The lady who cleans the offices at my work drives a nicer car than I do (software engineer). Dedicated worker, always friendly.
This is in Palo Alto.
I've been astounded at the cost of certain things in the area. I regularly see people looking for child-care at $35+/hour, whereas it paid $20-25 at the very high end for multiple children and a highly qualified person in my area in southern california. Getting a good plumber or handyman to come by for less than a small fortune is seemingly impossible unless it's a personal referral.
I think that if your home base is taken care of (i.e. you have owned for a while or managed to rent from someone who doesn't raise the rent by 10% every year) it's possible to get by with dual non-degreed employment. Getting ahead on the other hand - saving up for a home and padding other savings AND paying escalating rent at the same time while not living frugally with extreme measures is very tough for people in the highest paying job sectors.
This is in Palo Alto.
I've been astounded at the cost of certain things in the area. I regularly see people looking for child-care at $35+/hour, whereas it paid $20-25 at the very high end for multiple children and a highly qualified person in my area in southern california. Getting a good plumber or handyman to come by for less than a small fortune is seemingly impossible unless it's a personal referral.
I think that if your home base is taken care of (i.e. you have owned for a while or managed to rent from someone who doesn't raise the rent by 10% every year) it's possible to get by with dual non-degreed employment. Getting ahead on the other hand - saving up for a home and padding other savings AND paying escalating rent at the same time while not living frugally with extreme measures is very tough for people in the highest paying job sectors.