&gt; “Of course not,” says the first, “but you don’t buy to live there.”<p>This quip about investing in property in Oakland hits home. I had some reservations about crossing the Bay a few years ago to buy a home, but one I did <i>not</i> have was about moving to a place where people who had attitudes like this were uncommon.<p>Several months ago I ran into an ex-coworker who triumphantly told me how he had cashed out some of his options to buy some units in Oakland, evicted the existing tenants under some owner&#x2F;family move-in loophole, vacated, remodeled, and was now raking in the rent. All the while explaining that he would never actually live there. I wanted to vomit.<p>I&#x27;m a lucky dummy romantic, I moved to SF because I like trains, and LA didn&#x27;t have any. I have some skills which have helped me land excellent jobs. I don&#x27;t hide my disgust for baloney very well and this has enabled me to walk away from some jobs. My brushes with the proto-corporate startup world have been fleeting, but proportionally every bit as soul-sucking as the author makes it out to be.<p>Excellent piece.