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FAANG Simulator

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Re: FAANG Simulator

#211

Post by Muromec »

jambalaya8 wrote: post #210
Muromec wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The happiest a was when our entire team was laid off and my whole balance was 10k dollars and I went on to live off that from r a year and a half in Thailand.

That must have been a long time ago. When I lived abroad and was going for cheap, since I was so damned burnt out, most of the people who did not manage to totally convince locals to treat them like a local paid way more for things like rent (though still very cheap by American standards). I mean, you could find cheaper places, but I wouldn't expect not to pay for it in other ways. I mean unless you were just sort of…

It was some time ago (2012), and the rent on Ko Pa was less than 500 USD I believe. I'm not sure how much more expensive it is now, but cheap places are cheap.

Re: FAANG Simulator

#212

Post by jambalaya8 »

Muromec wrote: post #211
jambalaya8 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That must have been a long time ago. When I lived abroad and was going for cheap, since I was so damned burnt out, most of the people who did not manage to totally convince locals to treat them like a local paid way more for things like rent (though still very cheap by American standards). I mean, you could find cheaper places, but I wouldn't expect not to pay for it in other ways. I mean unless you were just sort of…

It was some time ago (2012), and the rent on Ko Pa was less than 500 USD I believe. I'm not sure how much more expensive it is now, but cheap places are cheap.

Yeah, I was operating on the idea of a Southeast Asian or Central American range of around $500-650ish a month rent depending on the size (these are like prices from a decade, decade and a half ago, no clue how much they have changed just sure they did not go down). For sure a lot of places were better and cost more though still cheap by American or EU standards. But you still need clothes, food, utilities, fun, basic essentials, money to get from place to place, and some padding for an emergency, etc. And the cheaper places, you would be competing with locals. $10k a year to them was and often is a lot. And if you were local it would be for you also since you would have local connections and family etc. You would not live as an American would, though.

The part about living on that $10k was not so much what threw me (I mean, you CAN live on $1k a month, and I know people did it, certainly back in 2012, but you are not going to be eating much Western food, or springing for many extravagances like Western brand liquors, probably). What threw me was how, halfway or 2/3rds of the way through that year, without that ongoing idea of replacing that $1k a month, anything going wrong would seriously suck. Locals work and replace spent money with money. So do expats.

Re: FAANG Simulator

#213

Post by himata4113 »

Exoristos wrote: post #61
himata4113 wrote: post #37

I think this would be a lot more fun if there were different "starting" charasteristics. High starting money, but low tolerance for burnout. Poverty, but extremely high tolerance for burnout. Can't find a job debuff. Low skill, grifter, false promises, lie to win. (Rolling chance to end up in prison). High skill start, low tolerance for burnout. ADHD debuff. Picking the opposite option of what you want debuff. Also a…

> Poverty, but extremely high tolerance for burnout. Slanting toward the fantasy genre here.

poverty is an unbelievable motivator if weaponized

Re: FAANG Simulator

#214

Post by Muromec »

jambalaya8 wrote: post #212
Muromec wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was some time ago (2012), and the rent on Ko Pa was less than 500 USD I believe. I'm not sure how much more expensive it is now, but cheap places are cheap.

Yeah, I was operating on the idea of a Southeast Asian or Central American range of around $500-650ish a month rent depending on the size (these are like prices from a decade, decade and a half ago, no clue how much they have changed just sure they did not go down). For sure a lot of places were better and cost more though still cheap by American or EU standards. But you still need clothes, food, utilities, fun, basi…

Not eating fancy and not drinking at all was a big part of it of course. The idea was to freelance a bit here and there to stretch it out, but eventually I did run out of money, packed my shit and flied back to places where getting a job was an option. Finding jobs was much easier back there and back then.

> You would not live as an American would, though.

yeah, not being American was definitely contributing factor too.

Re: FAANG Simulator

#215

Post by Shocka1 »

api wrote: post #120
daemonologist wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if you seek them out (ski resorts and such). I've lived in both of the most expensive major inland cities (Chicago and Denver) and $85k is plenty in both, even for a small family.

Honestly these days even the MCOL (medium cost of living) interior cities like Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Charlotte, etc. would be tight on 85K especially with any dependents. Our family lived in HCOL places like Boston and LA before returning to Cincinnati a few years ago. It’s still cheaper than those but wow … I remember it being a lot cheaper when I left. Since we returned it’s gone up even more. Some ne…

Cbus has been designated as the "Silicon Valley of the Midwest" in recent years, and the prices have reflected. Fortunately, you can make FAANG or coastal money if you have the right skills, even though our fellow "real" Silicon Valley devs might not want to admit it.

Re: FAANG Simulator

#216

Post by jambalaya8 »

nixon_why69 wrote: post #143
jakevoytko wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, what has changed over time that has made it more toxic? I left Google in 2015. It certainly had its share of toxic traits, but it was at the "what place doesn't?" level.

My feeling was multiple generations of optimizing for promo packets had made the entire culture cynical at G and Amazon. It's one thing when people give lip service to the right things but sometimes the wrong things are rewarded. It hits another level when leaders are actively coaching and advocating cynicism. Throw in layoff fear on top of that and now it's a political mess.

Mmm. The way users are talked about at web and software companies now is almost nothing like 20-30 years ago. Aside from a few times when things got a bit too annoying (like maybe a few hours every month or so) I barely remember the negativity at all. We almost never talked about users, just the product. There was wayyy less cynicism and anger in the workplace.

Re: FAANG Simulator

#217

Post by jambalaya8 »

Muromec wrote: post #214
jambalaya8 wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I was operating on the idea of a Southeast Asian or Central American range of around $500-650ish a month rent depending on the size (these are like prices from a decade, decade and a half ago, no clue how much they have changed just sure they did not go down). For sure a lot of places were better and cost more though still cheap by American or EU standards. But you still need clothes, food, utilities, fun, basi…

Not eating fancy and not drinking at all was a big part of it of course. The idea was to freelance a bit here and there to stretch it out, but eventually I did run out of money, packed my shit and flied back to places where getting a job was an option. Finding jobs was much easier back there and back then. > You would not live as an American would, though. yeah, not being American was definitely contributing factor t…

The part about it being easier to find work and make money fast back then is the part I also miss. I used to just feel it was safe to believe the worst case scenario was I would have to just do temp work briefly if I couldn't find a tech gig fast enough to pay my rent or eat, since few people typed nearly as fast. Now even that is rife with competition and those places are overflowing with CVs.

Getting work in tech 15 years ago after a break was hella easy compared to now. Guessing you, like I, are also deep into the years of maybe being called overqualified.

I guess the crypto bros and influencers have taken over a lot of whatever you wanna call what existed during the few decades when tech expats had it. Sorta changed forever when all the betting platforms became legal in America (whether you are or were American), too. The mood changed. So did the local populaces.

I worked remote when I traveled.

Re: FAANG Simulator

#218

Post by windward »

jongjong wrote: post #208
windward wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your life would be more cushy if you didn't hang around in suboptimal jobs.

Why do you assume I have access to such opportunities? This whole argument rests on the idea that everyone has equal access to opportunities. Which is incorrect. Firstly, it's trivial to prove that the hiring process is broken and discriminatory. Secondly, history is not an indication of future performance. Just because it's been working out for big tech over the past few decades, doesn't mean this will continue. Esp…

You live in a better paying country than me. You work harder than me. You've worked for longer than me. You've saved less than me.

Suboptimal use of the opportunities available to you is the kinder option here.

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