down south we would say that the owner has bad priorities but up here I can't say that. It's no longer given that a house is a good investment, so you don't want to put all of your money in the house. Property is so expensive that most people can't afford both the car and a place to park it. That causes weird things to happen with the price of used cars. You'll have people that can buy new cars every 3-4 years but can't upgrade their housing situation. That means that they'll have to either park their old car (which they won't drive much) on the street, or sell it. I bought my car for $2.5k less than it was worth because it was cheaper for the previous owner to take a loss on their trade-in than it was to upgrade their parking/housing situation.

As far as the women go... I've seen some odd dynamics out here. Because the govt provides so many jobs out here, and they'll accept for-profit degrees as legit, you have a lot of women with bullshit degrees making excessive money for their actual IQ/level of productivity. Due to govt rules on pay they make as much as the Stanford grads in more elite roles with only a fraction of the student loan debts. They are experts at fronting too. I can't tell you how many I've seen with fancy clothes, titles and the salaries to match who lose that air of sophistication as soon as they open their mouths. On top of that many of them refuse to date other govt employees due to hypergamy. I can't tell you how often I wanna tell these chicks what level they're really on and how they'd be living if they stepped out of the DMV bubble. In Houston these chicks couldn't even be bank tellers. Its no different than the military. They need warm bodies to fill positions, and as attrition takes it's toll they'll recruit as many new ones as necessary to make it to the next day.
 
C

chitownsfinest

Rising Star
Platinum Member
"...lived in Atlanta and don't want to go back. It was like living in an episode of The Boondocks."

As an Atlanta resident, this is true as fuck...LOL,

BUT I have a good crew of folks so I don't deal with the ratchetness.

Memphis is soooo fuckin' ghetto, Houston is nothing but heat, highways, and Hispanics, DC is expensive as fuck, Nashville is a little too small for my taste (but it's growing).
 
regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
YoungSinister said:
You were speaking on their reasoning for joining frats and how they were lames looking for acceptance
Thats all the details I can provide lol. It was a long time ago
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That sounds like something I would've said. I might have a backup of the site somewhere but it was encrypted and I forgot the password, so I'll have to take your word for it.
 
regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
chitownsfinest said:
"...lived in Atlanta and don't want to go back. It was like living in an episode of The Boondocks."

As an Atlanta resident, this is true as fuck...LOL,

BUT I have a good crew of folks so I don't deal with the ratchetness.

Memphis is soooo fuckin' ghetto, Houston is nothing but heat, highways, and Hispanics, DC is expensive as fuck, Nashville is a little too small for my taste (but it's growing).
Click to expand...

People forget that most of the non-animator production staff for Boondocks worked in Atlanta across from GT. That Fundraiser episode was based on BMF. I'm pretty sure that the Superfly remake copied them as well.
 
Dota

Dota

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
regulus said:
Yeah, there is stuff here but it's all touching the government in some way. I've seen a couple of decent jobs in Baltimore but fuck it, I'm ready to go. Healthwise, moving here was the worst thing I could've done. The weather and food options here suck. It's hard for me to make it to the gym as often as I'd like for large parts of the year because of seasonal affective disorder, snow, and flash floods. I'm trying to eat better but I can't find the stuff I need for healthy recipes locally, so I have to order online or drive to a neighboring town for groceries. I've never been sick so often in my life.
Click to expand...

Yea man being direct government, you're definitely getting shorted on pay in comparison to what you make as a contractor. I had to bail after not getting a promotion for 6 years straight along with bullshit career tracks I never cared about. Haven't regret it ever since and getting my paid worth contracting for the government :lol:.

At the same time your health is the most important in comparison to any job you'll have so you definitely have to do what's best for you.

As far as software development positions that don't touch government here in D.C., you might want to try Capital One or one of the many D.C. internet startups.
 
doggish_098

doggish_098

Rising Star
Registered
lightbright said:
you can add Camden, N.J. to that list for you... they got jobs open for petty low level drug dealers with a cover of pretending to be muslim.


