Berlin, Germany. It's a good place for software engineers, particularly with some experience. The rent is still pretty good although growing. The salaries for software engineers vary, and it's usually better to go with more established companies rather than with yet another startup. The city has its multicultural vibe and one can enjoy night life, culture, etc.
Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
31–40 of 44 posts
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#32Chicago. Affordable rent[1], dense, car optional, highly walkable, good transit, best biking city in the country[2], phenomenal restaurants and beer. I've met several visiting New Yorkers that refer to Chicago as a "smaller, cleaner New York." I've been here 8 years and have never had trouble finding a new programming job when I wanted one. People will decry the violence (of which the vast majority is confined to the…
Chicago culture is nothing like New York, however, so the comparison is a bit moot. Chicago is very much a Midwestern city with a Midwestern culture. And in my years living in Chicago, I didn't know a single person who didn't own a car, and most of them spent lots of time driving.
As an anecdotal retort, I live in Chicago, not the suburbs, and known of 1 person who owns a car that I work with.
Unless you need to get out of the city, public transportation is very very good.
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#33I live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn next to the D train (20-30 mins to Manhattan) and I've made $80-95k and live quite comfortably, so if I make it over six figures I'll be more than fine. It's fairly cheap in terms of rent and groceries and I'm near all the fun stuff in Manhattan and other parts of Brooklyn. It's not the prettiest part of New York, though, but I like it here.
I don't know what the salary/cost ratio is, but I find it a non-issue. That said, I am 22 and have no children. I agree with another commenter here to said it depends on your lifestyle and hobbies.
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#34Buffalo is really up and coming. We're starving for devs here and salaries are quickly going up. The cost of living is crazy low. The real estate market has been depressed for years - my house actually appreciated during the real estate crash. Commutes are short and your options are really varied as far as what kind of community you want to live in.
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#35Philadelphia is pretty good.
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do any of the large tech companies (Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple) have offices in Chicago?
Google has a significant presence, though my understanding is it's mostly sales. Chicago has a well-diversified economy, so it's not dominated by any one industry or company. There are a ton of bigcorp jobs, but they're more likely to be for companies like Hyatt, Walgreens, McDonalds, United, Allstate, etc. Legal and finance (particularly quantitative & algorithmic trading) are big as well.
The Chicagoland area used to be a telecom powerhouse with plenty of software jobs in the area. This was 15 years ago.
We had: Motorola (before all the splits), Lucent, Westel, Telabs, USR, 3Com and more I'm probably forgetting.
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Chicago culture is nothing like New York, however, so the comparison is a bit moot. Chicago is very much a Midwestern city with a Midwestern culture. And in my years living in Chicago, I didn't know a single person who didn't own a car, and most of them spent lots of time driving.
As an anecdotal retort, I live in Chicago, not the suburbs, and known of 1 person who owns a car that I work with. Unless you need to get out of the city, public transportation is very very good.
I think part of the issue is that Chicago's downtown and inner city are small enough that you typically do want to get out of town. Compared to cities like New York where people can easily go months, even years or decades, without ever thinking about leaving the city proper. That tends to be why so many people (vast majority) in Chicago own cars. And I've heard no end to the rants about trying to park in that town.
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#38Portland, Oregon. Dense, VERY walkable/bikeable, substantial amount of tech jobs, and more affordable than other major US metros with comparable amenities.
I did a stint out there at Intel in 99. It was a really cool city. I second your suggestion.
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#39I've lived in Atlanta since 1997 and I always found the pay to be great, while the cost of living isn't all that bad.
I'm an application architect pulling in a little over $160k. I recently bought a house over in Decatur with my girlfriend. A nice 1920 craftsman, 2,400 sq ft, for $600k. Before that I rented a loft in an old converted warehouse that was a little over 2,500 sq ft, for $1,300 a month.
There is a lot of tech work here in Atlanta, and while we don't have the greatest public transportation compared to other cities, I haven't owned a car in 3 years. I take the train to work and use ZipCar/Uber when I really need a car.
If you live inside the perimeter there are great neighborhoods, great restaurants, and plenty of things to do.
Re: Ask HN: What cities have the best salary / cost of living ratio?
#40Chicago. Affordable rent[1], dense, car optional, highly walkable, good transit, best biking city in the country[2], phenomenal restaurants and beer. I've met several visiting New Yorkers that refer to Chicago as a "smaller, cleaner New York." I've been here 8 years and have never had trouble finding a new programming job when I wanted one. People will decry the violence (of which the vast majority is confined to the…
Chicago culture is nothing like New York, however, so the comparison is a bit moot. Chicago is very much a Midwestern city with a Midwestern culture. And in my years living in Chicago, I didn't know a single person who didn't own a car, and most of them spent lots of time driving.
> didn't know a single person who didn't own a car, and most of them spent lots of time driving.
Really? I know lots of people who don't own a car & many, many people who have never had a drivers license. Its clearly not as car free as NYC, but is anyplace in the USA?
I think one thing about Chicago is that there is a lot of variance in peoples experience. Living in Morgan Park is different than Lincoln Park which is different than Orland Park.