This former Googler is fed up with crazy house prices in the Bay Area

• Google's former marketing director, Adam Singer, said that after living in the Bay Area for more than 10 years, he was fed up with the astronomical prices of homes and the fact that the city was not growing. improve his living conditions.
• In a recent tweetstorm, Singer announced in San Francisco that after a trip to Austin, Singer and his wife had bought land and would move to the state capital of Texas.
• "None of my friends from San Francisco or the Bay Area have been surprised," Singer told Business Insider about his move. "They are like, it's totally reasonable to leave." Nobody is fighting to keep me here. "
• A recent report Compass found that in order to afford a mid-priced home in the San Francisco Bay Area, a person had to earn more than $ 340,000 a year.

• Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

Adam Singer is tired of San Francisco.

The former marketing director of Google said that after living in the Bay Area for more than ten years, he was fed up with the astronomical prices of homes and the fact that the city was not progressing for improve his living conditions.

Last Wednesday, in a storm tweet, Singer announced in San Francisco that, after a trip to Austin, he and his wife (and their rescue dog, Dash the Dingo) would move to the Texas capital, which is increasingly known for its hot startup scene as well as for its bar-b-que.

"So The suburbs of Austin are beautiful. Really reasonably priced homes. Easy walk to the city. Good food and music scene nearby. What is the problem, "Singer tweeted." For the same price of your SF rental, you can basically afford as much house as you want here. Crazy."

Singer says that he recently bought a lot in Austin and will work with a local design center to build his home.

Read more: 11 facts about the San Francisco housing market that will make you happy to live elsewhere

While housing prices in the San Francisco Bay Area continue to record highs, many, like Singer, are wondering whether it is worth living in the area. A recent study found that 44% of Bay Area residents surveyed said they were about to leave in the next few years. High housing prices were the main reason why residents felt the pressure to move.

Another report By Compass, real estate company, found how buying a house in the San Francisco Bay Area could be expensive. Including mortgage payments, taxes and insurance, owning a house at the median price in the Bay Area costs about $ 8,500 a month. And to be able to cope with this type of monthly expense, a person should earn more than $ 340,000 a year, says the report.

The former Googler told Business Insider this week in an interview that after two years of searching for housing in the San Francisco Bay Area, it had become too frustrating to see the type of housing that he could afford.

"I do not pay two million dollars to live in some [baby] Boomer's departure home, next to a mall, "said Singer, referring to some homes he had visited south of San Francisco, near San Jose.

In Austin, Singer said he was able to find "gorgeous" homes at a cost of less than half a million dollars.

A "NIMBY" state

The former Googler attributes much of the responsibility for housing prices in San Francisco to city officials who he says do not want to increase the number of condos and apartments in the area. According to Singer, other cities, such as Austin and Seattle, were able to keep housing prices from going untouchable because they were ready to expand.

"People think that supply and demand do not exist as soon as you enter the Bay Area," Singer said. "It's not a thing here."

Singer also points to long-time residents of San Francisco who bought their home years before prices flared. According to Singer, these homeowners take advantage of tenant demand and therefore have little incentive to advocate for the city to increase its housing supply.

"For people who already own here, I think they're not giving away silently," Singer said. "They have theirs, that they want to admit it or not, it's a NIMBY state.What they will accomplish: they'll sneak in the middle of San Francisco. " (NIMBY is an acronym for "not in my backyard", often used to describe opposition to development in a particular area. ")

In addition to the extravagant housing costs, the San Francisco Bay Area faces major challenges, such as best supporting its homeless population and providing adequate transportation options for residents, Singer said. He also found much of what had initially captivated him about San Francisco – like local cafes and restaurants – from trendy dislodged restaurants offering "fixed-price menus of $ 500 ".

Good weather and FOMO

So, why do some Franciscans in San still choose to stay?

Besides the weather, Singer says that he thinks that some people, especially those in the tech sector, are staying in the San Francisco Bay Area because of the FOMO, or fear of missing out on it. The idea, he says, is that if you are not in San Francisco, you will not have the chance to work for high tech companies like Uber, Pinterest or Google.

This could be true for those who have just started their careers, said Singer, who is now working as a digital marketing manager for the biotech company Invitae. But for someone who has been working in a company for at least two years and has proven to be a "pivot" for his teams, Singer explains that it is unlikely that a company will not let them work remotely.

"The unwritten rule of any given mega-corp is that if you are a talented individual contributor, they will let you work wherever you want," said Singer. "It's not on their website, they'll never admit it, but I've never seen it was true in any big business."

Regarding the reaction to his move to Austin, Singer tells us that none of his friends or family was shocked.

"The biggest reaction is," Why did you stay in San Francisco for so long? "Of all my non-San Francisco friends," said Singer. "None of my friends from San Francisco or the Bay Area have been surprised, they say:" It's quite reasonable to leave. "No one is fighting to keep me here."