Want to relocate, but can’t give up Bay Area salaries

Workday
zblf38

Go to company page Workday

zblf38
Apr 16 18 Comments

Born and raised in the Bay Area, even went to college here. I’m ready for a change of scenery and want to move to another big city. I considered NYC but I’m particularly fond of London after a few trips there. I just got out of a relationship and have no kids so if there’s any time to do this, it’s now.

I’ve done local interviews for practice but I can’t get over the idea of taking a pretty significant pay cut just to experience a new country. Seeing local offers only made me question myself.

Any tips? Any companies to consider, or referrals? Would it be career trajectory suicide to even consider this?

TC 250, YOE 5
#relocation #career #london #sanfrancisco #software #salary #swe

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TOP 18 Comments
  • Amazon
    doomfist

    Go to company page Amazon

    doomfist
    Afaik your pay will go down if you leave the US, barring some remote gig that will let you work from out of the country.
    Apr 16 8
  • Apple
    7642ghj6

    Go to company page Apple

    7642ghj6
    Look at Switzerland, plenty tech companies with very high salaries for Europe and matching COL.
    A work permit may be problematic, but I don’t know details.
    Apr 16 2
    • Workday
      zblf38

      Go to company page Workday

      zblf38
      OP
      Thanks for the tip!
      Apr 17
    • National Energy Technology Labor
      atory

      National Energy Technology Labor

      atory
      Nowhere in the world one has an issue with “work visa” other than the US. Everywhere it is “you get the Visa easily as far as you have a job offered”.
      Apr 17
  • Seattle
    Apr 16 1
    • Workday
      zblf38

      Go to company page Workday

      zblf38
      OP
      I do love Seattle but it feels a bit too similar to the bay. Plus I’ve really latched onto the idea of trying for UK/EU roles that I’d love to at least try before I’m locked down here
      Apr 16
  • Meta / Eng
    poor_fe

    Go to company page Meta Eng

    poor_fe
    250K USD? You can easily get it in London at any Big tech company. Apply for Meta, Google or Snap. At the E5 level you can get TC around 180-220K GBP. Taxes suck though 🙃

    However, if you want to jump over 300K USD in London on senior level, it’s gonna be hard without jumping on staff level. In Bay Area 500K TC for E5 is more like a norm ;(
    Apr 18 1
    • Workday
      zblf38

      Go to company page Workday

      zblf38
      OP
      Good to know, I’m a senior now but I care less about the title than the pay. If I could keep my current salary even for 5 years I think I’d be happy to have the new experiences. I’m just not crazy about dropping to like 50k GBP or euros
      Apr 18
  • You could get a remote job that turns a blind eye to you working in another country, but you should still pay US taxes and have a residence in the US. Also shouldn't stay in any country long enough to establish residence either (tax implications).

    Or if you really want to move to another country for real and actually try to live there for real, then suck it up and get a job in the country and take the TC hit. You can always move back if it doesn't work out. View it in a similar way as someone taking a year off to travel would, except you still make some money.
    Apr 17 1