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Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

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81–90 of 408 posts

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#81
post #79

Because I can't work anywhere. It may be theoretically possible but business in the UK is pretty traditional in a lot of ways and just won't consider anything else. Fortunately I live in the East Midlands, where there's a developer talent shortage, and I'm pretty good at my job, so whenever I want to change something seems to come up.

Leicester? Why?

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#82
> it was always a country to keep offshore companies/accounts, so every rich developer in ex-USSR already been there and knew the place, but since 2014 it started to make sense to move physically as well

I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that since 3 years ago Cyprus (among others) 'sells' EU permanent residency permits to rich foreigners. You can imagin that an EU permanent residency permit, allowing you to live and work in all of the EU is worth more than gold for rich people in Putin's Russia, KGB Belarus and war-thorn Ukraine.

Let's not pretend Cyprus is an international tech hub for developers and start ups...

http://gulfnews.com/business/property/cyprus-property-opens-...

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#83
post #39

Which leads me to learn that the 6 “Alpha Regions” of the world are SF, LA, NYC, Boston, Toronto, London, Paris. Even if it’s not perceived to be at the center of the technological metamorphose, Paris is still being seen as a place where you can get stuff done. It’s also one of the places in the world where you will get the most infrastructure, meaning technological infrastructure but also political, democratic, soci…

Berlin and Barcelona are way better places than Paris. Unless you're into old cities filled with pretiensious people.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#84
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're a fantastic developer in Ukraine, India or China and have very limited needs (compared to a guy with a family and kids), your disposable monthly income net of taxes, rent and commute expenses is still likely to be higher in Silicon Valley than Ukraine, India or China. A rational decision then would be to move to Silicon Valley arbitraging the costs as much as you can (living with roommates, commuting by Cal…

Moving to the US is not a rational decision in 2017.

For many people I work with, even visiting the US is something they're trying to avoid.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#85

There are successful unicorns that are distributed, remote companies today. That people haven't caught on it amuses me. It should be old news by now that remote companies are possible, that it works and doesn't impede success.

Ok but I don't want to live in a suburb or out in the middle of nowhere. I want to live in a major city. I chose this lifestyle for myself and so have many many others. Yes it's expensive but I make a lot of money. Money that I wouldn't make if I lived elsewhere. So like someone else mentioned above, the economics work out at my stage of my life. If I have kids, the economics might change and make me consider somethi…

So what major city do you live in? And what sum is considered a lot?

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#86
post #32

I make good money. Why would you expect me to live in the middle of nowhere when I can live in the greatest cities of the world?

I lived in big city and while I enjoy most of my time in them, most of what I got to show for is health problems related to living in a big city.

I understand some people enjoy it, I for one traded a 50% pay cut for the ability to live far from any big town with a smile on my face.

I can cycle without breathing exhaust fumes, I can go kayaking from my backyard, I can go fishing after work, I can grow my own food, I can have a dog without feeling like holding it prisoner in a town, I can offer a healthy and low stress environment to my family, I can watch the stars from my backyard,...

Just giving a bit of perspective, coming from a guy who made big money. In the end money is worthless if I'm dead from one of the many things that will end up killing me by living in a big town.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#87

I know someone who was a remote worker from the early 1990s until a year or two ago. He was working from home in the Bay Area for a while, and moved somewhere else to get a lower cost of living. Well, he pulled that off for a long time, but eventually he got laid off and couldn't find remote work. It's actually harder to find remote work now than it used to be. So, he settled for a local job with a lower salary than…

I'd say the situation is quite the opposite - it's now easier to find remote work than ever before. With numerous known companies embracing remote work, it's becoming both a lot more common to work remotely and also a lot more acceptable to inquire whether remote work would be an option.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#88
post #86
post #32

I make good money. Why would you expect me to live in the middle of nowhere when I can live in the greatest cities of the world?

I lived in big city and while I enjoy most of my time in them, most of what I got to show for is health problems related to living in a big city. I understand some people enjoy it, I for one traded a 50% pay cut for the ability to live far from any big town with a smile on my face. I can cycle without breathing exhaust fumes, I can go kayaking from my backyard, I can go fishing after work, I can grow my own food, I c…

I agree that money is worthless in the end. I would rather live here than earn twice as much in a rural or suburban area.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#89
post #58

LOL it is the other way around, cities become most expensive because developers flock there and spend cash. This happens now in Limassol, Cyprus: crowds of developers, most having their own startups, started to flock there since 3 years ago from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine - it was always a country to keep offshore companies/accounts, so every rich developer in ex-USSR already been there and knew the place, but since…

Also very close to the thriving Israeli tech scene, which has lots of Russian-speaking developers (less Russian-speaking VCs).

And also home to a lot of spread betting shops. I suspect because of the regulatory regime.

Re: Why do developers who could work anywhere flock to the most expensive cities?

#90

If the type of development work you're doing can be easily done remotely, then there is a good chance it can be done much cheaper by a fantastic developer in Ukraine, or India, or China, or some country where wages are a lot cheaper than US or England or Canada. If, however, the type of work you're doing benefits from face-to-face interactions (i.e. quick iterations with lots of feedback from users, marketing and pro…

> If the type of development work you're doing can be easily done remotely....

Let's not forget the kind that needs some hands-on interaction with specialized hardware (drones, self-driving cars, etc.) I used to work on calibration and test software for fiber optic switches. Working from home was difficult, considering I needed about $100k worth of hardware, some of which did not exist outside my lab, to do my job sometimes. OTOH, it also meant work couldn't easily follow me home, either, so it was a decent trade-off. I also lived 2 miles from work at the time, so I usually just rode my bike.

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