4 ms·

Berlin is the worst place if you want to have a good paying job. If you only want to work for startups, then Berlin is the place to go. But if you are open to w

by geff82 8y ago

Berlin is the worst place if you want to have a good paying job. If you only want to work for startups, then Berlin is the place to go. But if you are open to work in Big Enterprise IT, then there are many places where you can work and earn very good salaries (especially Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg where Enterprise IT usually pays between 80k$-140k$ depending on your role). While taxes and contributions for singles are quite high, it also includes health insurance, retirement money and unemployment insurance. For food, Germany is one of the cheapest places in the world. Property taxes are REALLY low compared to the US (I mean, in the US or in Germany, you as a renter pay them, so rent is also cheaper here, even in the hubs). In big cities, many people do not need a car as public transportation is very affordable and available everywhere (so that money gets saved for some). The biggest challenge: to stay here for longer, try to learn German well. It is not that difficult if you take your time.

shados 8y ago
> 80k$-140k$ Thats the problem. You used the dollar symbol, but even if its euros, the upper range you gave is 160k. That's way, way too low for an upper range if someone's thinking of salaries on one of the US' coasts (especially west, but also east). Insurance is mostly for if you lose your job...as long as you have one, its a pretty tiny part of the paychecks, retirement matching is pretty common, food isn't that expense (I dunno about Germany, but compared to other countries Ive lived in, its cheap). After the difference in taxes, the delta in the upper range is a significant factor. Im curious about the property taxes part though. Do you have some examples? Real numbers are hard to google.
- geff82 8y ago
  House worth 700k next to Frankfurt (the house I live in): 450 Euro a year. If you really count in the high rents on east and westcoast, I doubt there is high net difference of money to live from. If you are working as a freelancer, your tech income will also be rather in the 160-240k$ range (and quite stable nevertheless)
  - shados 8y ago
    > I doubt there is high net difference of money to live from In percentage? Probably not a big difference. In absolute numbers? OOoooh yeah. I can only speak from my personal experience, but my take home money after -all- expenses, including after feeding my retirement fund (basically what ends up in my savings and investment accounts unrelated to my retirement budget) is generally more than what a lot of people make as gross income in many other countries. There's no argument that the money comes at a high social inequality cost, but I wouldn't be able to get close to that anywhere else.
- pastor_elm 8y ago
  If you want to make 600k as a software developer, stay in San Francisco, live in your 2.5 million dollar .2 acre ranch house, and enjoy walking over homeless people on your way to work.
  - shados 8y ago
    The last part is definitely the right point to make. To me there's no argument that taken in a vacuum, there is no country in the world where you'll be better off as a software developer than in one of the big tech centers in the US (not just SF, but NY, Boston, whatever. There's a bunch). But it comes at the cost of...well, everyone else.

by geff82 8y ago

shados 8y ago

> 80k$-140k$ Thats the problem. You used the dollar symbol, but even if its euros, the upper range you gave is 160k. That's way, way too low for an upper range if someone's thinking of salaries on one of the US' coasts (especially west, but also east). Insurance is mostly for if you lose your job...as long as you have one, its a pretty tiny part of the paychecks, retirement matching is pretty common, food isn't that expense (I dunno about Germany, but compared to other countries Ive lived in, its cheap). After the difference in taxes, the delta in the upper range is a significant factor. Im curious about the property taxes part though. Do you have some examples? Real numbers are hard to google.

geff82 8y ago
House worth 700k next to Frankfurt (the house I live in): 450 Euro a year. If you really count in the high rents on east and westcoast, I doubt there is high net difference of money to live from. If you are working as a freelancer, your tech income will also be rather in the 160-240k$ range (and quite stable nevertheless)
- shados 8y ago
  > I doubt there is high net difference of money to live from In percentage? Probably not a big difference. In absolute numbers? OOoooh yeah. I can only speak from my personal experience, but my take home money after -all- expenses, including after feeding my retirement fund (basically what ends up in my savings and investment accounts unrelated to my retirement budget) is generally more than what a lot of people make as gross income in many other countries. There's no argument that the money comes at a high social inequality cost, but I wouldn't be able to get close to that anywhere else.
pastor_elm 8y ago
If you want to make 600k as a software developer, stay in San Francisco, live in your 2.5 million dollar .2 acre ranch house, and enjoy walking over homeless people on your way to work.
- shados 8y ago
  The last part is definitely the right point to make. To me there's no argument that taken in a vacuum, there is no country in the world where you'll be better off as a software developer than in one of the big tech centers in the US (not just SF, but NY, Boston, whatever. There's a bunch). But it comes at the cost of...well, everyone else.