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Look at the cost of housing and rents in most US cities that you'd actually want to live in. The others? Forget about public transit. Need a car, and car insur

by juve1996 4y ago

Look at the cost of housing and rents in most US cities that you'd actually want to live in. The others? Forget about public transit. Need a car, and car insurance, and car maintenance. And the reality is most tech jobs don't really pay as much as you think. For the good remote jobs you'll be competing with people who are simply better than you ,so good luck.

RussianCow 4y ago
Even taking all of those things into consideration, $200k in SF is better than $100k pretty much anywhere else. > And the reality is most tech jobs don't really pay as much as you think. For the good remote jobs you'll be competing with people who are simply better than you ,so good luck. I guess it depends on what "you think" tech jobs pay, but this has not been my experience. If you're even half-decent, there are countless remote software engineering opportunities that pay well above $100k, which is a great salary if you're not comparing it with the top end of the industry. Most companies right now are facing a labor shortage, so it's far easier to get a remote job as a SWE than ever before.
- juve1996 4y ago
  > Even taking all of those things into consideration, $200k in SF is better than $100k pretty much anywhere else. I don't know if that's true. The cost of living, in say, Pittsburgh, is 50% that of San Francisco, so at best it's equivalent. And you can actually get a house and a yard there. > I guess it depends on what "you think" tech jobs pay, but this has not been my experience. If you're even half-decent, there are countless remote software engineering opportunities that pay well above $100k, which is a great salary if you're not comparing it with the top end of the industry. Most companies right now are facing a labor shortage, so it's far easier to get a remote job as a SWE than ever before. "You think" that there are a lot of "half-decent" engineers out there. There aren't. The types of engineers making big bucks are not easily replicable. If it was so easy to become a half decent engineer we wouldn't need the song and dance of tech interviews which are an absolute joke. Companies have made the hiring process HARDER not EASIER. This tells that the market is flooded with subpar candidates.
  - pb7 4y ago
    Cost of living in Pittsburgh may be 50% of San Francisco but that only matters if you’re spending every single cent you make. This is not the case on $200K. You are far better off in San Francisco. This is how “Californians” move to cheap cities and buy homes in cash over asking.
refurb 4y ago
Look at the cost of housing of Western European cities you'd actually want to live in. My understanding is they are as high, if not higher than the US.
- juve1996 4y ago
  I did - the rents are cheaper, costs overall are cheaper, there are more amenities, you aren't nearly as reliant on cars, etc. This is all out there online. Ultimately it comes out in the wash. If you get lucky and don't get fired in the US and you're a 10x dev, it's obviously better in the US. Most aren't in that boat.
  - refurb 4y ago
    Please provide sources for comparable housing in Western Europe to comparable housing in the US (major cities for both).

RussianCow 4y ago

Even taking all of those things into consideration, $200k in SF is better than $100k pretty much anywhere else. > And the reality is most tech jobs don't really pay as much as you think. For the good remote jobs you'll be competing with people who are simply better than you ,so good luck. I guess it depends on what "you think" tech jobs pay, but this has not been my experience. If you're even half-decent, there are countless remote software engineering opportunities that pay well above $100k, which is a great salary if you're not comparing it with the top end of the industry. Most companies right now are facing a labor shortage, so it's far easier to get a remote job as a SWE than ever before.

juve1996 4y ago
> Even taking all of those things into consideration, $200k in SF is better than $100k pretty much anywhere else. I don't know if that's true. The cost of living, in say, Pittsburgh, is 50% that of San Francisco, so at best it's equivalent. And you can actually get a house and a yard there. > I guess it depends on what "you think" tech jobs pay, but this has not been my experience. If you're even half-decent, there are countless remote software engineering opportunities that pay well above $100k, which is a great salary if you're not comparing it with the top end of the industry. Most companies right now are facing a labor shortage, so it's far easier to get a remote job as a SWE than ever before. "You think" that there are a lot of "half-decent" engineers out there. There aren't. The types of engineers making big bucks are not easily replicable. If it was so easy to become a half decent engineer we wouldn't need the song and dance of tech interviews which are an absolute joke. Companies have made the hiring process HARDER not EASIER. This tells that the market is flooded with subpar candidates.
- pb7 4y ago
  Cost of living in Pittsburgh may be 50% of San Francisco but that only matters if you’re spending every single cent you make. This is not the case on $200K. You are far better off in San Francisco. This is how “Californians” move to cheap cities and buy homes in cash over asking.

refurb 4y ago

Look at the cost of housing of Western European cities you'd actually want to live in. My understanding is they are as high, if not higher than the US.

juve1996 4y ago
I did - the rents are cheaper, costs overall are cheaper, there are more amenities, you aren't nearly as reliant on cars, etc. This is all out there online. Ultimately it comes out in the wash. If you get lucky and don't get fired in the US and you're a 10x dev, it's obviously better in the US. Most aren't in that boat.
- refurb 4y ago
  Please provide sources for comparable housing in Western Europe to comparable housing in the US (major cities for both).