I am an early stage developer. I noticed that salaries go very high in the bay area as you go few levels up in your career. But the cost of living is also high. I want to compare the trade off between low-salary-low-cost-of-living vs high-salary-high-opportunity-high-living-costs. Where do you end up saving more?
Make a poll and include Austin, Bay Area, NYC, and Seattle
California
Alabama
Work from home :)
Make most money. Def sf Bay Area. Yes cost of living is high but you making so much that it will out weigh it. You can always live here for 4 years. Then move else where.
If you don’t have kids and especially if single, I totally agree.
10-20% savings in Bay Area tech role forever higher 10-20% anywhere else
It’s hard to argue against Seattle if all you care about is COL-adjusted salary. Austin isn’t bad either but Seattle pays more and has more jobs. But it also matters greatly what stage of life you’re in and what you want. If you want to get married, buy a house and have two kids, do Seattle or Austin. But if you’re single and don’t mind roommates, you’ll save more by doing so in the Bay Area or possibly NYC. The things that kill you on COL are state taxes, housing, and childcare / education (if you go private school for kids). Almost everything else is a minor difference. I’ve lived in SF and NYC and most COL comparison calculators are stupid because they compare similar lifestyles. Yes, if you want a 3000 square foot home with two cars, NYC is going to cost a metric shitload more than Austin. But the lifestyle in NYC is just different. People rent more than buy, they don’t own cars, and they live in smaller apartments. For those trade offs, you get a bunch of stuff like transit, walkability, nightlife, shopping, entertainment, etc, etc. Many hate it, which is fine. I personally would need to make $2mm+ per year to move to Austin, and I’d be counting the days until I’d saved enough to move back to NYC permanently. What kind of lifestyle do YOU want?
If you are early stage developer you should go for high COL place. The opportunities at these locations have compounded effects which is very difficult to measure. One good company leads to another great company with much higher TC and good learning experiences.
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I make good dollars by Austin standard but I don't believe you can't save more absolute dollars in a high paying job in SF or Seattle. Trade off is local real estate is very affordable to me, and I can almost purchase a new multifamily complex every year