Live data from Hacker News

2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

hired.com

141–150 of 284 posts

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#142
post #79

A lot of the cost of living calculations are wrong. I had moved from LA paying 1400$ a month rent to Austin and paid nearly the same rent in Austin for a one bedroom. The plus is no income tax in Washington and Texas but food costs are more and property taxes are double in Texas when compared to California.

Austin city is increasingly expensive to live in. Fortunately, the city is in the middle of land that is open on all sides for a considerable range, and there are very affordable options just outside the city. If planned properly, this can result in relatively easy commutes for little cost of living. The property tax lessens considerably in neighboring cities and counties, as well. The lack of state income tax is als…

you could say the same about SF and LA. but how far are you willing to go? problem is for austin these areas are included in cost living considerations.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#144
post #71
post #27

I have a much different cost of living equation supporting my decision to live in the bay. The big expense is obviously rent, which I'm sure they have represented... The average 1 bedroom in Austin around $1,000 and in SF let's say $3,300. Difference of $2,300 * 12 = $27,600. After that, that other $40,000 cost of living difference seems a bit of a stretch. In SF, my company buys breakfast, lunch, dinner and my trans…

SF is bad but not "average $3300 for a 1BR" bad.

It is that bad. But there's huge variance - renting a 1BR in the mission is far cheaper than south beach.

You don't have to spend the "average".

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My commute is a 15-minute walk, or 5-minute bike ride. :) I chose the apartment based on proximity to work -- could have saved $100-200/mo with a longer commute, but the savings would have been more than eaten up by the gas/car maintenance costs and I hate commuting. I still own a car, but don't use it to get to work. We live in a 680 sq ft one-bedroom apartment in an older development ($2200/mo). We'll have to upgra…

You don't have to go to Utah to beat that. My mortgage on a SFH in Oakland is $2350/mo, I have 1800 sq ft and a garage and a big yard.

When did you buy? I don't think you'd be able to achieve that today except in the shady parts of Oakland.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#146
post #27

I have a much different cost of living equation supporting my decision to live in the bay. The big expense is obviously rent, which I'm sure they have represented... The average 1 bedroom in Austin around $1,000 and in SF let's say $3,300. Difference of $2,300 * 12 = $27,600. After that, that other $40,000 cost of living difference seems a bit of a stretch. In SF, my company buys breakfast, lunch, dinner and my trans…

At some stage the IRS is going start start taxing these benefits in kind (its easy money going begging) odd that they don't already as its easier to collect than going after dual nationals overseas

I could see Trump ordering this as retaliation

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#147
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing is keeping women and minorities out of tech, they're just choosing different careers.

I'd love to see your evidence for this. Namely, you'd need to prove that for a given educational level, geographical location and familial history, they're more likely to choose something other than tech than white males.

Given the fact that every college in the country enacts affirmative action, it's apparent that non-whites and women would have no problem getting into the IT field. And given the fact that over 60 percent of people graduating college today are women, that tells me that it's just not a field they're interested in. I don't see why that's a problem.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#148

The problem with straight-across cost-of-living adjustments is that they're only relevant when you're talking about a more-or-less zero savings rate. Assuming you can save 10% of your annual salary a year, you're better off living in higher cost-of-living areas, assuming all other things being equal. Then you are growing wealth (retirement funds, etc.) instead of just getting a more expensive lease for your car or ap…

Definitely this. Saving 50% of a SF salary will beat saving 50% of a Toronto salary by a ridiculous margin. This was a huge part of why I decided to try to find a new job in SF instead of taking the first Toronto offer I had lined up after graduation.

I'd also like to see a comparison of the 90th and 10th percentiles of salaries to get a sense of the salary ceilings and floors in each region.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#149
post #93

Where's Detroit? We had a bit of an exodus back in 2008-2012 but finding people today is like pulling teeth. I'm sure it's a way better financial deal than the bay area.

I think the recent crime/safety reputation its gotten is keeping people (like me) away. I wouldn't move to Detroit even if they paid me $150k, I just don't feel like the risk is worth it.

I live in a Detroit suburb. Currently work there as well but know plenty of people that work downtown. Easy drive to downtown but there are plenty of jobs in very nice suburbs. The city is also nicer than you think. Still fairly rough but improving every day.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Urban areas are typically more expensive than rural areas. Maybe if urban residents stopped subsidizing unsustainable rural living, this price gap would shrink.

>Maybe if urban residents stopped subsidizing unsustainable rural living What do you mean?

Many things necessary (or common) for living in suburban and rural places is subsidized through taxes, flat-rate costs of goods/services, and several other means. I'll give a few examples:

* Internet, electricity, or cable costs significantly more to provide to people living in single family homes with distant neighbors than it does to provide to residents of a highrise apartment building. The consumers, however, pay the same price. The highrise apartment dwellers subsidize the cost of the rural homeowner.

* The postal service. One postal worker in NYC can walk a few blocks, and deliver more mail than one postal worker in a small rural town who must drive 10s of miles to complete the same task.

* Gas. The Federal government subsidizes gasoline. Suburban/Rural residents drive more and consume more gas than urban residents who are more likely to use public transit.

* Roads. The road surface per resident in rural locations is significantly higher than road surface per resident in urban areas. State and federal taxes contribute (not all, but some) of the funding for road construction.

* Government backed home loans and home loan interest tax deductions. Owning a home in large cities is often cost-prohibitive, so urban dwellers do not often receive these tax breaks that suburban and rural residents receive.

* Water. Water sanitization, plumbing, etc. are all much more expensive due to, for example, the amount of pipe and construction labor required per resident.

(edit): I wanted to add a book recommendation for anyone interested in this stuff. It's called Happy City by Charles Montgomery. It speaks to the history of suburban America, and explains why suburban cities are the way they are.

Post reply on HN