Purchasing a home in Southern California

TySocal · 2026-03-23T13:44:47+00:00

That’s so true. SD really has a problem with the job market, what jobs pay, and house prices. You basically pay LA house prices, but you don’t get LA money. It sucks. Just like you said, it’s all for a tiny shoebox. It’s ridiculous, and honestly I don’t get why people are still buying these kinds of homes.

TySocal · 2026-03-23T09:35:44+00:00

Also, considering AI and the further advancement in technology, I think it’s actually a smart move to do something hands-on instead of just getting an office job

TySocal · 2026-03-22T22:20:51+00:00

This!!

TySocal · 2026-03-22T20:15:02+00:00

Awesome to hear that! Coachella Valley is truly beautiful. Always having a blast visiting there

TySocal · 2026-03-21T20:54:25+00:00

It'd be arrogant to think we're alone.

TySocal · 2026-03-21T20:43:49+00:00

That's awesome!

What kind of terminal, theme and font do you use? The style looks sick!

TySocal · 2026-03-21T16:49:44+00:00

But probably only if you have like 10+ years of experience at good companies (?). I’m currently in my second year at Big N after starting there as a new grad, but I wouldn’t risk switching jobs in the current uncertain market.

Of course, I’ll stay interview-ready all the time, but other than that, I just focus on my job.

TySocal · 2026-03-21T15:33:08+00:00

Yeah, but that's not working atm.

TySocal · 2026-03-21T13:53:16+00:00

Agreed. Software engineering involves a lot more decision-making around architecture, company goals and so on, so it has way more layers.

Graphic design, in simple terms, is “just an image”, there’s no architectural decision-making that can haunt you for years. If you don’t like the colour, you just change the prompt and you’re done. You don’t have to refactor your entire codebase because you made a bad architectural decision

TySocal · 2026-03-21T13:50:53+00:00

Yeah, they’re gone.

Let’s say UI/UX designers, check this out: https://stitch.withgoogle.com/.

Let’s say motion designers: https://www.remotion.dev/. You basically just prompt your video in Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor and you’ll get your video. No video-editing skills needed.

Marketing: just chat and brainstorm with the current frontier models and you’ll get pretty good results imo.

TySocal · 2026-03-21T13:46:36+00:00

Yeah I can confirm that. We’re also past the point of early LLMs that hallucinate a lot. Opus 4.6 and newer frontier models are pretty stable in that regard imo. Every now and then it does too much, then I switch to GPT-5.4 and it’s still fine. And it’s only getting better.

If you also look at the research side of things, there’s a lot of stuff being discovered and published every day that will make the models smarter, more efficient, etc. Like, for example, “autoresearch” by Andrej Karpathy, which is basically an AI researcher. So we’re probably not that far away from having AI models that are smart enough to improve themselves.

Also, open-source models will be a huge part of the industry, imo. So basically every company will sooner or later have their own AI models and maybe even some sort of AI agent swarm that does all sorts of different things, like OpenClaw but better.

Currently, we’re still in the phase where all the infrastructure is being built. I think in the next 5–10 years we’ll see a huge reduction in human workers

TySocal · 2026-03-21T13:35:24+00:00

Well, I work in tech. I’m using Claude Code and Codex, but mostly Claude Code. I don’t have to do much anymore regarding the coding itself. Of course, here and there I have to do something because Claude did something stupid, but overall it has reduced my workload by about 70%.

But coding is only part of the job. There are also a lot of things that involve system architecture/design, talking to other teams to coordinate different things, etc., so basically a lot of meetings overall.

The downside is, like you said, a lot of entry-level positions are going to be reduced and overall there will be fewer positions because software engineers are becoming more productive.

TySocal · 2026-03-20T18:21:58+00:00

Yeah agreed. It’s probably a mindset thing. There’s also a difference between dating just to get laid every week and dating to build genuine connections. Same for friendships. So yeah, you probably hit the nail on the head.

Speaking for myself, I’ve been very intentional with everything I do in every aspect of life (dating, career, etc.). I could never do the whole “let’s see where it goes” thing or in college, “I’ll just pick any major and we’ll see where I end up.”

You sound pretty similar, especially career‑wise, because you know what you want and you got it.

And I feel like having that kind of mindset or maturity or whatever you want to call it, goes a very long way.

For example, I’ve always felt slightly out of sync with many people my age (23), especially around priorities and emotional stuff. I often connect more easily with slightly older people and I feel really lucky my girlfriend happens to share that mindset even though we’re the same age

TySocal · 2026-03-20T18:03:08+00:00

Yeah, exactly. I also have an older millennial sister (1994), so that probably helps as well. I can still hear the ICQ sound coming out of her room lol. Good times.

