How much would I need to make in Bay Area to make it worth moving from Seattle (TC 205K)
I have been getting called by companies in the Bay area and interviewed with a couple. They may offer me a better position and maybe a more interesting project. Still, live is so expensive in the Bay Area so I wonder how much should I get to make it worth the hassle. Assuming that the perks of the Bay area have little to no value to me, and I am quite comfortable in Seattle. I own a small place that is worth about 750K. I have a wife and no kids or pets. I would like to have at least a kid soon and get a bigger place in the not so distant future. My wild guess is 360K. I roughly took what I make, added 10% for extra income tax. Then I took what it could cost me to rent a similar place minus what I would get from renting the one I have (after taxes). Multiplied the subtotal by 1.15 to compensate for higher cost of everything outside housing. Finally I multiplied that by 1.25 because I think that I should make at least 25% more to make it worth it. Is this right? Would such a huge increase just get me 25% more in practice. If you have moved to Bay Area from Seattle , what kind of money made you move? Whether they will give me such an offer is a different question, but I need to be prepared for when/if the offers come.
360 is doable. It's hard to say if it's worth it without more details.
Thanks. What details did I miss? (Sorry if this is obvious)
360k is absolutely not doable for someone making 200k in seattle. Both cities have almost identical salary bands, so you're basically just demanding a 2 level promotion just because you refuse to live in a smaller apartment with way more city and cultural amenities.
Simply put, there is no 1:1 mapping of comp when you move from Seattle to the Bay Area (I live in SEA and previously in SF). You get paid more, yes, but it doesn’t get you an equitable lifestyle. You have to learn to do less with more. It’s just the cost of living there.
I understand. I lived in Bay area a while ago. I moved to Seattle for the same salary I had back then and I felt like I could just burn money. My salary of course was a lot lower and the economy was different. I wanted to get anecdotal experiences rather than precise data points. If you don't mind, could you share your experience? Would you go back to Bay area ?
In the same boat as you. What's your YOE? My TC is the same thanks to AMZN, but not sure if someone will pay me (I'm 3.5 YOE) about 350 though.
Don’t come
Why?
360 sounds about right
Your math is way off bro. It doesn't make sense to multiply your total income by 1.15 for cost of living unless you plan to spend all of your income and the company thinks they should compensate for it.
So what would you suggest?
Unpopular opinion on blind: money isn’t everything. Your post doesn’t give me the impression that you want to live in the bay... so why do it for some unknown pay increase. Is the difference really worth leaving if you like where you are?
Totally agree. OP you've to think of housing, commute, competition. Seattle area has a lot of good opportunities too and if you like it there, find something better paying. Google Facebook have only marginally better comp in bay area compared to Seattle
Thanks. It's true. I would rather not move, but the opportunities may be too good to pass. I want to make a good career move. I don't think I will get promoted here any time soon and some companies are interested in my domain expertise. I want to be able to assess what is 'too good' withouts being impressed by the raw number. In fact, I want to be able to answer that last question you asked.
A friend if mine who moved from Seattle to Bay Area said about 12-15% increase should do it.
Why don’t you just move to different company in Seattle for ~25% increase. With PhD + 7 YOE, you should be able to fetch 250-300k TC at competing company.
I am absolutely going to interview with Facebook and Google in the next couple of weeks. Truth is that the companies that want me to move have a particular interest in my domain expertise and seems like they "may" give me a more influential role. If I get something comparable in Seattle then I no longer have a problem.
Is weather playing a role in this decision?
Nope. Weather is one of those perks of the Bay area I mentioned. I am pretty cool with clouds and the rain. Wife is not so cool with it, but she doesn't care that much either
It's all about opportunities for growth. I would like to come better off financially as a result of that growth though.