4 ms·

I more than tripled my total comp in three years by leaving Dallas for NYC.

by vonmoltke 7y ago

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
Vadoff 7y ago
Google and Amazon are in Austin and maybe Dallas, and pay pretty well.
- vonmoltke 7y ago
  Google wasn't in Austin when I left three years ago, and Amazon was fairly small. I can't comment on what the market in Dallas looks like now.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - tidepod12 7y ago
    Google has had a pretty sizable office (three offices, actually) in Austin since 2012 at least.
    - vonmoltke 7y ago
      When I was looking they had no software engineering to speak of in Austin. It was all sales and ops.
      - tidepod12 7y ago
        Ah yes that's true, it was (and still is AFAIK) a huge chunk of sales, admin staff, and now consultants.
mattwad 7y ago
You probably tripled your living costs and taxes too. I also moved from Dallas to NYC, so can't argue, but it's not apples to apples.
- vonmoltke 7y ago
  Not really. I live in New Jersey, and just bought a house of comparable size to the one we had in Dallas for about 2x what we sold the Dallas house for. Other cost changes were, on average, flat if restricted to NJ. Doing things in Manhattan is certainly more expensive, but also not a daily occurrence. As far as taxes are concerned, they're higher, but in both places state and local taxes were a pretty small percentage of our outlay anyway. It's a bit hard to compare because the state income tax and higher property taxes are offset by lower sales tax (with broader exemptions) and less direct-billed government services.
- peakay 7y ago
  Luckily the gains from tripling compensation usually far outstrip the losses from tripling living costs and taxes.
  - fjp 7y ago
    Yeah... there's so many obvious counterpoints to everyone's knee-jerk "well you also upped your living costs!" reaction. Number 1 is relevant for many many people: Any pre-existing loan. Student loans, car loans, etc. It won't change, and you'll have more money to pay it off. On the same thought train, while cars sell for different prices in different places, they do not double or triple. Not even close.
- balfirevic 7y ago
  > You probably tripled your living costs and taxes too. Even if entirely true (which is not immediately clear - does the car or phone or laptop cost triple in NYC?), that is by itself a great deal.
- teppifk 7y ago
  1. The living costs of NYC are not triple what they are in Dallas (obviously there is some choice to this), but triple is grossly exaggerating the difference. 2. Even if triple was correct, since the living expenses are not 100% of your pay in either case - you're still better off living in NYC in terms of savings - I hope you can do the math to see this.

I more than tripled my total comp in three years by leaving Dallas for NYC.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

Vadoff 7y ago

Google and Amazon are in Austin and maybe Dallas, and pay pretty well.

vonmoltke 7y ago
Google wasn't in Austin when I left three years ago, and Amazon was fairly small. I can't comment on what the market in Dallas looks like now.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- tidepod12 7y ago
  Google has had a pretty sizable office (three offices, actually) in Austin since 2012 at least.
  - vonmoltke 7y ago
    When I was looking they had no software engineering to speak of in Austin. It was all sales and ops.
    - tidepod12 7y ago
      Ah yes that's true, it was (and still is AFAIK) a huge chunk of sales, admin staff, and now consultants.

mattwad 7y ago

You probably tripled your living costs and taxes too. I also moved from Dallas to NYC, so can't argue, but it's not apples to apples.

vonmoltke 7y ago
Not really. I live in New Jersey, and just bought a house of comparable size to the one we had in Dallas for about 2x what we sold the Dallas house for. Other cost changes were, on average, flat if restricted to NJ. Doing things in Manhattan is certainly more expensive, but also not a daily occurrence. As far as taxes are concerned, they're higher, but in both places state and local taxes were a pretty small percentage of our outlay anyway. It's a bit hard to compare because the state income tax and higher property taxes are offset by lower sales tax (with broader exemptions) and less direct-billed government services.
peakay 7y ago
Luckily the gains from tripling compensation usually far outstrip the losses from tripling living costs and taxes.
- fjp 7y ago
  Yeah... there's so many obvious counterpoints to everyone's knee-jerk "well you also upped your living costs!" reaction. Number 1 is relevant for many many people: Any pre-existing loan. Student loans, car loans, etc. It won't change, and you'll have more money to pay it off. On the same thought train, while cars sell for different prices in different places, they do not double or triple. Not even close.
balfirevic 7y ago
> You probably tripled your living costs and taxes too. Even if entirely true (which is not immediately clear - does the car or phone or laptop cost triple in NYC?), that is by itself a great deal.
teppifk 7y ago
1. The living costs of NYC are not triple what they are in Dallas (obviously there is some choice to this), but triple is grossly exaggerating the difference. 2. Even if triple was correct, since the living expenses are not 100% of your pay in either case - you're still better off living in NYC in terms of savings - I hope you can do the math to see this.