Texas vs Cali
I work in a small town in Texas as a Software Engineer. My compensation is $70k ( With Benefits $75k). I really want to work in big cities and for a big company. But I keep on hearing that 70k in Texas is like $110-$115k in Cali (San Diego, San Francisco). How true is this comparison? Just to add to it. I pay $500 rent for a pretty good size 1 bhk.
I'd say $70k in a small town in Texas is probably equivalent to over $130k in San Francisco. Check out http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/ A "pretty good size 1 bhk" will cost $2.7k+ in most of bay area. A crappy, tiny one can start at around $2k. If you're considering a move, definitely interview with multiple companies and aim to get multiple competing offers to make sure you're getting paid what you're worth.
Numbers sound about right. You can easily make $200k+ early career and 300k+ mid career
$500 for 1 bedroom lol 😂. You are looking at $3000 for 1 bedroom in sf and $2000 for a 1 bedroom in Seattle.
I know. But I am still considering a move as there is no growth in the company I work for. The annual raise is 2-3% and their benefits are really bad.
2000 for a one bedroom in Seattle if you live downtown or in Cap Hill and even then not always. I pay 1650 for a 800-900 square foot in Cap Hill, way more than enough for one guy. You can do way less if you're willing to commute a little or live somewhere not as lively.
It’s true. In LA: 1br ~$2200 in okay areas, ~$3000 in desirable areas. If your goal is to get a big name on your resume, that’s understandable. Lots of those in CA. Just make what you need to get by in year 1. The rest will come quickly.
Yes, year 1 is the hardest because of the vesting cliff.
You can rent a beautiful house in Issaquah Highlands for around $3000 per month.
@awesomein get a boat, live on it. Haven't looked back, saving tons of money, and the boaters/boathouse people are a great community.
There's a Journey song here somewhere
Just a small town dev...
If you’re talking about the SF Bay Area, you would need more like 200-250k and you should still expect to rent a small apartment ($3k+ for a 1bd) rather than the decent house that you can probably afford now. Small town Texas is super cheap comparatively. Also keep in mind that the work demands and competition will be dramatically higher in the SF Bay Area. But if you’re thinking about it, not much harm in trying it out for a year or two.
What? Why would they need 200-250k? After rent, most things are roughly the same cost. Taxes are higher and eating out is a little more expensive, but it is not 3-4x more expensive. Anything beyond about 130k of so would just be pure savings. At around 250k I can save near 100k, which is nowhere near what you could save making 70k.
We’re comparing with small town Texas, not big city Texas. Everything is significantly more expensive. 70k is a very very good income there. You certainly can’t have the same quality of life in the Bay Area on 130k.
So you rent in Texas for $500? I pay the same rent for a parking space.
Is your parking spot 800 sq Ft?
LOL I thought my $300/mo was bad.
I dont know you or your role, but 70 seems pretty low regardless. Let’s say you should be more like 100 there, you should be at $140 here. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether you want to pay higher col or not.
Move to a suburb of Austin, average for senior engineers is 120-130, with a handful of companies paying 250+, and the COL is waaay lower than the Bay area
Thank You
Amazon is one, apple, google, and fb have presence in Austin too