Bay Area Living
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area has many positives and negatives, as it is true with anywhere, really. I certainly appreciate that the Bay Area house we are living in appreciated in value quite a bit since we bought it. I love the moderate weather, no need for air conditioning (save for a few days a year), and abundance of work options for a software engineer in Silicon Valley. I treasure the multicultural aspects of dining in the area.
On the negative side, the condo we live in has no sound separation from neighbors (a baby cries, movie plays, neighbors having sex, you hear it all). Prices are exorbitant. Highways are crowded. City councils approve more office buildings over housing because they bring revenue without the need to build additional housing infrastructure, like schools, fire stations, hospitals etc. That, in turn, creates congestion on the roads, and long commute times. And that “Big One” possibility still lingers at the verge of consciousness. As most people in California, we do not carry earthquake insurance. It would be pointless anyway in a condo.
Tax Considerations
California has one of the highest state and local tax rates in the country. Taxes should always be a consideration in retirement (hence that’s why Florida and Nevada are overflowing with retirees, as there are no state taxes there). For the longest time I wondered if I made a good decision by purchasing a land in California. Additionally, the Scale Master I mentioned in one of the previous posts has recently moved to … Nevada, to escape the taxation aspect.
Building Permits
Another monetary aspect, where the local authorities fleece you, is building permits. It turns out the county building permit costs close to 50 grand. 20k for the road improvements, 8k for schools, who knows where the rest goes. I am sure that pretty much anywhere else a building permit would be much less.
On top of the fees, I heard the county is not the quickest to move with the permits.
Pandemic Brings Change
At the beginning of 2020, I was actually thinking of selling the property, and maybe purchase land or existing house in Florida. Then, I remembered the bugs, humidity, alligators and hurricanes, and still was hesitating.
My position changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I understood that work proximity keeps people in the Bay Area. Once you have a possibility to work from home (from anywhere), the congestion will ease. Property prices will become stagnant or diminish. Some companies (like Facebook or Twitter) already announced that employees will be able to work from home permanently if so desired.
The Decision
So I made the decision. Let’s build our property up, about 4 years ahead of schedule. We shall see if the decision is good. So far it seems it is.