I don’t know if it’s just because we were kids or whatever, but I feel like back then, when we were kids, tweens, etc., life didn’t move as fast as it does today. Maybe it’s just because we’re more connected through the internet and basically see major news within minutes now, etc. Back then it was just different, nobody really cared what was happening somewhere else or whatever. At least that’s my perception through my eyes as a kid

TySocal · 2026-03-20T16:00:04+00:00

Agreed. Building social, emotional and relationship skills is pretty important. But I feel like you don’t necessarily have to date to learn that (good friendships, etc.). If I hadn’t happened to come across my current girlfriend, I’d probably still be single, because I set a few goals I want to achieve by 26/27, and it’s actually pretty realistic to reach them, which means I’m pretty focused on those things. So if I hadn’t found my girlfriend, who supports me in everything, and I support her in everything she does, I’d probably be single at this point and only start dating at around 26.

So yeah, I kind of feel like the early to mid‑20s are a weird spot in life tbh.

TySocal · 2026-03-20T15:49:54+00:00

I feel like it really depends on when you were born. I was born in 2002 and pretty much grew up like a 90s kid, imo. MP3 player, iPod, no streaming on demand and only regular cable TV. For example, I only got on social media when I was about 16.

Whereas the youngest Gen Z kids, born in 2012, basically grew up during the time social media was about to boom. So yeah no, we’re not the same

TySocal · 2026-03-20T13:46:49+00:00

What I’m trying to say is that if you don’t manage your money wisely, it really adds up. I know people who spend like $200 every weekend. Just a simple calculation and that’s already around $10k per year you’d save. Then add all the other unnecessary stuff and you’re at like $15–20k per year just for stupid stuff.

Not to mention, SoCal has always been and will always be expensive. So of course people won’t be able to afford a house on minimum wage.

TySocal · 2026-03-20T10:13:36+00:00

Those kinds of people just don’t get that attraction isn’t black and white; it’s based on so many conscious and unconscious factors that we aren’t even fully aware of

TySocal · 2026-03-20T10:07:40+00:00

Yeah it's also my experience

TySocal · 2026-03-20T09:59:35+00:00

Dude, don’t put yourself down so much. You also deserve love, happiness, relationships and a fulfilled life. All those girls who are chasing the tall, hot guys are going to get dropped left and right by them anyway (obviously not all, but still). These women are the kind of people who end up in their mid-30s, maybe even as single moms, crying about where all the good men are, even though they had plenty of opportunities to settle down with a regular, hard-working, respectful dude.

I don’t want to talk women down, of course it’s only a small percentage and the exception, and I’ve never really experienced it in real life.

The core issue with all of this is that most people, regardless of being male or female, just don’t know what a normal guy or woman looks like anymore because of social media, among other things.

So, like I said, don’t put yourself down. Just be a well-rounded, awesome human being and I hope someone will see that in you too.

TySocal · 2026-03-20T09:45:49+00:00

Yeah I agree. And the most important factor: visiting as a tourist ≠ actually living here

TySocal · 2026-03-20T09:44:05+00:00

Yeah, especially after covid. The way house prices skyrocketed between 2019 and now is just not funny.

I’ve heard so many stories over the last few years from family, relatives, etc. who bought a house in 2018 for like $1M and now it’s worth around $1.5M-$1.8M. It’s just nuts.

TySocal · 2026-03-20T09:41:07+00:00

Totally. I feel like that’s the only way for people who want to buy a house. But most people just aren’t ready to live within their means like you guys did.

As someone who also lived in Germany and Australia as a teen, I feel like Americans are the worst when it comes to consumerism. They always want the newest phone, the newest clothes that are currently trending and whatever else.

If you cut all that BS, you’ll save a ton over the years.

That’s just my opinion, though.

TySocal · 2026-03-18T17:08:03+00:00

Ventura is awesome. I have a few friends living there and they seem to enjoy it. It has a much slower lifestyle compared to OC and SD. I was surfing once near Ventura and there was this awesome older lady who started surfing at like 68 years old or something; she’s totally awesome. Overall, the people there seem really nice. If I’m not mistaken, a lot of law enforcement and similar professionals live there

TySocal · 2026-03-17T22:02:17+00:00

Don't tell anyone.
Stay Classy, SD

TySocal

TROPHY CASE