I just more than doubled my Tc to 150k from 65k by going to Amazon. My friend got an identical offer but has to relocate to Seattle where as I get to stay in Phoenix. My rent here is $700 and the cost of living is overall generally cheap. Where as my pal (granted he lives in a fancy place in Seattle) costs him 250$/month to park his car, and 2800 for rent alone... Some people don't like the Phoenix heat I understand that, but other than that we're just a city like any other city. Why would anyone want to go to a hcol area vs not? Is there something I'm missing? #tech
I live in a $1500 1 bedroom that's new in Seattle...so spending $2800 is not needed.
I agree, obviously that's a premium charge alone, but even then, just general cost of living seems higher. And while I've never lived in Seattle online calculators say id need to be making ~50% (on the lower end to compensate for margin of error) more to maintain my current financial situation. And the housing market seems to be far less expensive as well. I guess it really just comes down to where people prefer to live scenically?
I live in Phoenix and $700 is really low for rent. I’m not saying it’s impossible to find that here but if your friend is paying 2800 they’re also wanting to pay for a level of quality that you don’t desire. It’s hard to compare things like that when you aren’t comparing similar quality too.
People move to HCOL areas because the salaries justify it. Even though it is expensive out here if you tried to keep your expenses low and rent a one bedroom instead of buying an expensive house you could work 10 years and retire easily to a LCOL location.
Yes and that makes sense when the offer is just something that can't compete with a lower cost of living area, but if you can get an identical or even bigger offer why would you go to the hcol area vs the lcol And I'm not saying it's wrong or bad, or even if it's simply "I like this area better, so I'm gonna live there", I see absolutely nothing wrong with that It just seems odd to me, especially in our field where a lot of people are trying to retire as early as possible
I’ll give you a hint… you’re thinking short term. Think long term.
Yeah, not everyone is remote working. Some of us work with hardware.
This isn't a remote position.
So that's why some of us love in HCOL areas. We have non-remote job ops in those areas.
Phoenix offers probably cap out close to the 150-200K range. That's a new grad offer in the bay area. Senior engineer offers in the bay area, Seattle, and NYC are probably in the 300-500K range. Keep in mind that cost of living (if you're good with money) should only be a minor component of your total TC. Your rent might double from 1K to 2K, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to your TC.
That's the thing, that 150k is a new grad offer which is what boggles my mind
Exactly - that's the entire appeal of high COL areas
besides the compensation allowing them to afford the hcol and save more, the other reason is that people feel there are more opportunities for them in the hcol that makes it worth it. Opportunities to get other jobs, to connect with interesting people, to learn from people with similar means and goals
1. lifestyle 2. career mobility (both up and out) 3. top of market in HCOL is very different from top of market in Phoenix. It will be harder to find another job that pays 150k in Phoenix.. But in HCOL areas, non-eng can make that much. So if anything, your friend got lowballed and you got lucky. The better question is why is your friend making this decision...
Well my friend and I both got new grad offers from Amazon so they were non negotiable in terms of salary, mine was in Phoenix his was In Seattle, it was mind boggling that they were the same
What part of town are you renting in Phoenix for $700??
Gilbert
FOMO and perceived prestige maybe?