While the American dream is a luxury in itself, the high cost of living in the Bay Area has forced some tech employees to find extreme solutions to balance their jobs and finances. One Google contract employee, who was based in Santa Barbara at the time, revealed that they lived in a car for several months while working on-site.
Speaking to the Business Insider, the employee shared how they lied to the hiring manager about family living the Bay Area during an interview in 2019. The employee was aware that on-site work would be required but still considered the contract role in artificial intelligence, thinking it as a good career opportunity. “I told myself that if I could just land the job, I’d figure out my living situation later,” he shared with BI.
High Bay Area rent forces Google employee to live in car
Luckily he landed the role, but breaking the Santa Barbara lease, which had four months remaining, was not an option. At the same time, rent in the Bay Area was extremely high. In 2019, the median cost of a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco was approximately $3,600 per month, while Santa Barbara rent was also steep. Covering two rents at once was financially impossible.
Using Google campus amenities to survive car living
The employee then decided to live in a car. Google’s campus provided with amenities, including free food, a gym, showers, and laundry facilities, so purchasing a 2005 Volvo and converting it into a temporary living space, seemed like a plan.
For the first two weeks, the employee parked in the basement garage at Google. “Despite my makeshift insulation, the car still got cold. I’d grown tired of waking up shivering at 5 a.m., so I started going to work early,” the employee shared with BI. Weekends occasionally included 300-mile trips back to Santa Barbara to sleep in a bed and change clothing.
After being approached by campus security and asked to leave the garage, the employee relocated to a campus area near parked RV. This plan continued until the Santa Barbara lease expired. The employee then transferred to company’s New York City office, where living in car was no longer necessary.
The employee later discovered that he was not only one, several others were living in vehicles on campus. “We shared stories about which gyms were the best in the mornings and which cafés offered the best dinners late at night. I realized then that when I saw people coming into the office early and leaving late, I might have been looking at a fellow car dweller.”
Looking back, the employee described the experience as necessary to advance their career, “The cost of living in the Bay Area is higher than the national average,” they added, “making it difficult for anyone working here to maintain a comfortable living situation without a high salary or a long commute.”