Currently in the SFBA. Have an offer getting ready from Amazon and have to pick location. What would you choose and why? Family of four Current TC ~280
Seattle
LOL. What about second part of the question aka Why?
Irvine: affordability (vs sfba), commute, schools, beaches, housing stock, quality of life.
Depends on whether not being at HQ and the associated lack of opportunities/visibility is worth the year round nice weather Also non-suburban Seattle is not the best for families. If you want good schools you’ll either pay for private school or have a long (~45 mins) commute
You don’t need to have a 45 minute commute for good public schools. The schools around Magnolia and Ballard are quite good.
This is my concern too. I don’t see Seattle as a good place for families with kids. And commute from east side is pretty heavy as I know
Seattle. If you want to be in a city with great tech career options. Irvine. Lifestyle and non-tech options.
What you mean by lifestyle. You still need to go for work no matter where are you. Lifestyle seems the same in both places work-home-kids-weekends Only weather can affect how I spend weekends. My opinion
I mean in terms of competitive intensity SF>SEA>Irvine. People are more laid back and the pressure to earn 6-7 figures is way higher in the Bay and (now in) Seattle than in Irvine. I imagine you could still be laid back in Bay Area, but then usually your progression suffers.
I grew up in Irvine, currently in SFBA and will be moving to Seattle area soon. Irvine is very warm and close to beaches, large asian/Indian/middle east population. Rent is okay (comparable to Seattle). Seattle is a much bigger city while Irvine is more residential and better for relaxing/retirement. Oh and rain. I’d choose Irvine but depends on if you prefer city life.
Thank you. If work in Irvine is it better for a family to live in Irvine proper? Or nearby areas/cities are better/worse. How bad commute situation in OC?
The Amazon office is in middle of Irvine, so any outside city you’re looking at 20-40 minute commute. Traffic is bad at peak times (8-9, 4-6) but planning around those helps.
What’s a Irvine?
City in California. Does it answer your question?
If you and your family have been living in SFBA, then Irvine is more similar. It is warm and cozy. Opportunity wise I don’t think you get less in Irvine than in Seattle. Both are less than SFBA, anyways. You will still get tons of LinkedIn messages wherever you are. But of course, having to move again can be annoying. You may not need to move again if you are in Seattle. But moving back to the Bay from Irvine won’t be bad either. Did you ask your wife and kids? What are their preferences? Is the pay the same?
Thank you. Make sense. I don’t have numbers yet, but recruiter say it’ll be similar as both areas having same COL only WA state doesn’t have a state income tax, so I think net will be less in Irvine, not sure. Kids are too little to have their opinions on the location. They only need mom and dad by their side for now. We’ve been struggling to choose. On one hand ( as people say) socal warm and cozy and stuff, on the other hand it’s still California with all its problems. WA weather is not we get use to, so not sure how it will affect us. More opportunities in Seattle too. Idk.
What CA problems specifically?
I work at the Irvine office. Culture is a lot better. Wlb is better. There are less projects to choose from and its hard to exceed level 6. Family of 4, irvine is as good as it gets (unless you are bothered by huge asian and Indian population)
Irvine is an artificial city designed for family life. It's known for having great schools, being one of the safest cities in America, pretty boring with not much to do, etc. Etc. There's no real industries there other than disneyland and maybe blizzard. Seattle is rain city but has a lot more career opportunities. Also note that Seattle in Washington meaning very low state income tax
Irvine has ton of businesses - it is a regional job center. Several companies are headquartered there. In terms of things to do there is a ton around Irvine - beaches, amusements parks, mountains. LA and San Diego are close.
Google is here also, but small office.
Irvine