.
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While you’re bullshitting Camden is booming right now. Campbell’s headquarters is there the Sixers just opened a complex there Subaru just opened a new building there and there is tons on construction along the river for other complainies relocating there. If you’re into education one of the schools hiring even pays you to commute there as part of their package. Camden is on the rise. Donald Norcross and friends are funding a lot of its rise. Don’t sleep on it
 
lightbright

lightbright

Master Pussy Poster
BGOL Investor
doggish_098 said:
While you’re bullshitting Camden is booming right now. Campbell’s headquarters is there the Sixers just opened a complex there Subaru just opened a new building there and there is tons on construction along the river for other complainies relocating there. If you’re into education one of the schools hiring even pays you to commute there as part of their package. Camden is on the rise. Donald Norcross and friends are funding a lot of its rise. Don’t sleep on it
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Did they hire back all the firefighters/police yet???:dunno:
:idea:


.
 
^SpiderMan^

^SpiderMan^

Mackin Arachnid
BGOL Investor
I live in Oakland(about 45 min away) but familiar with San Jose. I am not in the Tech industry but make middle class money(around 170K). Housing prices are crazy. I live in a different county so I can't comment on the property taxes,but it is Santa Clara County and you should be able to look it up.You can rent comfortably in San Jose if you make 100K. The social scene is wack out there for a brutha. Especially if you like Black women.There aren't many black folks in San Jose and the social scene is mainly white,Mexican,Asian, and Indian. It is way worse than DC as far as social scene and selection of women.San Jose is the wackest large city ive been to in that it is like a big suburb. I haven't noticed much racism in the San Jose area. Most of the crime there is from Mexican gangs and they are far removed from the areas that the Tech folks are in. Close to San Jose is Milpitas which is mainly Filipinos and Guamanians ive found them to be fairly easy to pull dating wise. I'd advise moving to Union City,commuting to San Jose, and making Oakland your destination for your social endeavors. The sistas here are friendly and looking to choose up if your shit is together. Union City isn't that expensive and an in between point of San Jose and Oakland.
 
Dannyblueyes

Dannyblueyes

Aka Illegal Danny
BGOL Investor
regulus said:
I'm considering a move out west and I'm curious about the black experience working in tech.

What's the housing situation like? I understand that it's expensive but I have other questions.
Do you have to pay extra for parking at your apartment (if you have one)?
How bad are property taxes?
How bad are the income taxes?
How bad is racism with the cops?
How bad is racism with your employer, and is it more of an industry thing or an individual company thing?
Is your office filled with coons?
Are you paid similarly to your white counterparts?
How bad is racism with random folks that you run into on the street?
What the social scene like for black folks outside the office in general? Is it hard for single bruhs to meet women without driving across/out of town?

Any thing else you'd like to add would be great.
Click to expand...

Live in SF. Worked at Google as a communication system installed for about a year. Still do a lot of DJ gigs in San Jose. Here's my two cents.

The valley is huge so it's really hard to say what rent is. All I know is you can get a modest apartment in downtown San Jose for about the same price as the same on the outskirts of SF.

As for racism, my company went through a workplace violence seminar after two co-workers got into a fist fight. The director of the seminar told us that if an employee ever complains about racial discrimination they might be getting ready to shoot up the place.

Beyond that I didn't see much external racism, but you always that feeling they didn't want Black people around. Facebook was even worse.

Either way Owen Wilson's movie "the intern" is highly dramatized, but accurate description of Google campus.

If you're trying to start your own business, if you get an invitation to the San Francisco Battery Club take it! That's where all the VC's hang out and make million-dollar handshakes over martinis. If you can't get an invitation rent one of their hotel rooms. That will give you the access to all the social events while you stay there.
 
regulus

regulus

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
Dannyblueyes said:
As for racism, my company went through a workplace violence seminar after two co-workers got into a fist fight. The director of the seminar told us that if an employee ever complains about racial discrimination they might be getting ready to shoot up the place.
Click to expand...

Which company was that? Was this a manager at your company or was it someone they brought in to consult? If so who was the consultant?
 
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