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I just moved away from Seattle after 6 years, where some argue the tech income-to-cost of living ratio might be the best in the world, due to the even higher co

I just moved away from Seattle after 6 years, where some argue the tech income-to-cost of living ratio might be the best in the world, due to the even higher cost of living in SF. (If I'm wrong, no matter, just substitute SF in your mind.) Anyway upon moving away to a much lower cost of living area I've discovered one issue with the SF/Seattle-type areas is that you can't afford to be out of a job for very long, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, without the cost of living bleeding you dry. If you don't want to live stressed out about losing your job due to bristling against some boss/company, or you might want to take a few months off from time to time to work on a personal project or just to relax, what I might do from now on is consider the pay-to-cost of living ratio of an area under the assumption that I work, say, 9 months out of every 12.

ElysianEagle 8y ago
> one issue with the SF/Seattle-type areas is that you can't afford to be out of a job for very long Absolutely true. Some years ago a contract gig I was working at in NYC was abruptly cancelled, and the following month or two were pretty stressful as I watched my emergency funds get so rapidly depleted due to the high COL there. Thankfully I was able to line something up but it was a valuable shift in perspective. And as much as I'd love to do the 9-months-out-of-12, I'm not sure there's an easy way to pull that off in the US (or anywhere really).
- arwhatever 8y ago
  I think it should be possible if you can live in some lower cost of living area if you can secure a remote role in a higher pay area. Frankly, after the expensive 6 years in Seattle, I'm now spending some time in Budapest, Hungary, where the cost of living is particularly low and the city is particularly good. The local salaries are remarkably low according to American expectations, but all I need to do is land an occasional part time project, or work perhaps 1/3 of the time to do quite well. I've met some local folks who have pulled this off quite well, also, getting remote jobs in higher paying areas and living quite handsomely here. It has been a bit of an eye-opener for me.

ElysianEagle 8y ago

> one issue with the SF/Seattle-type areas is that you can't afford to be out of a job for very long Absolutely true. Some years ago a contract gig I was working at in NYC was abruptly cancelled, and the following month or two were pretty stressful as I watched my emergency funds get so rapidly depleted due to the high COL there. Thankfully I was able to line something up but it was a valuable shift in perspective. And as much as I'd love to do the 9-months-out-of-12, I'm not sure there's an easy way to pull that off in the US (or anywhere really).

arwhatever 8y ago
I think it should be possible if you can live in some lower cost of living area if you can secure a remote role in a higher pay area. Frankly, after the expensive 6 years in Seattle, I'm now spending some time in Budapest, Hungary, where the cost of living is particularly low and the city is particularly good. The local salaries are remarkably low according to American expectations, but all I need to do is land an occasional part time project, or work perhaps 1/3 of the time to do quite well. I've met some local folks who have pulled this off quite well, also, getting remote jobs in higher paying areas and living quite handsomely here. It has been a bit of an eye-opener for me.