> That analysis is pretty fatally flawed (at least for software jobs)
> When I was at google
So it's fatally flawed if you work at Google (or another high-paying tech company) as a SWE in Silicon Valley - which is a minuscule fraction of the working population of software engineers. It may not be the assumptions in the article that are "fucked". You might just be an edge case.
> The housing cost difference was obscene and would easily offset the cost of a new car every other year.
It's not just the cost of a new car. It's also the time and energy lost to the commute, the increased risk of a serious accident, the opportunity cost of all that time spent in traffic.
As a SWE working at a big tech company in Silicon Valley, I've done pretty well financially by avoiding long commutes - and had lots more spare time. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
Yeah, aka the assumption is fucked. This dude cranks out shit on his blog as if it’s based on some objective stuff but realistically it’s a bunch of evidence based on his lifestyle.
> It's not just the cost of a new car. It's also the time and energy lost to the commute, the increased risk of a serious accident, the opportunity cost of all that time spent in traffic.
That’s the flaw again. “Time and energy” is not lost in a commute unless you waste it. If you are a competent SWE, you should be able to spend that time thinking about architecture, design plans, algorithms, data flows, UX, and on and on. Not to mention you can keep up on industry podcasts, industry news, and a bunch of other audio only shit.
BTW, “increased risk of a serious accident” is yet another misunderstanding of a stat. “Deaths per million miles” in the US is a general stat averaged across commuters, drunk drivers, poor driving conditions, old cars, and bad roads.
I’d posit that my chance of death putting along on the 101 at 20-30 mph during rush hour in a car with modern safety features for an entire year was lower than on a single night on a two lane road up in Sonoma on the weekend.
All driving is not equal, and that’s just one of the many mistakes the money mustache blog makes. I’m all for promoting objective analysis of costs, but it needs to be done on a case-by-case basis. Trying to make general financial advice based on averages is as much folly as trying to make a shirt that fits everyone by sizing it to the average.
> If you are a competent SWE, you should be able to spend that time thinking about architecture, design plans, algorithms, data flows, UX, and on and on. Not to mention you can keep up on industry podcasts, industry news, and a bunch of other audio only shit.
I do all of that during my workouts and walks, or while cooking my family a healthy dinner. All of which I have time to do because I'm not spending 2 hours/day "putting along on the 101 at 20-30mph". On top of saving a ton of money and helping the environment, it's better for my health and my stress levels, because I'm not swearing at the 10th person to jump the queue at the exit. Before WFH started I was in far better shape than my colleagues who commuted from 1.5 hours away because they could get more house for less money.
Long commutes are a destroyer of health, wealth, happiness, and the environment. They steal time from our lives, with our children and families and friends - the only non-renewable asset we have.
Way to miss the point. You’ve incorrectly assumed that you can work close to home or at home for similar compensation per hour (even including commute as a complete loss).
The differences for FAANG incomes make this simpler for you to understand. At Google you can clear $500k/year pretty easily (this was common L5 TC when I left) spending about 6 hours in the office. Let’s assume you spend 2 hours each way and it additionally costs $25/hour in driving.
235 working days in 2020 (assuming you do 0 WFH days and take all PTO).
2354$25=$23,500 in cost
($500k-23,500)/235=$2027 per 10 hours of work (6 in office, 4 commuting).
You work from home for 6 hours a day for a non-FAANG and clear... maybe $150k?
$150k/235=$638 per 6 hours of work.
Commuter hourly after commute dilution: $202
At home hourly: $106
If you’re rich enough to get a house for a big family close to your office, good for you. That shit just doesn’t apply for people that make these trade-offs.
> They steal time from our lives, with our children and families and friends - the only non-renewable asset we have.
Truly spoken with the privilege of being rich enough with a non-commuting job to not have money struggles. Everyone I know putting up with these commutes has to give up a huge chunk of income that will make finances a burden or abandon their community for a worse quality of life near the job.
> You’ve incorrectly assumed that you can work close to home or at home for similar compensation per hour
Having worked for a FAANG myself, that assumption is not incorrect at all. I know what I'm talking about.
You may not find a house with a yard or two car garage within an appropriate commute distance of the FAANG campuses in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Redwood City, or Los Gatos. You may have to settle for a townhouse, or a condo, or even gasp, shudder an apartment. But there are ways to make it work.
Everyone has to decide what they value more. Big house for their family, but you give up 2 hours/day that you could spend with that family. Or lots more time with the family, good health, and less stress, but you give up some space and/or comfort. For me it's a no-brainer.
> When I was at google
So it's fatally flawed if you work at Google (or another high-paying tech company) as a SWE in Silicon Valley - which is a minuscule fraction of the working population of software engineers. It may not be the assumptions in the article that are "fucked". You might just be an edge case.
> The housing cost difference was obscene and would easily offset the cost of a new car every other year.
It's not just the cost of a new car. It's also the time and energy lost to the commute, the increased risk of a serious accident, the opportunity cost of all that time spent in traffic.
As a SWE working at a big tech company in Silicon Valley, I've done pretty well financially by avoiding long commutes - and had lots more spare time. There's more than one way to skin a cat.