Look at it this way: There are plenty of Bay Area non-software jobs where people are getting by on $100K or less. It’s not as comfortable as $100K in a small ci

Look at it this way: There are plenty of Bay Area non-software jobs where people are getting by on $100K or less. It’s not as comfortable as $100K in a small city, but people do it. There’s no reason that an average software developer couldn’t work an average software job for an average salary there and get by. Contrary to what you read on Blind, HN, and other websites, there are actually a lot of engineers in the Bay Area who aren’t interested in crushing it 24/7 and are happy to take a comfy job as long as it pays the bills and nobody bothers them to much, just like any other location. That said, most of the median-paid engineers I’ve managed (remotely) in the Bay Area had other contributors to their situation, like having bought a house there 20 years ago or inherited a house from their parents. I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone to move to the Bay Area now for a median-pay job there unless they really, really want to live in the Bay Area. And some people do! It’s actually a fun place to be, especially if you’re young. Not perfect, obviously, but very fun if you play your cards right.