I think what he means is: Some SF companies pay very large compensation packages so that their engineers can afford to purchase homes.

I don't think this is true. There are only a handful of companies that pay $500k+ TC for senior+ engineers. The vast majority of companies top out at $250k, be it F500 or startups (not including their worthless "equity").

You can't afford a home, on your own, at $250k in the Bay Area. Realistically you need $500k+.

250 is no where near enough to buy in SF. Maybe if you pinch pennies and save for 10 years. Or if you can put up a lot of equity up front.

> > You can't afford a home, on your own, at $250k in the Bay Area.

Maybe they mean they pay more in the bay area because of the high housing costs.

That's what I understood too, but it seems more like enough to rent, not buy.

Yeah I recently looked at rent costs down in the South Bay (thinking “tiny shitty apartment to avoid 12-15 hours of mandatory commuting 3 days a week”) and it’s insane - like “more than my mortgage payments” insane.

they just mean that this is what the geo-adjusted salary is doing