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by mentat 1608 days ago
It's plenty for people who already have a pile of cash. That seems a bit problematic right?
3 comments

Depends on your lifestyle but for the bulk of Americans $120k is extremely cushy, at nearly 4x the median salary of $35k
It apso puts you in the ~75th percentile for household income in the US, if your spouse also works you're doing far better than the vast majority of Americans.
> Depends on your lifestyle but for the bulk of Americans $120k is extremely cushy, at nearly 4x the median salary of $35k

True, though it is closer to 3×

lol, ok I'm not quite sure how discussing fractions of an integer would change the conversation in this case since we're already trying to compare one person's $120k to a statistical median of ~$35k.

If you're actually interested in the numbers on different groups they're here [0]. For ex $120k is ~5.77x the median for a woman without a college degree.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_...

> I'm not quite sure how discussing fractions of an integer would change the conversation in this case

It doesn't, really, hence the “True” part of “True, though...”

In Seattle though - it is not a cushy amount. If you’re wanting to buy a home without a huge commute - you need to make more than that.
Similarly if you’re looking to buy in the southern tip of Manhattan, Star Island Miami, or Brentwood.
You’re getting unfairly teased for this; I do think its a bit weird. But it’s mostly a problem for FAANG. My advice to everyone who can get a job at FAANG is to put in 5 or 6 years there, raking in a few million dollars (!!). Pay off student debts and secure your future, and then work for ~100k on something you care about or good for the world.

FAANG has to pay so much that they can actually have trouble retaining people. This pattern I have described seems to be becoming more common.

Uh, no, it's plenty for everyone. Leave it to HN to pretend that $120k is a starvation wage.
According to Foster City (Bay area, California) affordable housing, a 4 person family is considered low income at 146,350

See the table under "What are the income limits for the program?"

https://www.fostercity.org/commdev/page/frequently-asked-que...