LA vs Seattle (Google offer)
Got a L3 offer from Google recently in their LA, Venice office. On the other hand, might be considering asking my recruiter to move me to Seattle instead. Currently very conflicted. Love LA for lifestyle and decent tech opportunities, but at the same time living in Seattle might be able to save me more money (no income tax). What are the pros and cons of each city? From my understanding: LA pros: diversity, great weather, lots of things to do, decent tech ecosystem LA cons: terrible traffic, tax Seattle pros: no state income tax, strong tech presence, nature Seattle cons: everyone works in tech, terrible weather Please give your comments below and help me out, I would greatly appreciate it. Don’t want to make a poll because poll results really don’t mean anything, and am more interested in your thoughts. TC: 200k #software #engineering #swe #google #googleads EDIT: Wasn’t expecting so many detailed, thoughtful comments out there, TYSM my amazing Blind community!
Taxes aren’t worth depression causing weather and the sever lack of women (assuming you’re into them and single). Choose LA. You’ll be able to live in Venice beach and walk to work so no need to worry about traffic.
Thanks! Yes im a single male in my early/mid 20s, i might just be underestimating how depressing seattle could be?
Yes! After months of rain and no sun, no TC would make you life less miserable
It depends on your personality type and your age bracket. If you’re a nature person, Seattle might be good for it’s hiking spots and bain bridge island and proximity to other nature spots. If you’re more of a city vibe person, go for LA. Don’t try to “micro-optimize” for Savings. 10k -20k won’t make much of a difference at this age.
Agree that i shouldn’t micro-optimize for savings, but wouldn’t starting in Seattle set me up better for long term career growth? I know i can always transfer later, but just curious. LA seems to have decent tech ecosystem too, but might not be as robust as Seattle.
Please, stay the fuck away from Seattle.
What made you think this way?
1. The weather is bad 8 months out the year. 2. It's so bad, I've developed SAD. 3. Makes you lazy af. 4. Girl scene is okay, depends on your game. Seattle downtown > Eastside. However, bay area is much better simply considering the volume of people.
I would go with LA if you love the lifestyle there. The marginal value of money decreases pretty rapidly. You will get promoted and make more money, but if you don't enjoy your life it is not worth it.
I do love the lifestyle in LA. Currently i’m thinking of two directions — if i relocate to Seattle I would optimize for career growth/promotions due to the tax advantage (higher TC, low tax). If in LA, i might consider doing some side hustles rather than devoting all my energy to promotions (since higher TC also comes with higher taxes, and in my opinion might not be completely worth it). Side hustles might give me more flexibility to play the tax game and meet my financial goal (i want to buy a house) Aside from that, i would try to enjoy life, and make more friends/connections.
Fuck the side hustles. Just hustle to get to senior first then go get a job paying 500k. Then you’ll have the money for serious passive income streams.
Pro: LA Con: Seattle
I’m surprised that almost no one advocated for Seattle, more insights would be greatly appreciated!
kewl
Would say come to Seattle , weather is not that bad, the city is very vibrant, most of the people who talk about women etc are Indian bros living in Kirkland or Bellevue . Stay in cap hill or downtown and you won’t have a better life anywhere else in the US
Lol! Thanks for the insight! Sounds good…. I might visit Seattle some time soon
Seattle downtown is pathetic, not worth living in
LA = generally appealing Seattle = specifically appealing If you are on the fence, choose LA.
Asian? Ignore tax first then decide
If your only pro for Seattle is to save you some money, and love LA lifestyle, I’d say choose LA. The savings on income/capital gains tax only matters if you’re making an enormous amount for some reason (gambled everything and 1000x’d your money, or join a pre-IPO company that has a liquidation event). The proximity to nature is great, but you have a reasonable 4-5 months of the year to explore it. Id recommend Seattle for homebodies, people that say their ideal day is curling up with a good book and reading with rain sounds. Or real crunchy granola folks that don’t mind the drizzle.
Thank you so much for the detailed insight!🙏 I enjoy hanging out with friends, working out and doing sports but not so much hiking etc, so lifestyle wise i would say LA fits me best. The reason why I’m conflicted right now is because Seattle has significant tax advantage as opposed to LA (especially down the road, when my TC gets much higher). Also a bit worried that tech ecosystem is not as good as Seattle which could limit opportunities. But anyways really appreciate your help!
Casey Neistat would say go to Seattle
Lol his car recently got stolen in LA, might have PTSD