All About the Money

The SF Chronicle had an article that caught my eye today on money and salaries.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/04/21/moneytales.DTL

I found the article really inspired and timely. Money is one of those few remaining taboo subjects that cause people to squirm uncomfortably when it is breached. One of the parts I found most interesting was the individual perspective on how well one was doing. The college instructor who felt like she was and her husband were loaded because they made $105,000 a year? That does not seem like a lot to me in this area.

After moving from coast to coast for a few years, I have happily chosen the Bay Area as my home. The worst part about living here is the cost of living by a wide margin. Simply put, one struggles to get ahead here. I was a flight attendant for many years and really enjoyed my work, but the money was never enough. My salary as a flight attendant averaged about $30-35,000 over time. Big pay cuts after 9/11 dashed any hope of making more money in the coming years. I supplemented my income by waiting tables and bar tending over the ten years of my career. So, working six days a week I would struggle to make about $50,000 a year. It simply was not, and is not, enough to live here.

My job as a police dispatcher has definitely increased my income and helped give me a more comfortable lifestyle. Most state jobs also have terrific retirement benefits which cannot be underestimated these days. But there is always the feeling that it is never enough. I would love to eventually purchase some type of property in San Francisco or someplace relatively close. This is easier said than done though. Property in the city (and we are talking a condos of 1,000 square feet or less) run anywhere from $380,000 to $1,000,000. Takes your breath away, doesn't it? The Chronicle recently published statistics in a different article stating that a person (or couple) should make $194,000 a year to comfortably live in the city and own a home. That is a daunting task to say the least, especially for a single working stiff like me. The high cost of living here pushes many people out to cheaper, more affordable locales. When you can buy a decent sized house for $200,000 elsewhere, it can be tempting. Still, San Francisco is home though and I derive so much pleasure from living here. In the end, it will keep me here even if I have to rent my whole life. This is definitely one advantage to being a gay guy. If I had to support a family, I am sure I be forced to make some difficult choices about how to make ends meet.

These days, I lead a fairly comfortable life, have great friends and family, little drama in my life, and good health. That makes me rich...and thankful.

Cuidate.