Talia Jane Is Not Entitled, She's Ballsy.
You may have heard about "that former Yelp employee who wrote an open letter to her CEO about the need to make a decent/liveable wage."
I've been skimming the comments (something that gives me both amusement and frustration), and some trending keywords are "entitled" and "personal choice."
Instead of focusing time and energy on those opinions, I think one of the biggest takeaways is that living and/or working in the Bay Area can actually put you into debt.
This completely reminds me of my immediate post-undergrad life.
I wanted to get into the apparel industry, so I took a job in San Francisco and moved back to the Bay Area.
It seemed so fabulous and exciting at the time: new job, new city, new living situation, 22 and with my bachelor's degree! Hot damn!
Yeah, the first 12 months were anything but that.
(That's a blog post for another day...)
I was definitely missing my college days, one reason being that I had this amazing job at the career center where part of my role was blogging about student experiences with finding internships & full time jobs.
As a student myself at the time, it was more of a reassurance and public rant that "If you're freaking out about finding a job after college, I am too. But there is hope."
I really enjoyed writing about my experiences, and wanted to do the same with this new phase of life.
What do I have to show for it? Another failed blog taking up space on the interwebz.
Failed because I didn't have any content.
Or more like, I wasn't ballsy like Talia.
I was afraid to publicly talk about how commuting 90 mins one way to work was a pain but a necessity, because I was trying to live within my means by moving back in with my parents.
Or I was afraid to talk about how, I tried moving closer to work by living in a shady part of San Francisco, where I was shelling out $900-$1000/a month just to rent out a room.
In typical SF fashion, I lived with 3 other roommates.
Or, let's talk about how I then moved out of the city and went to the East Bay so I could pay a little less in rent. But it could either cost me $6 to cross the Bay Bridge during rush hour, or $9.10 round trip via BART.
That's $120/month to drive or $182/month to take public transportation.
This doesn't even include the cost of parking.
Both options took about the same time. Maybe 45-50 mins door to door.
So why even consider the Bay Area?
I just feel like there is so much opportunity.
So many companies, so many brands.
At some point you're hungry for the experience, but when is hunger for experience not enough?
Even if Talia, or anyone with that same sentiment wasn't so fresh out of college, I'm afraid her predicament would still be the same. I feel that individuals in their late 20's/early 30's with more work experience (and therefore higher pay) still struggle with being able to afford your own place and/or live close to work.
I've heard of prospective Bay Area transplants that have rejected job offers from well-known retail brands because the salary is nowhere competitive enough to afford their potential new home.
Given that knowledge, what did I do?
Just so happened that a great job opportunity took me from beautiful, sunny, and drought-stricken California to rainy, wet, and decently affordable Oregon.
Of course I miss being so close to the startup capital of the nation, with so much diversity in every corner.
But in Oregon, I found an apartment within my budget that's in the same city as my job.
And to fellow Bay Area residents, you know this can be rarity.
Talia, so sorry that you're in this predicament right now.
But, I'm hoping there is some good that comes out of this (i.e. awesome publicity)?
Also, if you're ever looking to relocate to the Portland area and need a place to crash for a few days, let me know.
I've been skimming the comments (something that gives me both amusement and frustration), and some trending keywords are "entitled" and "personal choice."
Instead of focusing time and energy on those opinions, I think one of the biggest takeaways is that living and/or working in the Bay Area can actually put you into debt.
This completely reminds me of my immediate post-undergrad life.
I wanted to get into the apparel industry, so I took a job in San Francisco and moved back to the Bay Area.
It seemed so fabulous and exciting at the time: new job, new city, new living situation, 22 and with my bachelor's degree! Hot damn!
Yeah, the first 12 months were anything but that.
(That's a blog post for another day...)
I was definitely missing my college days, one reason being that I had this amazing job at the career center where part of my role was blogging about student experiences with finding internships & full time jobs.
As a student myself at the time, it was more of a reassurance and public rant that "If you're freaking out about finding a job after college, I am too. But there is hope."
I really enjoyed writing about my experiences, and wanted to do the same with this new phase of life.
What do I have to show for it? Another failed blog taking up space on the interwebz.
Failed because I didn't have any content.
Or more like, I wasn't ballsy like Talia.
I was afraid to publicly talk about how commuting 90 mins one way to work was a pain but a necessity, because I was trying to live within my means by moving back in with my parents.
Or I was afraid to talk about how, I tried moving closer to work by living in a shady part of San Francisco, where I was shelling out $900-$1000/a month just to rent out a room.
In typical SF fashion, I lived with 3 other roommates.
Or, let's talk about how I then moved out of the city and went to the East Bay so I could pay a little less in rent. But it could either cost me $6 to cross the Bay Bridge during rush hour, or $9.10 round trip via BART.
That's $120/month to drive or $182/month to take public transportation.
This doesn't even include the cost of parking.
Both options took about the same time. Maybe 45-50 mins door to door.
So why even consider the Bay Area?
I just feel like there is so much opportunity.
So many companies, so many brands.
At some point you're hungry for the experience, but when is hunger for experience not enough?
Even if Talia, or anyone with that same sentiment wasn't so fresh out of college, I'm afraid her predicament would still be the same. I feel that individuals in their late 20's/early 30's with more work experience (and therefore higher pay) still struggle with being able to afford your own place and/or live close to work.
I've heard of prospective Bay Area transplants that have rejected job offers from well-known retail brands because the salary is nowhere competitive enough to afford their potential new home.
Given that knowledge, what did I do?
Just so happened that a great job opportunity took me from beautiful, sunny, and drought-stricken California to rainy, wet, and decently affordable Oregon.
Of course I miss being so close to the startup capital of the nation, with so much diversity in every corner.
But in Oregon, I found an apartment within my budget that's in the same city as my job.
And to fellow Bay Area residents, you know this can be rarity.
Talia, so sorry that you're in this predicament right now.
But, I'm hoping there is some good that comes out of this (i.e. awesome publicity)?
Also, if you're ever looking to relocate to the Portland area and need a place to crash for a few days, let me know.
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