Right, and the parent was specifically pointing out that it's unsustainable to pay that median (the parent used $500k as a made-up but plausible future value).
I'm pretty happy with the salary that I make as a SF-dwelling/working software developer, but I recognize that it's absolutely insane when compared to same-industry salaries in locations with less ridiculous housing markets.
At some point, companies are going to throw in the towel and decide it just doesn't make financial sense to pay their employees that much just for the privilege of being located in the bay area. Then the jobs move away and you end up with a local recession. This will be hard to do initially for companies sized like Google or Facebook, but a ton of smaller companies can open offices elsewhere and slowly transition staff away. They're already doing it, even.
I'm pretty happy with the salary that I make as a SF-dwelling/working software developer, but I recognize that it's absolutely insane when compared to same-industry salaries in locations with less ridiculous housing markets.
At some point, companies are going to throw in the towel and decide it just doesn't make financial sense to pay their employees that much just for the privilege of being located in the bay area. Then the jobs move away and you end up with a local recession. This will be hard to do initially for companies sized like Google or Facebook, but a ton of smaller companies can open offices elsewhere and slowly transition staff away. They're already doing it, even.