A lot of young men coming to work in SV for $150k got there because they neglected other parts of their life in favor of gaining technical skills. I know I spent pretty much my entire adolescence parked in front of a computer screen. Same in university where the gender ratio was 8:1 and the workload was several times that of Arts students.<p>In other parts of the world, you eventually get a return on that investment by standing out from the other 23-year-old men who might be more attractive or confident but are less skilled&#x2F;intelligent, work menial low-paying jobs, and have no future. In SV, there are so many 23-year-old guys all around you who are more successful in their studies and careers than you are that you now have to find additional time on top of your 60h work weeks to differentiate yourself in some other way.<p>It&#x27;s not impossible, of course, but it&#x27;s very much playing the game on &#x27;hard mode&#x27; compared to other cities I&#x27;ve lived and dated in.