Down & Out In Silicon Valley - Like striking it rich, being 'almost homeless' can happen to anyone

sfgate.com/San Francisco Chronicle ^ | Sunday, October 13, 2002 | Stephanie Salter, Insight Staff Writer

[American Preservative]

Many middle-class people joke about being "one paycheck away from the street." This is the story of a couple who've slammed hard into that reality.

Over the past 18 months, they've gone from his six-figure salary and life in a tony townhouse apartment complex in Silicon Valley to collecting aluminum cans and sleeping in a 28-foot-long recreational vehicle in a parking lot behind the husband's old office building. Once distracted by VCRs and mega- cable, they now watch local television on an old black-and-white set, stand in line at a public food bank for groceries and do their laundry with a garden hose.

[evolved_rage]

Reckless Accusations of Plagiarism

By Brian Carnell

Thursday, September 14, 2000

was the link

[evolved_rage]

Affordable housing for many is a 1-2 hour commute, but it is what you do if you can't increase income or don't want to re-locate.

[Alouette]

Affordable housing for many is a 1-2 hour commute, but it is what you do if you can't increase income or don't want to re-locate.

For people already living in a truck, why not relocate to a less expensive housing area? I live in Michigan; the job market is not so depressed here--I get calls from recruiters at least once a week, and my job is 20 minutes away from where I live. OK, maybe my salary is not as much as these laid-off yuppies have come to expect, but hey, I'M EMPLOYED IN MY FIELD.

[oct11]

You're right of course. It's just hard for people to accept the reality that they may have to move. For many people, it's a major life change.

[The KG9 Kid]

I've gathered enough true stories from friends and acquaintances to write a book about this place. Silicon Valley, San Francisco, the whole 'get rich' .COM scene, rags to riches, riches to rags, rags to riches to rags, etc.

If I ever sit down to write it, I think I'll entitle it: 'Eject, Maverick! Eject!

I might miss this place a little when I finally leave. At least, it hasn't been boring.

[Old Professer]

"Basically, we just become 12 years old," said Clark.

Judging by the long list of "ineptitudes" here, I would say they have stayed 12 years old.

[river rat]

One of my favorite motorcycle "Cruzes" is the Old Santa Cruz highway."

Now you talking.... Or, the back road down to the coast from Alice's Restaurant on 35..to Pescadero.

If you were riding to Santa Cruz - I hope you had breakfast at Aldo's Restaurant next to Santa Cruz Marina...

Well, I'm STILL here... Can't get the wife to leave!

Now that the dot bombs have exploded -- life here is pretty nice... We're retired, no debt - saved and invested well so no heat.. Lots of the jerks had to leave after the bust... No substance, No staying power/depth, No talent, No skills.....For one reason or another -- just left in large numbers. The folks coming INTO Silicon Valley to fill the breach - seem to be coming from the bad weather or ugly parts of the country... The new sacrificial lambs for this increasingly insane real estate market.. Small (2000 sq/ft) tract houses that sold for ~$80K in the middle 70's - are going today for >$500K. Moderate size custom homes in the Southwest corner of SJ can go >$1000K, which is the starting price for desirable homes in Los Gatos... It's wild, considering the state of "technology and manufacturing" in the valley.... This balloon has to pop....

Now, instead of going over the hill on a bike for lunch at Zelda's in Capitola -- the wife and I take the old convertible out of the garage and go over in style and comfort.. BUT I TRULY miss the old motorcycle.

I remain confident that we will be able to leave here sometime in the next 5 years --- but, the bust actually made the place more bearable for those of us that don't need to work... I really envy those that have moved back into the back county with room and privacy.. Maybe one day...

Semper Fi

[Steely Tom]

OK, maybe my salary is not as much as these laid-off yuppies have come to expect, but hey, I'M EMPLOYED IN MY FIELD. Amen brother and good on you.

Steely's first law of adult life: it is better to be overworked than to be overpaid.

