I live in Redmond, WA and I was laid off in October but have been getting pretty steady interviews since. Unfortunately, I only made it past the Tech Screen for 2 companies - a very small startup and Vanguard. I have an offer from Vanguard for $120k base salary performance based bonus up to 8% $15k partnership bonus which I will eligbile for in 2025 (I am starting in January 2024). The only caveat with Vanguard is that I will have to relocate to Malvern, PA as this is not a remote position. I am still waiting to hear back from the telehealth startup but I don't have much hope of an offer because I think I did pretty badly in the behavioral interviews - especially the "What do I bring to the team?" question. I have several more interviews coming up but if I am unable to get an offer from a company that offers remote roles (if outside WA - I am willing to do 5-days RTO if it lets me stay in WA), should I move to PA? My spouse and I will need to be long-distance relationship for a year because she got a really good job and needs 1 year of experience so she can start looking elsewhere as well but I will have to rent in WA and contribute to our mortgage here. Anyone have any advice? Would moving to PA be a good option? YOE: 4 TC: $142k -> $0 -> $120k #engineering #software #vanguard
Malvern is a nice area.
Vanguard is great for stability. Pay is meh compared to other companies but they don’t layoff here so that’s a plus. I’ve heard the Malvern office is nice. I work out of the Charlotte office. I know quite a few people that live in / near Philly and commute to Malvern.
how is CLT? fun place to live?
If you’re young and single it seems boring to me, though there are a lot of young and single people at the company and there is a decent nightlife but nothing like a large city. It’s definitely a great place to raise a family. I’m just over the border in Fort Mill, SC and the schools are excellent with low taxes. It’s nice that we’re about an hour and a half from Asheville and about 3 hours from some nice beaches which makes for great weekend trips. It depends what you consider fun and what phase you are in life.
I accepted the offer. My brother will let me live with him until I get an apartment and my wife sells the house and moves. Gives time for the kids to say bye to their friends as well.
I don’t think you’ll regret it. The WLB is insane, you will have tons of time to prioritize family.
Malvern is nice. Living with your sibling for a bit is a good idea. I would not live in the city, especially with kids, because you get hit with an unnecessary additional income tax and the reverse commute sucks. The train is unreliable when it gets really cold or really hot. Take your time and consider exploring the area before buying. I really like Chester County and Lancaster County. You can find a really nice place out in the rambling hills full of horse farms if that’s your thing, but the commute won’t be short. You can even live among the Amish if you want. Nothing like going to the Walmart on 30 and parking next to the horse and buggy stalls. Housing in the immediate vicinity is extraordinarily priced. To be honest it’s going to be out of your salary unless your wife will make a similar income. But if you’re cool with an older house and a 30 minute commute, you can find something. Just don’t expect to be able to find a house 10 mins away unless you can stomach $750k for a crappy Toll Bros townhouse. Hopefully the culture shock isn’t too bad. Philadelphians are very blunt and will tell you what they really think. Expect for people to almost insult you while they’re trying to make friends with you, if that makes sense. It’s going to be a 180 difference from how people are in Washington. I moved from PA to Seattle for a bit and couldn’t take it partly because folks in Washington were so reserved and passive-aggressively non-confrontational. Food is amazing. Prepare to gain 10 lbs as you learn about cheesesteaks, pretzels, and real bread/bagels. They don’t know how to make real junk food or baked goods in Seattle. If you hate PA you can transfer to Charlotte. Lots of people do it, but might take a few years to find a spot. Unfortunately everyone from the NE is migrating to the Carolinas so COL in Charlotte isn’t any better than PA nowadays.
Couldn’t have said it better. It’s worth it for the bread alone lol
Malvern is a costly place. You need to live further west or north or south of Malvern and if you are a techie , It's a slow adopter of technology. Don't relocate fully until you love the job Negotiate with your manager to work 3 weeks remote and 1 full week onsite from Charlotte or Malvern office
Vanguard tech is a lot better than it used to be as long as you land on the right team. Almost no manager has the pull to offer any sort of alternate arrangement right now.
I wouldn't. The area is nice but expensive given that the tech market is not great compared to other areas of the country. Vanguard is a dead-end for most tech careers. I'd wait for something better.
The only thing bad about Malvern is the cost of living. It shouldn’t be as bad as Redmond but it still really sucks. Otherwise I love the area. Good food and proximity to beaches, New York, and DC.
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that is close to Philly so I’d go for it especially if you’ve been in WA for a year, by which time most may gotten tired of it
I have been in WA most of my life and I love it here - hence the indecision. Wife is new to WA and the US but she also loves it here especially since she has a job with WA state government
well could be a good chance to try somewhere else and see the sun u been missing