For non-FAANG, is it worth it being an SWE in the Bay Area?
tl;dr - Salary increases for COL aren't enough to justify living in the Bay. CMV I'm open to relocating to the Bay. For job descriptions that give pay bands for different regions, I'm seeing ranges like the following: Bay Area: 260-280 CA and US Metros: 240-260 Everywhere else: 220-240 Most COL calculators show that my $220k TC should be around $350k at minimum for me to *break even* in the Bay. FAANG's bonuses and equity are enough to bump that up to the right range. For every other startup or "normal" company, on financial grounds alone, it seems much more attractive to stay far away from the Bay. What am I missing? TC (fully remote): 220
I’m not in the bay and it’s bc it sucks lmao
I’m someone who lived in the bay area and worked for a startup. And yes you are right, without RSUs at your disposal, it’s hard to manage with a family there. Unless you love working at startups (which a lot of people do), it does not make a lot of financial sense to be there.
Exactly my situation - no family? Whatever. Let’s do this. Have a family (or just like maximizing investment income)? Seems like the TC hit will be much more painful.
CoL calculators are percentage based, but the amount of money in bank account is a real number, not a percent. You should move to bay area if you want to try living there. Don't move just for money if you think it sucks because you will be unhappy.