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In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

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Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#121

Post by matwood »

baddox wrote: post #94
ransom1538 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did the exact same thing this year. Moved to Oviedo, FL from SF: 1) no state income tax, 2) public schools in my neighborhood are equivalent to a private school in sf [i] 4) weather is great 8 months out of year, 5) beaches you can swim in, 6) rent is ~1/4 of what it was in SF, 7) cuban food, 8) as a resident, kids have year round disney passes [i] http://school-ratings.com/Florida/schools/Carillon_Elementar... WARNI…

That sounds great, but one of the common rebuttals is that the job market (remote or otherwise) may be more challenging outside of the Bay Area.

Keep in mind there is a huge sliding scale between the job market in SF and BFE.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#122

Post by eigenvalue »

hourislate wrote: post #51

Why would a young professional person want to live anywhere where earning 100k + is not enough when they could live in quite a few other states and earn a 100k + enjoying a cost of living that is 1/3 of what it is in SF or NYC? My wife and I both make well into the 6 figures working at boring corporations enjoying a lifestyle where we would have to earn the equivalent of 7 figures in the Bay Area or NYC. There are a…

Well, one reason is that it is possible to make a lot more than $100k in places like NYC and SF with a bit of luck/talent/hard work. Plenty of people in NYC make $1mm+ per year. But that is simply not going to happen in most parts of the country if you're not an entrepreneur. So you have to consider that "option value". Plus, NYC attracts some of the best and brightest, has great cultural offerings, is diverse in many respects, doesn't require driving, etc. It's a no brainer for me to live there.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#123

Post by ithinkinstereo »

throwthisawayt wrote: post #32
archeantus wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We moved to Utah where the tech scene is actually quite strong, and the cost of living is significantly less. We bought an 8k sq ft house for the price of many 1,500 sq ft town homes we had been putting offers in on in California. It can be such a rat race down there, it is refreshing to remember that it doesn't have to be that way. Life exists outside of The Valley, and it happens to be a pretty darn good one (and a…

Are you a minority race and if so would you say that Utah is friendly to non-whites ?

Utah is pretty friendly overall on account of the high Mormon population.

Metro-SLC is pretty liberal and tolerant. The further out you go, the more ignorance you'll encounter.

My bigger issue is the beer. 2.5% whatttttt?

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#124

Post by ng12 »

error54 wrote: post #11
bardworx wrote: post #5

I don't know much about SF salaries, but in NYC, 100K is really middle class. With enrage rent at 2k/mo, salaries have to be high in order to keep up with cost of living. Everyone makes a huge deal about the number but shouldn't it be more of a ratio? Like the cost of living to base salary? That should be a better statistic to judge quality of life.

NYC != Manhattan. Yes, 100K is middle class in lower Manhattan but in the outer boroughs, you could live quite well on 100K.

NYC is still smaller than the Bay Area. And if you're comparing it to the Bay you need to include Jersey/CT/LI -- where $100k will go a long way along a train line.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#125

Post by glup »

chadlavi wrote: post #72
cbhl wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Live on the other side of a subway or commuter train line. New Jersey, Brooklyn, Queens, that sort of thing.

> Brooklyn Hahahahahahahaha, good one. Maybe you're in some alternate dimension Brooklyn, but the one I live in is full on crazygonuts expensive.

I know Greenpoint / Williamsburg / Dumbo / Brooklyn Heights / etc. are but what about Bushwick or other parts further inland?

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#126

Post by archeantus »

CalRobert wrote: post #68
rocgf wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My reaction exactly. Americans use way too much, to be honest. 8k sq ft is more than enough for like 7+ families.

Yeah.. I mean, space is nice, but in homes of 800 or so square feet I've been pretty happy. How much carbon is emitted cooling and heating an 8k sq ft home in Utah? How far do you have to drive to do things?

Our utility bills certainly have gone up, which we aren't thrilled with. We are considering some solar panel options to help bring our carbon footprint down. Being fully remote, I try to make up for that by not driving very much :)

Overall, the valley we live in has pretty much everything we could want, from a retail perspective.

A nice small-town grocery store about 3 mins away, and larger national chains further down the road.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#127

Post by netizzio »

OhHeyItsE wrote: post #64
ransom1538 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did the exact same thing this year. Moved to Oviedo, FL from SF: 1) no state income tax, 2) public schools in my neighborhood are equivalent to a private school in sf [i] 4) weather is great 8 months out of year, 5) beaches you can swim in, 6) rent is ~1/4 of what it was in SF, 7) cuban food, 8) as a resident, kids have year round disney passes [i] http://school-ratings.com/Florida/schools/Carillon_Elementar... WARNI…

What's the tech job market like there? Or are you fully remote like above?

The tech industry in Central Florida has grown in recent years and seems to be quite strong at present with companies like Disney, Universal, Deloitte hiring lots of tech folks, and a small but growing startup scene.

Salaries aren't going to be the same as the west coast though (obviously), and most of the senior developer roles I've seen cap out at around the $100k-ish mark. With the far cheaper cost of living though, it goes a lot further.

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#128

Post by netizzio »

ransom1538 wrote: post #46
archeantus wrote: post #6

Wow, this resonates with me. In 2013 my wife and I were living in the Bay Area and had just welcomed our third child into the family. I was making 105k/yr at Apple (which seemed like a ton at the time!) but I felt like I was saving very little of that. I was approached on LinkedIn to take a job with matching pay but that was fully remote. I could live anywhere I wanted in the entire country. I jumped at the chance an…

Did the exact same thing this year. Moved to Oviedo, FL from SF: 1) no state income tax, 2) public schools in my neighborhood are equivalent to a private school in sf [i] 4) weather is great 8 months out of year, 5) beaches you can swim in, 6) rent is ~1/4 of what it was in SF, 7) cuban food, 8) as a resident, kids have year round disney passes [i] http://school-ratings.com/Florida/schools/Carillon_Elementar... WARNI…

Welcome! From another remote dev in Orlando (though not a disney pass holder... yet).

Re: In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”

#130

Post by user5994461 »

_ao789 wrote: post #76
rocgf wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My reaction exactly. Americans use way too much, to be honest. 8k sq ft is more than enough for like 7+ families.

After living in 'cramped old london' for over a decade (still), I can only dream of the luxury of 800 Sq.m. Where do I sign up? :) fitting multiple people/families into anything less is just bad living standards as far as I'm concerned. You work hard all day long to go back to such a depressing existence. Time to start living fellow HN'ers!

Or time to charge more and get bigger
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