Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

blog.triplebyte.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

331–340 of 524 posts

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#331

Post by rconti »

sedachv wrote: post #236
strictnein wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get what you're saying, we were in a 1800sqft home before this and a 780sqft home before that. After the first month or so in a space this size, it doesn't feel that big. You just get kind of used to it, although you kind of appreciate the space. The only time we notice the size of it is when we get back from a vacation. Also, once you have kids, homes feel much smaller. Before kids, we lived in a 600sqft rental du…

> After the first month or so in a space this size, it doesn't feel that big. You just get kind of used to it, although you kind of appreciate the space. Who does the cleaning, you or your partner? I never got used to cleaning a larger space. It is definitely a huge waste of time, vacuum bots only help marginally. Also annoying is walking or especially moving something from one end of the dwelling to the other.

We finally gave up on cleaning our 1150sqft house ourselves and hired cleaners. I feel like a failure, being unable to keep my own personal space clean, but the extra time is nice.

Went to an open house once in a huge ranch. When we decided to leave, I noted how long it took us to walk from the bedroom to the front door. Man I'd hate to dash back in the house "really quick" for something I forgot. I guess that's a first world problem though!

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#332

Post by rconti »

superqd wrote: post #227
rconti wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not disputing your conclusions, but I wonder what the hell people do with 4200sqft houses. I grew up in a very normal 5 bedroom multi-level house, 4 person family. It was 2400sqft. So were everyone else's houses. My house in the valley is about half that size, for 2 of us. Given infinite money, sure I'd like a bigger house. 2k, maybe 2500. I just cannot fathom why anybody would even WANT 4k+. I hear of people living…

Personally, we wanted the neighborhood, and also both my wife and I grew up very poor (i.e., we'd never lived in a really nice house). So we bought a mid-size house in a really nice neighborhood (over bought a little). That's why I am personally very happy with downsizing. But not at the cost of paying 4x what I am paying now. But as already said by others, you fill the space and get used to it. There are times it's…

Dedicated movie theater WOULD be nice -- I realize if we had kids combining a living room + entertainment room + playroom is all a bit much. And it would mean either no office or no spare bedroom, if one of the room was taken up by kids.

Of course, it wouldn't take 4x the space we have now to get all that, but I definitely get it a little bit.

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#334

Post by michaelchisari »

beachstartup wrote: post #293
michaelchisari wrote: post #5

I ended up in Los Angeles because, despite being an expensive city, rents were cheaper than the Bay Area, and the salaries being offered were equivalent. I have a great place in LA that would easily be 50% to double the price in the Bay. This wasn't the only reason but it was one of the biggest. Another reason being that I wanted to work in tech as it relates to media and content, and there were many more options to…

for those who don't know, quality of life in LA is entirely dependent upon your commute. your life can either be the single best big-city experience in the country, or a hellish, dystopian nightmare that will send you into a suicidal depression. i'm not joking. if you move to LA, plan ahead.

your life can either be the single best big-city experience in the country, or a hellish, dystopian nightmare that will send you into a suicidal depression.

That's a valid assessment.

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#335

Post by tedmiston »

jknoepfler wrote: post #300
_lex wrote: post #297

This analysis is very low quality. Engineers move to the bay area not for salaries, but for equity and RSUs. It's not unusual to make your salary again in RSUs, which are usually not that risky. Equity is a mixed ball, however. But these two factors are the unique element in the Bay area, and why you should move there. If you are an engineer in the bay area without loads of equity or RSUs, you're getting ripped off.

The analysis is low quality for a lot of reasons... 1. It motivates moving to sv because there are "lots" of successful startups. Is the rate of successful startups higher than elsewhere? 2. Average reported salary is a garbage statistic. Compare median values, between jobs of equal "status" (Google != j-random shipping company... Compare Google sv to Google Seattle within job title groups)

> 1. It motivates moving to sv because there are "lots" of successful startups. Is the rate of successful startups higher than elsewhere?

Probably, yes, but hard to say since a 2–3x "acquihire" can be a big success for another a city but considered a failure in SF, so how "success" is defined is different.

Even with that, the probability of hopping on a rocketship is still very low higher in the Bay Area than elsewhere, but I felt the article was disingenuous if the intent was to suggest an engineer has good odds of picking the right rocketship at the early stage. It's not science.

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#336

Post by seanmcdirmid »

bradlys wrote: post #119
nostrademons wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It takes about 2 years to save up $100K on a typical Bay Area engineer's salary, if you're fiscally prudent. Figure that $150K/year after taxes is about $110K/year, and live on $60K/year. That's eminently doable even in the Bay Area. The problem is that $100K is a very low estimate for a down payment in the Bay Area these days. Most people I know are getting parental help to put down $500K down, because with housing…

Sorry, I live here. I have an average salary for my experience. I can barely save $20k/yr. My rent+util is about $2000/month. I live in a very /cheap/ 1-bedroom with creaky carpet floors, no insulation, and near train tracks that's far outside SF. (Belmont) Altogether I spend close to $4000/month if I don't do anything special. /Everything/ is more expensive in this region. Food is expensive for no apparent reason ot…

Uhm, Belmont isn't exactly a ghetto.

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#337

Post by debt »

josh_carterPDX wrote: post #143

As someone who grew up in the Bay Area, but moved to Portland about three years ago, I can tell you there is a stark difference in ecosystems. However, if you are a young up-and-coming programmer coming out of school, it makes complete sense to move to the Bay Area. If you're an Actor you move to L.A. to get your big break. If you're a programmer, you go to the Bay Area to work for a big firm that will help build you…

if you have that gnawing feeling of "needing to get out" then fuck yeah go to the west coast.

but remember, it's all sorts of a fucked up and competitive out here so be prepared to work your ass off. don't move out here to just make friends.

try it out at. you will miss your friends and your family.

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#338

Post by cryptozeus »

_xhok wrote: post #127
dustinmoris wrote: post #100

So a recruiting agency who makes money from placing applicants in the Bay area, a place with a shortage of developers, writes an article to convince more developers to move to the Bay area ? Yeah, totally trust their data and the data they selected for this article!

So, do you actually see something wrong with/missing from their data?

"If you are interested in moving to the Bay Area and joining a successful company or a tiny startup, Triplebyte can help you find a job. Give our process a try here. "

Conflict of interest

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#339

Post by linkregister »

pdimitar wrote: post #244

> It’s easy to hear data and stories like these and conclude that programmers moving to the Bay Area are suckers. After all, salaries have not risen by 70% in the past four years. But what this analysis misses is the extent to which this place and time is exceptional. The author lost me right there, even though I did make an honest effort to read the article to the end. (1) There are plenty of "brain centers" in the…

I wonder if you have ever been to the Bay Area. It sounds like your entire conception of it is from HBO's Silicon Valley. Most developers in the Bay Area are working 9-10 hours per day, not 16.

> Most of us Europeans strongly dislike touting.

This is a Scandinavian trait, not universally European. It's not even universally Scandinavian.

You're mad about something, but I can't figure it out. What is it?

Re: Does It Make Sense for Programmers to Move to the Bay Area?

#340

Post by seanmcdirmid »

geldan wrote: post #315
linkregister wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which taxes? Marginal California income tax + MediCal is about 13% at the $120k bracket.

Seattle has no income tax, and sales tax doesn't apply to most food from the grocery store, so taxes in Seattle really depend on how you choose to spend your money.

Washington state will ding you in other ways to make up for the lack of an income tax...e.g. more property tax.
Post reply on HN