Is it possible for experienced but avg software developer to afford a single family home in Bay Area? /u/Fancy-Swordfish-9112 CSCQ protests reddit

I’m thinking about moving to Bay Area due to the tech presence there but starter homes in ‘ok’ suburbs with meh schools are $1.5M-$2M (will likely need to offer $200k over asking to stay competitive).

My concern is that a normal, but experienced software dev may not make more than $350k, which is clearly not to afford a starter house.

So will I need a high-earning spouse to be able to afford housing here? Or should I take most of my savings and put it in crypto/tech stocks so I can keep up with the housing inflation here?

My uncle never made more than $200k/year but owns 20,000 shares of Nvidia that he bought before 2014, so people like him can probably afford to live here.

Thoughts?

I’m thinking about moving to Bay Area due to the tech presence there but starter homes in ‘ok’ suburbs with meh schools are $1.5M-$2M (will likely need to offer $200k over asking to stay competitive).

My concern is that a normal, but experienced software dev may not make more than $350k, which is clearly not to afford a starter house.

So will I need a high-earning spouse to be able to afford housing here? Or should I take most of my savings and put it in crypto/tech stocks so I can keep up with the housing inflation here?

My uncle never made more than $200k/year but owns 20,000 shares of Nvidia that he bought before 2014, so people like him can probably afford to live here.

Thoughts?