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2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

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Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#151

This analysis may be reasonable as far as it goes, but it can still make financial sense for someone to live and work in the Bay Area. I recently took a new job near San Francisco paying ~$160k. Living cheaply, our actual consumption for my family of 3 is about ~50k a year. (Yes, this is possible -- and life can still be enjoyable if you like spending time in nature/other inexpensive activities.) After taxes, that le…

50k a year for a family of three? Sure, maybe if you are really, really frugal and live far south or east. But living in the city, you could barely pay rent + groceries with 50k a year for a family of three. We live relatively frugal and got a good deal for rent, but I'm pretty sure we are over 50k a year, even more now that we are a family of three and need to consider the outrageous prices of daycare. That last point is something I now miss a lot from my home country: professional (2+ years of technical/uni training) daycare at reasonable prices, even free depending on the area/your income.

Edit: I just saw that you live in the city. The rest of the argument still holds though.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#152

This analysis may be reasonable as far as it goes, but it can still make financial sense for someone to live and work in the Bay Area. I recently took a new job near San Francisco paying ~$160k. Living cheaply, our actual consumption for my family of 3 is about ~50k a year. (Yes, this is possible -- and life can still be enjoyable if you like spending time in nature/other inexpensive activities.) After taxes, that le…

Beyond actual savings amounts, one thing that was pointed out to me recently is that travel costs the same for everyone.

So if you like to travel, living in a high-cost/high-salary area can provide a major advantage for your endeavors.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#155
post #12

Hah, I'm actually somewhat disappointed. I read "making" as "creating" - as in what people are making app-wise around the world right now. Free idea if anyone fancies it (I wish I had the time!) - a live update map that sources geo-tagged tweets with a specific hashtag (#ShowHN?)

Where are you from? I've always heard "how much do you make" when people talk about compensation. I'm from the US and have lived in California and Washington.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#156
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That's true. You just don't have to go as far out in Austin or adjacent cities. Certainly housing is affordable to buy in Austin city and surrounding, on even one modest tech salary. I don't think the same is true in SF/bay area or LA. Austin is very expensive in a small central core, but drops off considerably only a small number of miles away.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#157

...and Vancouver, BC doesn't even show up on the radar because our average is roughly $53,000 USD / year. Might wanna consider outsourcing here. Same time zone as SV, similar culture, speaks English, tight job market means loyal workers. source: https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/vancouver-software-develop... USD/CAD as of today: 1.31

There's a lot of upside for an engineer to work for a US based company from Toronto. Or for a US based company to hire someone from Toronto. Same with Vancouver.

I'd seriously consider that, but nowadays there's a significant risk that an abrupt anti-outsourcing executive order might put you out of work.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#158
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 wouldn't want to live in the City - shitty schools and bad neighborhoods. Wouldn't want to work in the city because then you pay an extra income tax (and the drive is too far for me). But the suburbs are actually very nice and millions of people live here quite happily and safely.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your commute like? My friend that moved there who tries to convince me to move out there, has a 2hr one way commute. How many sq feet is your living space for you and your family?

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…

> We live in a 680 sq ft one-bedroom apartment

I am barely willing to live by myself in a space of this size, let alone with spouse and children. For those that are, the bay area presents an opportunity to save some of the large salaries being offered. For those that are not, it's a deal-breaker.

Re: 2017 State of Global Tech Salaries

#160
post #155
post #12

Hah, I'm actually somewhat disappointed. I read "making" as "creating" - as in what people are making app-wise around the world right now. Free idea if anyone fancies it (I wish I had the time!) - a live update map that sources geo-tagged tweets with a specific hashtag (#ShowHN?)

Where are you from? I've always heard "how much do you make" when people talk about compensation. I'm from the US and have lived in California and Washington.

UK but it's context either way. Original title when I responded was "What software engineers are making around the world right now"
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