Re: The Truth About Silicon Valley -- Initial Responses

Subject: Re: The Truth About Silicon Valley -- Initial Responses
From: Sarah Stegall <stegall -at- TERAYON -dot- COM>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 12:35:40 -0700

Paul Strasser wrote:
>

> I will refute several items in your "report." First, and most ridiculous:
> The "case worker" who told you of "...: families in which both husband and
> wife worked in full-time jobs who ended up on the streets without money for
> food because they did not take seriously the warnings that the cost of
> living in the area is exorbitant beyond all imagination" was pulling your
> leg. people who are both homeless AND without money for food, yet working
> full time? Absurd - provided your case worker friend doesn't work with drug
> addicts.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Paul. My church works with the
homeless and CityTeam Ministries, and I've met
several people--families, even--where both
partners work full time and cannot afford housing.
These folks are working *minimum wage* jobs and
have neither the training nor the education to
move up. Without transportation and the money for
child care they cannot move out of the area and
commute into it, as so many of us do. They are
dependent on subsidized housing (which has waiting
lists that go on forever) or shelters. The social
worker was not lying about their existence. While
their situation is irrelevant to a discussion of
career opportunities for technical writers in the
Bay Area, these folks do exist and they are in
need, and they are not all drug addicts.

> Food is not more expensive than elsewhere. In fact, it is cheaper than many
> places. Check some ads in the bay area papers.

Check out Tuesday's front page of the SF
Chronicle, Paul. "Similar Incomes Buy Different
Lives", an article detailing the price differences
between families in Ohio and in SF. Here's the
food cost comparison chart:

COST OF FEEDING A FAMILY: OHIO VS. SF
San
Francisco Ohio
Groceries The
Matthews-Duncans The Turners
1 dozen extra large eggs
$1.99 $0.69
Half gallon milk
2.24 1.59
Loaf bread
3.19 0.99
Six apples
2.40 1.98
Six oranges
3.00 3.00
Head of lettuce
0.99 0.99
Bunch of broccoli
1.07 0.88
3 lbs top sirloin
19.34 13.47
Total
$34.22 $23.59

> Is housing expensive? Yep. But is it too high for you? Check the web for
> real estate search sites in the south bay area. Check the San Jose Mercury
> News.

The SJ Mercury News ran an article in March about
how the *median* cost of housing in the Bay Area
has topped $375,000, and one real estate agent
said her only clients were people "trading up" or
people who had recently cashed in stock options.


>Go south of San Jose a few miles to the Almaden area and it's [housing prices] far less shocking.

Sure. And you're going to be commuting from
*Morgan Hill* or *Gilroy*. That's a two hour
commute to the heart of Silicon Valley *every
morning*.

> I just got the uncomfortable feeling that I'm responding to a troll.

Even if you were, it's a valid topic, given the
job market here for Tech Writers and the intense
interest in this area on this list. I am not
trying to keep people from moving here, but your
advice is sound: get the facts before they move
here.

--
Sarah Stegall || Senior Technical
Writer
Terayon Communication Systems ||
stegall -at- terayon -dot- com
2952 Bunker Hill Lane || voice
408-919-5893
Santa Clara, CA 95054 || fax 408-727-6204

From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=




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