71–80 of 99 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't need to be at a tech company to work as a programmer.
True, never really thought about that software tech really is in every industry. Do you do that and is it fulfilling?
The idea that home ownership guarantees growth is a fallacy. In most cities prices only keep up with inflation. Ergo you are financially better off renting, and investing the money you would have spent on a house.
A fixed rate mortgage will only change slightly with property taxes and insurance.
Even if the value of the house only goes up with inflation, you still get larger returns because you can take advantage of leveraging other people’s money.
Also, a paid off house means that’s one expense you don’t have to worry about after you retire.
Thought rents/commute etc could be steep, one can expect decent salary as well.
I've heard good things about Dublin. Anyone here on HN able to speak from direct experience? Personally live in Seattle and love it, but I got in before the major boom and it is not nearly as affordable as 5-10 years ago. Still think it is a major upgrade to SF, though.
There's a vibrant enough tech Meetup scene too, so even if you're just paying the bills with a mundane IT role you can still meet interesting people doing cool things.
We're stuck in a major housing crisis though, so accommodation in or near the city is very expensive and hard to find.
Have you considered getting a private pilot license? That should cost around a month of your salary, and open up a much longer commute without adding time… at least, that’s the impression I’ve had when considering the Bay Area.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean by “direct”?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_bank
I had originally tried getting an account in a Sparkasse branch, but it was much more difficult than N26. No doubt there are other online only banks, but I cannot comment on their quality without using them.
Have you considered getting a private pilot license? That should cost around a month of your salary, and open up a much longer commute without adding time… at least, that’s the impression I’ve had when considering the Bay Area.
Do you know anybody who commutes by plane? It's an interesting notion, but something tells me it's too expensive of a commute, even for Bay Area salaries.
I wouldn’t consider it for someone earning less than about $180k/year, just because of how much licensing and vehicles cost, but the comment I was responding to said >$300k.
There is tech beyond SV. My current company is distributed between a second tier city in Croatia and a semi-rural town in NZ. We are in the end-of-life tech, and are taking the Advisor track at Startup School.
Times when you had no tech other than ol' skool corporate IT beyond SV, London, and a few other spots are gone. My current city, Osijek, a second tier city has some amazing tech that is quite prominent globally. Farmeron (AgTech) was founded here and later acquired, https://www.netocratic.com/farmeron-closes-gideon-brother-11... . Infobip (telco infrastructure software) was founded in a semi rural town in Istria region in Croatia.
Don't overlook Eastern Europe. Estonia, Czech, Romania, Poland got amazing tech scenes, and the life is good.
If you work remotely, options are even more abundant.
Don't mind that SV is actually quite vulnerable and gets hit badly by recessions, bursts, etc.
As of the US. New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, are all quite livable.
Bay Area is still first, but these are not far behind: 1. Oxford-Cambridge-London in the UK 2. Shenzhen-Guangzhou-Hong Kong in China 3. Israel
Tel Aviv is awesome. Still housing is an issue. Getting a residence permit unless you are Jewish or marry is way harder than in many other developed countries. Other than that, a great option.
I'm a former Bay Area startupper (Marketing/Sales early stage and a bit of product, not an engineer) and did a stint in Berlin and am currently in Tallinn (Estonia). I think for quality of life Berlin can't be beat, it's a big city but you can choose the right neighborhood for a reasonable price and get any sort of vibe you want from small town to big city hipster (okay maybe there are a few neighborhoods with the la…
Always wanted to work in Berlin. How did you manage the language barrier? I know that most gigs use English as the first language but how about the daily life like doing groceries or calling the phone company for a bad bill?