Austin to Bay Area
I'm contemplating relocation to the Bay Area (I've been in Austin for a decade, I think I'm ready for a change). I have a few interviews lined up with FANG and was trying to figure out what would be a reasonable compensation to mantain my current lifestyle (don't own a home and not interested in buyin anything soon) ? (Married, no kids and no plans to have any) Currently in Austin: 280k TC (165k base, plus 20% bonus and the rests is RSUs) 12 yoe The cost of living comparison websites are throwing numbers in the ranks of 450k to 550k TC in the Bay Area in order to mantain same lifestyle. How accurate is that? EDIT: Thank you for the answers! There seems to be a missconception that Austin is super cheap (it is not anymore). I'll post an update if I get an offer. Also if any of you are ever around Austin in the near future hit me up and I'll be happy to buy you a beer ya'll!
If you live in Austin with 280k TC you better not move to bay area. Be happy there.
really? Austin is not as affordable as people think it is. I mean yes is not bay area level but also not the cheapest thing it was 10 years ago. Also since I'm not interested in owning a house (too much things to worry about with one and I don't need the space) I don't see the "cheap" housing as a plus. But perhaps you have a different point of view?
Dude, you can buy a SFH for what, maybe 300k? How is than not cheap? Rents might be 1/3rd that of the bay area.
280k is a fortune in Austin. So yeah, you might need 400k+ to have the same quality of life. This ofcourse assumes that you would be renting a home. Btw, arent companies expanding their presence in Austin? Why not try for FANG, but locally?
They are! Honestly I don't care about joining FANG at all at this point, I'm just kind of boring about Austin and I always liked the Bay Area so I was thinking maybe relocating there. Also 280k is not a fortune in Austin, it is a lot but not a fortune by any means. (I speak as someone who has lived in Austin 10 years)
Why wont you get bored here? Maybe if you are an immigrant, you will find more like minded people in the Bay Area. I am an immigrant, so I have a lot more to loose if I leave the Bay.
Bay Area folks are moving to Austin but you are thinking to move here. Unless you make $500K don’t even look this side
So 500k would be a good comparable TC then?
On an average but vary significantly where you end up buying home.
You’re erring on the low end if you’re truly comparing cost of living differences. If you change your mind and decide to have kids you can forget public school so add that to the list.
Do you mean public schools are better in austin or the bay area?
Significantly better in Austin. Unless you live in a really posh Area like Mountain View or Cupertino (which is another significant jump I. Cost of living for a comparable lifestyle) You’ll want to do your kids a favor and send them to private school. Even then they’re only comparable to Austin’s public school system
I think even if you give it a try for 1 year or so it worth it, depends what company you are at now in Austin, if it’s no name, working for some big guys here can give you a boost anywhere in the future
Thats why my recommendation would be to at least move to FANG offices in Austin.
I see your point. It makes sense. Also while Austin has FANG I believe only Amazon and Google have engineering roles. Facebook does not have any (only managerial or other type of roles) and Apple is still early in expanding, mostly hardware roles right now. So it's only A and G here right now really
Everything is expensive in CA even if you don't own a house. Gas, Groceries, Eating out with poor service and not to tell about the wait everywhere. You might be even be tired of so much people and feel suffocated.
except for the gas prices (which are cheap in all of texas) you just described Austin...
Tell me more about Austin. I'm planning to move to Austin from San Jose.
Cost of living calculators usually assumes that you will be buying a house. The biggest cost differences would be rent and state tax. Rent in the bay area 3-4k, state tax difference is around 10%. Your TC+50k should be the minimum that you should aim for.
woah that is a very low range compared to all the other answers. Interesting. Thanks for your perspective!
Just being realistic. With 10+ YoE, you should be able to get it easily.
Is your wife in tech? For a DINK couple, living on the coasts makes sense I think. I'd leave Austin if I wasn't planning on having kids. (Would not go to Bay area, though, probably LA or NYC.)
she is not in tech unfortunatelly. DINK is the plan, but I am assuming her TC will not be as high
What role in Austin?
software engineering