I work as a software engineer for a startup company in the northern part of the Midwestern U.S. I make about $80K/year, with benefits, which may seem small... but honestly it's plenty. I have my student loans paid off. I have my car and motorcycle paid off. I own a 3-bedroom home, with a fenced in yard where the animals can play, and which is only a 20-minute commute from the office. I'm lazy so instead of cooking I end up eating out a lot. And I still have money left over each month for dates, entertainment, and recreation. In other words (especially when compared with California), the cost of living is extremely low, and life is good. I would never in a million years sacrifice what I've got going here to go out west to Silicon Valley. I would certainly make a lot more there but my quality of life would almost certainly go way down. So why aren't more tech companies setting up offices in the Midwest? The cost of living is so low here. For companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, it would cost them very little, comparatively. In the Midwest you don't need a $400K salary to survive; you can live comfortably with only $80K. Those companies could get away with paying a lot less here and nobody would complain. Why do the major players stay away?
All the cool kids live in the west coast.
Fuck you.
He he. :) it's true
As great as it would be to live in the heartland with a six figure salary, a company would have to sell candidates on the fact that their location is not SF, Seattle, Austin (kind of heartland-ish though), NY, etc. Sure, living in those places is not economically wise for workers, and paying those salaries is an inefficiency for companies, but it is a problem that feeds on itself since people live there for a wide variety of reasons (backup job availability, networking and growth, things to do) that are not going to be trumped by purchasing power. And no major player wants to be first in shifting paradigms.
But my point is they don't need to offer the same six figure salaries here.
When I say six figures, I mean $100K on the nose which is what I used to make in a similar part of the world. It is higher than your comp of $80K but much lower than Bay Area and Seattle comps I have seen around here. That being said, economically it makes sense for a company to move out to the Midwest, but talent does not think in terms of economics. Sunnyvale at $300K/year appeals to a lot of people in tech more than Wichita (example) at $80-$100K. I would do the latter in a decent location if I didn't like my current job, but I am probably alone there. What would happen if FB as an example decided to uproot their operations and move to the Midwest as a cost cutting measure? They would lose a good chunk of their staff, with the remaining people being miserable. They may save in salaries but the company wouldn't survive. Of course, this is speculation but you get the idea.
Private office, more bathroom stalls. Build an international airport and it's a deal.
International airport! This guy...
ORD
Because the rust belt is a crumbling shithole. Outside of Minneapolis/Chicago most midwestern cities lived and died with manufacturing and local leadership is more concerned with making sure entrenched interests are fed than encouraging new industries and investment. When the tax pie is growing cities can offer bike shares, nice downtown pedestrian malls, and other amenities that appeal to young tech workers. When the tax base shrinks watch fragmented municipalities knife fight each other over a shrinking pond every year. Nearly all my friends have moved to Austin/Seattle/Denver/NYC and when I finish my masters I am heading that direction too. Staying in your midwestern home city these days is a tacit sign of failure when it comes to tech.
Yep.
Yeah that was in KC, supposedly the more tolerant and welcoming metro than stl. If you're a first gen immigrant whose primary concerns are food on the table and a roof over your head the Midwest is adequate. Second gen brown/asian people are going to be unwelcome here. To give you an example, I knew an Asian guy from NYC who went to the local T14 law school and loved it here, except none of the "whites only" local firms wanted to hire him so he had to leave to get a job. When you heave away people who love you unconditionally maybe you are not a good place to live.
That is completely false; Tulsa is a very diverse city that caters to getting people here. I know a lot of people here that are from middle eastern countries, and various places aroubd Europe and Russia. You can't go off of the actions of a few to classify the whole.
Because in the Midwest people care which bathroom you use and all the other places don't.
The only "bathroom law" in the country is in North Carolina. NC is not in the Midwest.
Dude. Minnesota is consistently more Progressive than almost any place on the coast.
Tech crowd is very diverse and Midwest may not be that friendly to them. So if some company want to move folks, folks may not want to move, that too with lower salary. So either company needs to end up hiring folks from Midwest itself (which may not be that big pool) and later fire people from Silicon Valley or avoid any risk for no big tangible gain. I bet companies chose the second option.
Quicken loans is 70% African American lol. "Diverse" tech companies on the west coast try to reach 10%
It won't be the same once big companies land there.. let it be peaceful
Most white westerners will be horrified the day their neighborhoods starts filling up with immigrant indians and asians
It's already happening. A local suburb recently became 15% Indian and there is an exodus of first gen white flighters out
Which city is this?
Probably because top talent doesnt want to live there
^^^
This. Mostly this.