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Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

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Re: Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

#41

Post by iancmceachern »

vdnkh wrote: post #24
swashboon wrote: post #12

I worked with two developers in Boston who were DINK (Double Income No Kids) and they sold their Boston condo, moved to the Midwest (Minneapolis) and bought a six bedroom house on a lake and two jet-skis for the same price as their condo. Their cost of living went down tremendously. By their own standards they lost nothing compared to Boston (food/services/entertainment actually got better) except that they had to de…

This is a very consumerist world view (get big house, get fun toys) that not everyone believes in. I choose to live in a more vibrant city where I essentially trade my money for opportunity, experiences, and community.

And weather where you can enjoy the outdoors more than 3 months a year.

Re: Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

#42

Post by humbleMouse »

dexwiz wrote: post #17

Moved from the Midwest to the Bay Area, and tech comes in two forms: IT departments at major industrial firms (manufacturing, chemical, pharma, etc), or companies that are eventually bought by West Coast companies. The pay cap is much lower. Becoming a millionaire through stocks and wages is harder, but you will still be in the top 10% of earners overall. If you want to live in a mansion, the Midwest makes this dream…

This is a good summary

Re: Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

#43

Post by nip180 »

vdnkh wrote: post #24
swashboon wrote: post #12

I worked with two developers in Boston who were DINK (Double Income No Kids) and they sold their Boston condo, moved to the Midwest (Minneapolis) and bought a six bedroom house on a lake and two jet-skis for the same price as their condo. Their cost of living went down tremendously. By their own standards they lost nothing compared to Boston (food/services/entertainment actually got better) except that they had to de…

This is a very consumerist world view (get big house, get fun toys) that not everyone believes in. I choose to live in a more vibrant city where I essentially trade my money for opportunity, experiences, and community.

Minneapolis would have significantly different opportunities, experiences, and communities than Boston. I’m not sure I’d declare one over the other. In this example having the opportunity to spend a lot of time on or by the lake would be highly desirable, not directly consumerist, and more available in Minneapolis than Boston.

Re: Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

#45

Post by gonehome »

user5994461 wrote: post #26
castratikron wrote: post #4

Stats are from 2018, any idea what the trend has been in the last six months? Are a significant amount of workers truly leaving places like SF and NYC for a cheaper place in the Midwest?

Yes. Droves of workers who got laid off and graduates who can't find a job. It's impossible to remain in the tech hubs without a job given how incredibly expensive the rent is. The average HN commenters at a comfortable FANG really don't grasp how bad the situation is for the rest of the people.

Even many of those at a comfortable FANG still live with roommates in shared housing and have no hope of buying a house on the peninsula where the median price is approaching $3M.

The anti-housing people are mostly locals that bought their house for $300k 20yrs ago and pay no property tax on its new value due to prop13.

Re: Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

#46

Post by cvhashim »

vdnkh wrote: post #24
swashboon wrote: post #12

I worked with two developers in Boston who were DINK (Double Income No Kids) and they sold their Boston condo, moved to the Midwest (Minneapolis) and bought a six bedroom house on a lake and two jet-skis for the same price as their condo. Their cost of living went down tremendously. By their own standards they lost nothing compared to Boston (food/services/entertainment actually got better) except that they had to de…

This is a very consumerist world view (get big house, get fun toys) that not everyone believes in. I choose to live in a more vibrant city where I essentially trade my money for opportunity, experiences, and community.

Agreed. But on the other hand, we live in a connected and distributed world. You could always meet new people and colleagues through virtual networking events, virtual hackathons, even niche subreddits/HN/indiehackers etc.

Re: Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

#47

Post by user5994461 »

ericye16 wrote: post #28
swashboon wrote: post #12

I worked with two developers in Boston who were DINK (Double Income No Kids) and they sold their Boston condo, moved to the Midwest (Minneapolis) and bought a six bedroom house on a lake and two jet-skis for the same price as their condo. Their cost of living went down tremendously. By their own standards they lost nothing compared to Boston (food/services/entertainment actually got better) except that they had to de…

What do two developers who are DINK need 6 bedrooms for? Genuinely curious.

1 bedroom for them + 2 bedrooms for the future kids + 2 rooms for office/storage/miscellaneous.

It's really not hard to find use for rooms.

Re: Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

#48

Post by throwaway713 »

rubidium wrote: post #13
claudiulodro wrote: post #5

For people that work in any of these cities, how have you been enjoying it? What sort of tech companies are around? What do the job interviews and salaries out there look like?

For programmers in Indianapolis, there's numerous opportunities. Salesforce has helped advance the salary curve. Job interviews are pretty straightforward. Nothing like the FAANG grind. Salaries are $80K fresh out of college. Surpassing $200k is doable at places like Salesforce, Eli Lilly, etc.. Lots of "routine" programming jobs are in the $100-$140k range going from Senior to Staff. Higher levels of IC and manageme…

The problem is the compensation ceiling in these cities. It’s not the Midwest, but when I was searching in Atlanta for tech jobs to stay closer to family, the upper limit was about $150k, which I think was at Square. There are other non-tech companies that offer SWE positions (The Home Depot, Warner Media), but you will always be treated as a cost center and the career growth is limited.

Meanwhile, SWE comp at FANG can end up closer to $350k for senior engineers and $600k for staff positions. With a lot of these companies now offering permanent remote work, even a 50% pay cut is better than the local offerings.

Re: Hiring for tech jobs has increased more than 100% in these Midwestern cities

#49

Post by BurningFrog »

vdnkh wrote: post #24
swashboon wrote: post #12

I worked with two developers in Boston who were DINK (Double Income No Kids) and they sold their Boston condo, moved to the Midwest (Minneapolis) and bought a six bedroom house on a lake and two jet-skis for the same price as their condo. Their cost of living went down tremendously. By their own standards they lost nothing compared to Boston (food/services/entertainment actually got better) except that they had to de…

This is a very consumerist world view (get big house, get fun toys) that not everyone believes in. I choose to live in a more vibrant city where I essentially trade my money for opportunity, experiences, and community.

What do people mean when they say a city is "vibrant"?
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