Note: The company I am working for does not scale pay based on location!! I am wholly unsure of where to move. I am debating Chicago, but there doesn't seem to be a large tech presence there. Areas like Bay Area, Seattle, and Austin all come to mind. I'm curious about your guys' thoughts on some areas to consider with a pay like this. As of right now I am torn between Austin and Chicago mostly... Austin I think I would be able to save far more plus the added benefit of a larger tech scene. Factors I want to consider 1.) COL/Livability for my income 2.) Employability for next job (Job hopping) 3.) Social life 4.) Weather (not super important) PLEASE SAY WHY TC: 135k, 105k base 30k RSU for public company #Apple #Amazon #Google #Meta #Cruise #Rippling #Plaid #LinkedIn #Microsoft #Netflix #Airtable #Databricks #Figma #Stripe #Pinterest #Robinhood #SWE
Washington and Texas don't have state income tax. Factor that in.
You could live farther out in Queens in NYC on that income and have better dating/social life than Austin, but I think Austin would probably fit the bill here the best. Seattle might be nice too but it's a sausage fest there.
Hawaii
Austin housing market is much better than Chicago
Bay Area - to get a higher paying job.
Austin is full, sorry
Have you spent a winter in Chicago? Unless you’re from a cold snowy windy place; #4 is gonna become important in Chicago.
NYC