It only gets you a ~1.5m mortgage, extremely high savings rate, access to private schools, all while living in one of the most beautiful and desirable metropolitan areas in the world.
And what does a $1.5m mortgage get you in the peninsula? Maybe 1000-1200sqft? How lavish...
You don't get an extremely high savings rate either in terms of ratios (unless you live a very economical lifestyle (small apartments/rooms, old/no car, etc.)).
Monthly take-home pay for $450k is ~$21k in California
Monthly mortgage payment for $1.5m is ~$6.5k
Remaining money for literally everything else, almost none of which is more expensive in California: $17.5k, or $210k per year. You could eat out every single night and buy a new BMW twice a year, and still save more than 20% of your take-home pay.
Not only that, but we're talking about salaries for ONE SINGLE PERSON. Married in tech? We're talking a $900k annual salary. Calling this lifestyle "very economical" is so insanely out of touch with how most people live their lives, it's no wonder tech people are hated as completely out of touch.
Edit: Changed $24k to $21k, the calculator I used didn't include state taxes even though California was the chosen state.
You're not including taxes - no one cares about mortgage in itself. If you include taxes, it's closer to $8k and then you gotta get insurance (which is going to vary wildly by thousands based on where the home is located). If you're unfortunate with taxes + insurance, your monthly payments could end up being as high as $9-10k/month.
> Not only that, but we're talking about salaries for ONE SINGLE PERSON. Married in tech? We're talking a $900k annual salary. Calling this lifestyle "very economical" is so insanely out of touch with how most people live their lives, it's no wonder tech people are hated as completely out of touch.
Sure - if you can manage to get two 1%'er people together then you'll be living the high life but that's not something you should take as common place. Same with assuming that they'll both be working for their entire life before 65. That's like saying, "Imagine if you were Mark Zuckerberg and then married Mark Zuckerberg!!! You'd be doubly rich!"
Btw - if you're at that income - you have to save at least 25% of your net income for retirement and hopefully you do that at a very early age (like 30-35, if you're starting that savings rate at 45 then you're fucked). Social security won't even pay your property tax when you're retired. So, if you expect to live anywhere near your current lifestyle in retirement... you have to save a lot more (percentage wise) than most Americans.
I'm not saying you'll be poor but go look at what house you can get in a decent peninsula neighborhood for $1.5mil. You won't be impressed. You'll have a nice car and can afford some niceties but what you come home to will be a piece of shit compared to your income. e.g. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/856-15th-Ave-Menlo-Park-C...
Basically poverty, in other words.