There was only one thing that made sense to David Nichols when the rent on his office was set to rise by 50%, and that was to leave. He left and went to Portland Oregon. Due to price hikes, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle are becoming popular places for companies to open a new base. For Nichols the lifestyle he has now would not have been possible if he had stayed in San Francisco.
It is becoming increasingly common for firms to leave San Francisco according to CEO of Hired Inc. Mehul Patel and costs are the main reason. Many choose San Francisco to settle as they need to make a name before moving to pastures new.
A software engineer in Austin earning $110,000 would need to make $195,000 in San Francisco to maintain the same quality of life.
Employment in the technology sector is still growing, but that growth is slowing down according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor.
It was cost around 50% less to buy a home in Portland, Seattle or Los Angeles than it will in San Francisco and this will impact on peoples’ choice of home. For an employee to afford the quality of life in San Francisco that they did elsewhere, they would need to earn $85,000 a year more, and as the best staff are leaving for cheaper locations, the businesses need to follow. The president of a tech staffing firm Megan Slabinski explained that there was a lot of talent in the surrounding area, and it is companies such as Twitter and AirBNB who are taking advantage of this fact. Some firms still favour San Francisco and it is hoped this continues.
Original article was written by; Alison Vekshin, twitter @alisonvekshin
