Currently in NYC, been here 1.5 years. Not super happy here. I'm young and single but I haven't really found NYC to offer a lot that I care about. Place is loud, crowded, dirty, devoid of nature. I'm not really a foodie and don't go out to bars much, watch live shows, or care about fashion. Haven't made many friends or had a lot of success dating. I've been a bit depressed because of my current job has just been going downhill since I started. Just received confirmation I passed the FB interview. I mentioned to the recruiter I was open to other locations, I have family on the west coast and wouldn't mind going to live in Seattle for a while, plus I've been wanting to get a dog and it'll be much easier to raise one in Seattle I think. Also considering MPK but less strongly. Recruiter won't give an offer until I pick which location I want. Definite headcount open in NYC for me but apparently there's extra steps/checks to get my app over to another location. May be around 260k if I choose NY but she said that could be lower if I pick Seattle (is that true?). Level would be E4. Want to especially get opinions from Facebookers who've worked in both offices, or just perspectives from the engineers at either office. Also knowing what teams would be available to join (and have decent WLB + managers) in either place would be helpful. I've been working as a backend product engineer but wouldn't mind trying something new especially if it's around security, infra, ML, or an open-source project. From anyone else - should I stay in NYC and force myself to give the city another chance, or try a more relaxing lifestyle in Seattle? I can also transfer after 1 year if I have been getting good reviews. #facebook #seattle #nyc
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Seattle is depressing. Period.
Seattle has a lot more to offer than nyc if nature is a priority for you
What are your hobbies? Where are your friends located? Do you like to hike, bike, or ski? Are you interested in finding a partner or is that not a priority? Do you like public transport or drive and explore places? Do you like 3 months of cold and disgusting snow and humid summers, or 6 months of depressing weather with 3 months of absolute perfection? I’ve lived in both places for a long time, my pick is easily Seattle, but totally depends on your answers to the above questions.
Before I was in NYC I was in SF. Hobbies I no longer do included motorcycles, trap & handgun shooting, camping, soccer. Here I mainly consume books and TV, or program. I also picked up bouldering but injured myself recently. Occasionally go out for food/drinks with friends. For the last few months a lot of that had been replaced by Leetcode too. I could definitely do more exploring here but it hadn't really interested me since I was so focused on getting a better job. I think finding a partner should be my highest priority, but again I haven't really put much effort into it. Mild depression & all my time spent doing interview prep. My priorities and outlook might change if I start at FB. It might also be helped more by going to a less stressful environment where I can raise a dog and be near family. So NYC seems better statistically for guys, but if I'm a happier person in Seattle, that may be more important? Speculating here. I don't mind the subway, but I did like owning a motorcycle. It was such a fun and convenient way to get around but I know if I kept it up it would probably paralyze or kill me. Very torn there on getting back into that hobby, but it was probably my favorite one in CA. I wouldn't mind just getting a car if I moved to Seattle. Seems like it'd also be pretty easy to afford an apartment walking distance from Seattle FB too if I can get the same salary. I've spent time in Seattle and I think it has the best summer on earth. The winter is also preferable to NY, but only a bit. I don't find rainy weather particularly depressing.
Sounds like from your responses Seattle is the way to go. However the dating scene I hear is pretty bad for guys here (I’m married with a kid, and assuming you’re a guy). But perhaps you’ll find someone more aligned with your interests rather than just a hit from a bar.
New York smells nasty, kind of like Tacoma.
NYC is a paradise if you're a young single Male Read the book "datenomics" I live in seattle, dating scene sucks here if you're a Male. The city is pretty cool otherwise though. For a family seattle is a thousand times better. If you're a female, its the exact opposite. Again, read the book I recommended.
I am male, I do think that finding a partner should be my top priority now that I will have a decent job. Not particularly interested in casual dating or hookups though, it seems like that is more prevalent in NYC than Seattle, but I'm speculating.
If you transfer between any of those three offices your pay won’t change. I’d insist on the same starting pay you were offered in nyc
My only other offers are in NYC, if I tell them I want to go to Seattle then I'm thinking they may downgrade my offer because I have no other options there. By how much I don't know.
Maybe you can point out that you know they would give an internal transfer the same pay in either location so you’d rather get compensation out of the way before you get into the nitty gritty of location. You can say you have questions about teams and culture differences, but you have other offers so you’d like to make sure the compensation makes sense first. Best of luck!
Not at facebook (obviously) but I have lived in both cities... NYC when much younger, Seattle now and for quite a long time. I did not like NYC at all, much prefer seattle, though you should be ok with gray weather for 7 to 8 months a year. I suspect dating is what you make of it, but I prefer suburban environments (facebook has offices in kirkland or bellevue, I think, maybe in addition to seattle)
Starting pay is different between NYC/MPK and SEA but once you start + transfer, pay remains same.. Source: myself.
Sounds like a pretty strong reason to start in NYC and transfer.
At least for returning intern E3, pay is the same across all locations.
I've lived on both. NY is a def a lot cleaner than Seattle. Lookup Seattle freeze. If nature is your jam Seattle def beat. You get more house for your money in Seattle but you probably need to buy a car so col is similar. Taxes lower in Seattle. Weather is much better in NY, but not as good as SF
Both cities have clean parts and dirty parts. Sure upper east side in New York is cleaner than pioneer square in Seattle. But if you go down to 33rd or Chinatown, you'll find the streets are trashcans and smell horrible in summer
I specifically mean the rampant open drug use in Seattle and homeless encampments, tents setup on sidewalks that doesn't exist anywhere in NYC. It's all downtown Seattle. Redmond, Bellevue are completely different.
Seattle is also getting loud, crowded and dirty. If you can’t find friends or dates in NYC, don’t think it will be better in Seattle.
People’s mindset is very diff in NYC vs Seattle. You can’t tell that for sure. Lots of single women in Seattle too
@tomatosan how would you describe the mindset difference?