(steely)

[LPStar]

I don't think the couple was necessarily complaining about not being left any money. It sounds like they suffered significant financial loss from the woman's mother's illness: "The first few years of her married life with Clark were spent digging out of a financial crater left by her mother's final (and protracted) illness." Surely being left in debt by your parents is different than not getting any inheritance.

I assume the reason they aren't moving is because they feel they have the best chance of employment where they are. They also don't have to worry much about cold.

Of course they should have saved a lot more money when they had it. It's good this couple did not get into the credit card trap, at least. I hate that people are being encouraged to spend in today's economy.

[balrog666]

Once distracted by VCRs and mega- cable, they now watch local television on an old black-and-white set

BWAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA! What utter crap! No reason to read further than the opening paragraph.

[VOA]

They offered a bigger salary, better benefits and, of course, future stock options. Clark jumped...

The wages of greed are...
(I'm a little sympathetic to these folks...but their mention that finally they
were so low on cash they couldn't even move from the Silicon Valley area...
they probably could have retired to other areas of the country, found "treading-water" jobs,
and live decently off some of their 401(K)s.

[evolved_rage]

When you start burning 401k money, it is usually time for something drastic, like a move. Not after the money is gone.

[VOA]

For people already living in a truck, why not relocate to a less expensive housing area?

Being an expatriate Okie in Los Angeles, I think I've got a handle on this type of person.
They are brain-washed into thinking that there is NOTHING in "fly-over" country.
And Texas is a waste-land of psychopathic Republicans/Conservatives.

And even just less objectionable is the East Coast...but those people are so
"uncool" compared to Californians.

Thus many of them REFUSE to even consider leaving California. And many accept two-hour
daily commutes as part of staying here.

I could be here another decade...but I'll never adopt their sort of attitude.

[null and void]

Anyone know of any jobs in process engineering? I specialize in MEMS (Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems), and hold 3 patents with 4 more pending. FReep mail me, while I still have a roof over my head...

[CIB-173RDABN]

Oracle guru Larry Ellison calls it "the worst in the history" of America's information technology industry.

---

Two points:

This is an unpaid polictical ad for the Democratic party deguised as a article.

I will gurantee you that we will see a lot more of this type of article as we get closer to the election and the Democratic talking point it is the economy stupid campaign.

[KneelBeforeZod]

sorry, just the Strouds part was for you...not the rest which was really being a bit sarcastic....

Strouds is a discount store on as I said, fancy stuff. ie $120 pillows for only $89.

Needless to say I don't shop there. I went in once, saw the prices and left. As long as I'm single I'll just get my "bed in a bag" at Target and spend the rest on beer and vegas. I'll pass on the $20 dish towels etc until I get married.

[Prolix]

Huh? Barnacle was SPECIFICALLY fired for fabricating stories.

The Globe needed to fire someone - someone like Mike. Do you know the story? Anyhow, Mike is somewhat conservative. That probably had a lot more to do with his firing than the tall tales in his columns.

[CIB-173RDABN]

Carole and Clark were scraping the bottom of their savings. Delinquent a payment on their $2,300-a-month rent, they asked for another month's grace. Five years of tenancy and on-time checks meant nothing. They had to be out by December's end.

---

They did not have a plan in case things went bad. The $2,300 a month rent should have been the first to go. They could have moved out to the central valley and and rented a house for way less than half that, but then they would have had the commute, but it would preserved some capital.

I never expect to make a $120,000 a year. However, in my budget book I have a list of items that can and will be cut if I should lose my job. These are items that make life, but are not neccesities (such as bottle water, lawn service and cable tv). If you have no money coming in, it is like being cut, the rule is stop the bleeding.

[Prolix]

I said Barnacle wrote drivel.

And I said the Globe doesn't fire people for writing drivel. I have a subscription to the Globe. I read drivel ... er ... the Globe ... every day. He was fired for some other reason. Apparently he was a token-fire. He looks and sounds like a townie (Massachusetts version of white-trash). Townies are eminently fire-able. In addition, he is somewhat conservative.

He certainly takes Ronald Reagan's advice in that he never lets the truth get in the way of a good story!

[CIB-173RDABN]

These are items that make life,enjoyable

opps, left out a word.