5 ms·

If you can't even 2x your income by moving somewhere, then there isn't much point. For example, moving from Africa to the US could be much more beneficial than

by xyzzy4 10y ago

If you can't even 2x your income by moving somewhere, then there isn't much point. For example, moving from Africa to the US could be much more beneficial than moving from one part of the US to another.

refurb 10y ago
If you can't find a job in your current location, but can find one when moving, then the increase is infinity. There is a lot to be said for being flexible when it comes to relocation. If I had never left the town I was born in I'd probably be making 1/4th of what I make now.
dionidium 10y ago
Interestingly, I think a lot of people would benefit from moving to places where they'd earn less. The high cost of housing in places like California far outpaces the increase in wages when compared to the Midwest. If you can find a job in a place like St. Louis or Cincinnati, you could take a meaningful pay cut -- say 30% or so, at least -- and come out ahead in lifestyle. Do you want to spend the next 20 years complaining about the high costs of real estate or would you rather move somewhere that you can own today? How important to you is that sunny weather?
- bsder 10y ago
  > If you can find a job in a place like St. Louis or Cincinnati, you could take a meaningful pay cut -- say 30% or so, at least -- and come out ahead in lifestyle. IF The problem is that most people in tech understand that your job in gone in 5 years, 10 years at the outside. Given that I need 4 jobs over my lifetime (at least), I'm going to stay where I can get my next job even if that area is expensive. If I find a good job in St. Louis, Cincinnati, or Pittsburgh, what happens when that job goes away? Now I have to move to San Jose, Austin, Boston anyway AND I'm going to have a difficult time because my family is used to that big house and yard in the suburbs, but I didn't put enough money away fast enough to make the jump to the more expensive area because my salary was 30% less.
  - elliotec 10y ago
    What in the world are you on about? Why is your job going to be gone in 5 years, and why would you move to a more expensive city if it was?
  - dionidium 10y ago
    1) You're absolutely right that there are more tech opportunities in the Bay Area than anywhere else on Earth. 2) Nonetheless, your all-caps IF was a tad dramatic :) I'm a programmer in St. Louis. Jobs are plentiful. I've been working for about 10 years without issue (both at big companies and small). 3) None of this even applies to me because I have no family and no interest in owning a home right now. (So I'm not coming from a position of trying to defend my own choices.) But if I were interested in buying a home, I wouldn't hesitate to do it here. Concerns about the Midwest job market are mostly bunk, especially when you factor in the cost of housing. You know all that stuff about software eating the world? Yeah, it's eating the world, not just SV. There are jobs everywhere.
- jupiter90000 10y ago
  Alternatively, one could live in a high-priced city and purchase high-priced real estate to live in, and upon retirement or at a later age, sell the higher priced property and take the potentially greater retirement account contributions and move to say Missouri or a place where the cost of living is lower, with a significant advantage.
  - dionidium 10y ago
    Alternatively, one could live in a high-priced city and purchase high-priced real estate to live in This reminds me of a joke. (I can't remember who told it.) But it goes something like, I'll tell you how to make 10 million dollars. OK, easy, so you start with a million dollars. <Every detail after this relies on that first million.> It's a pretty big assumption right off the bat.
    - jupiter90000 10y ago
      I hear what you're saying, but I mean the person would work and save to purchase the real-estate. The assumption I make is that one saves a percentage of income towards a down payment on real estate. That can be done anywhere, and I do agree that in some places it could be easier. That doesn't mean that since it's easy, it's the best decision for someone's life (but it could be).
ljk 10y ago
> If you can't even 2x your income by moving somewhere, then there isn't much point. why is that? wouldn't seeing another part of the country/world be nice?

by xyzzy4 10y ago

refurb 10y ago

If you can't find a job in your current location, but can find one when moving, then the increase is infinity. There is a lot to be said for being flexible when it comes to relocation. If I had never left the town I was born in I'd probably be making 1/4th of what I make now.

dionidium 10y ago

Interestingly, I think a lot of people would benefit from moving to places where they'd earn less. The high cost of housing in places like California far outpaces the increase in wages when compared to the Midwest. If you can find a job in a place like St. Louis or Cincinnati, you could take a meaningful pay cut -- say 30% or so, at least -- and come out ahead in lifestyle. Do you want to spend the next 20 years complaining about the high costs of real estate or would you rather move somewhere that you can own today? How important to you is that sunny weather?

bsder 10y ago
> If you can find a job in a place like St. Louis or Cincinnati, you could take a meaningful pay cut -- say 30% or so, at least -- and come out ahead in lifestyle. IF The problem is that most people in tech understand that your job in gone in 5 years, 10 years at the outside. Given that I need 4 jobs over my lifetime (at least), I'm going to stay where I can get my next job even if that area is expensive. If I find a good job in St. Louis, Cincinnati, or Pittsburgh, what happens when that job goes away? Now I have to move to San Jose, Austin, Boston anyway AND I'm going to have a difficult time because my family is used to that big house and yard in the suburbs, but I didn't put enough money away fast enough to make the jump to the more expensive area because my salary was 30% less.
- elliotec 10y ago
  What in the world are you on about? Why is your job going to be gone in 5 years, and why would you move to a more expensive city if it was?
- dionidium 10y ago
  1) You're absolutely right that there are more tech opportunities in the Bay Area than anywhere else on Earth. 2) Nonetheless, your all-caps IF was a tad dramatic :) I'm a programmer in St. Louis. Jobs are plentiful. I've been working for about 10 years without issue (both at big companies and small). 3) None of this even applies to me because I have no family and no interest in owning a home right now. (So I'm not coming from a position of trying to defend my own choices.) But if I were interested in buying a home, I wouldn't hesitate to do it here. Concerns about the Midwest job market are mostly bunk, especially when you factor in the cost of housing. You know all that stuff about software eating the world? Yeah, it's eating the world, not just SV. There are jobs everywhere.
jupiter90000 10y ago
Alternatively, one could live in a high-priced city and purchase high-priced real estate to live in, and upon retirement or at a later age, sell the higher priced property and take the potentially greater retirement account contributions and move to say Missouri or a place where the cost of living is lower, with a significant advantage.
- dionidium 10y ago
  Alternatively, one could live in a high-priced city and purchase high-priced real estate to live in This reminds me of a joke. (I can't remember who told it.) But it goes something like, I'll tell you how to make 10 million dollars. OK, easy, so you start with a million dollars. <Every detail after this relies on that first million.> It's a pretty big assumption right off the bat.
  - jupiter90000 10y ago
    I hear what you're saying, but I mean the person would work and save to purchase the real-estate. The assumption I make is that one saves a percentage of income towards a down payment on real estate. That can be done anywhere, and I do agree that in some places it could be easier. That doesn't mean that since it's easy, it's the best decision for someone's life (but it could be).

ljk 10y ago

> If you can't even 2x your income by moving somewhere, then there isn't much point. why is that? wouldn't seeing another part of the country/world be nice?