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0 pointsscarface747y ago0 comments

That's low compared to FAANG, but it's much higher, even adjusting for COL, than most of the "perfectly normal" lower salaries in these comments. That's not good: those lower salaries should be considered abnormally low; mine should be considered on the high end of average

These are the "average" salaries across the industry in different metro areas:

https://www.matrixres.com/salary-surveys

As far as $200K being high adjusted for COLA, in the burbs where I live. $330K gets you a house - brand new build in a top rated school system with five bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3000 square feet with a yard, two car garage, and a separate nice size office. What does that get you in SV?

Anyone making at least $110K can buy that house with an FHA loan with 3.5% down.

What a company is going to pay is based on the supply and demand.

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sidlls7y ago

$330k gets you goody looks when considering a purchase of a home, or outright laughter. On the other hand your $330k home is not going to yield sufficient ROI to make up for the double (or more) savings and investment rate my salary affords me. I can save almost as as the $110k earner in the suburbs has as his disposable income, and I have access to a diversity of culture, well maintained parks, good (private) schools and such that the suburbanite can only dream of in most cases.

scarface74OP7y ago

Again speaking hypothetically, using the numbers I posted earlier for what an average experienced developer can make in most metro areas - around $130K and if you’re married to a college educated spouse (statistically that would be true because of assortive mating) making an average salary of around $50K. You could easily save $70K a year.

Do you think there are only parks, “diversity of culture”, and good schools on the west coast? If someone is living in a top rated school zone where the top 20% of earners live, do you really think that the school system wouldn’t be good?

friedman237y ago

>As far as $200K being high adjusted for COLA, in the burbs where I live. $330K gets you a house - brand new build in a top rated school system with five bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3000 square feet with a yard, two car garage, and a separate nice size office. What does that get you in SV?

Nobody actually plans on retiring in SF. When I'm done working here for 10 or 15 years I'll have enough to move and own a mansion in whatever town you live in and retire. After 2 years of working I already have $170k in savings.

secabeen7y ago

I think you may find it harder to relocate after 10-15 years. Your friends and community will be in SF, and leaving that, especially in your 40s can be very hard. When I moved in my early 20s, it took between 2-3 years to re-establish my friend networks and community in a new city. I would be hesitant to do that again. Kids make it even harder, as you may be pulling them away from their closest friends.

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scarface74OP7y ago

Speaking in general, not about me in particular...

I'm going to give up 15 years of my life -- the time that most people spend getting married, having 2.5 kids, etc. to live in SV -- when I could spend those fifteen years living in the burbs in a big house with the white picket fence in almost any other major city in the US?

Especially if you are a two parent household, the general MO is that the second smaller income can go straight to savings. It's quite easy for a dual income earning household to make 200K if one is software developer and the other just makes an average income for a college grad of $60K-$70K,

ska7y ago

   when I could spend those fifteen years living in the burbs in a big house with the white picket fence in almost any other major city in the US?

Why would you speak "in general" about something so specific - this really isn't a goal for everyone. All the best for you making your own decisions of course. In my case I will make considerable tradeoffs to hopefully never live in a 'burb again.

It's also worth noting that cities aren't fungible.

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cableshaft7y ago

Not so easy anymore with student loans for a lot of people. Between the my girlfriend and I, we are currently paying $1300 a month on student loan payments. That's pretty much a mortgage payment right there (for the Midwest, where we're living).

And my student loans only got up to ~$25k. The average student loan debt per student at graduation was $37k as of a couple of years ago. Mine will be paid off within a couple of years, at least. She still has a long way to go.

I honestly don't know how most people outside of software development or other high paying jobs make ends meet, nowadays.

We're doing alright and we bought a house earlier this year, but we're still having to juggle money around during the month to make sure everything gets paid.

And yet we're in the top 10% for household income in the country, supposedly (I'm not bragging; pretty much every individual developer on Hacker News that lives in SV should be in the top 5%). It really, really doesn't feel like it.

friedman237y ago

> I'm going to give up 15 years of my life -- the time that most people spend getting married, having 2.5 kids, etc. to live in SV -- when I could spend those fifteen years living in the burbs in a big house with the white picket fence in almost any other major city in the US?

First of all I'm not "giving it up" and I have no desire for your lifestyle. It honestly sounds horrible.

Enjoy your life.

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sidlls7y ago

scarface74OP7y ago

friedman237y ago

secabeen7y ago

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scarface74OP7y ago

Speaking in general, not about me in particular...

ska7y ago

   when I could spend those fifteen years living in the burbs in a big house with the white picket fence in almost any other major city in the US?

It's also worth noting that cities aren't fungible.

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cableshaft7y ago

I honestly don't know how most people outside of software development or other high paying jobs make ends meet, nowadays.

We're doing alright and we bought a house earlier this year, but we're still having to juggle money around during the month to make sure everything gets paid.

friedman237y ago

First of all I'm not "giving it up" and I have no desire for your lifestyle. It honestly sounds horrible.

Enjoy your life.

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