> I mean, as far as I know, people get like a 2x-4x raise moving to silicon valley from europe.
One factor to keep in mind here, though, is that the cost of living there is so insane that even a multiplier on pay could go with a total quality of life decrease.
> Nor will I ever move to SF, no matter how lucrative the offer.
You have never lived there, if I understand correctly. Why wouldn't you move there? Is there some experience you have with it? Housing prices? Internet rumors?
> I will have to relocate (which I wanted to do anyway), but I can't fathom why anyone _wouldn't_ be looking right now given the state of the job market.
Could it be that most of your compensation bump is due to the relocation rather than the current market? To take extremes, moving to SV from almost anywhere in the world would result in such bumps, but that was already the case a few years ago.
> I was once asked to move to SF for a job and given a 20% bump compared to Toronto salaries so I could afford it
Just to dwell on this point for a bit, I think your offer was not equitable. When I was offered to leave the GTA for SF I received a 50% pay bump with the knowledge that it would be closer to 200% in a few years.
Fast forward 1.5 years and that's exactly what happened. A few years later and the pay bump was closer to 300% and I'm happy it worked out the way I imagined, otherwise like you said, it would not have been worth it.
> The salaries here are higher, but the housing prices are much, much higher.
I'm Australian so YMMV, but six months ago I took a 25% pay cut to move out of Sydney to somewhere with lower housing costs and a shorter commute. I'm never going back.
> Everything is outrageously expensive
> Middle class gets crushed
I moved out of New York City in 2020. The overriding reason was not this, it was just a fluke that I got a very compelling out of state job offer in 2019, and they requested I move in 2020.
However, I am making about about $150-$160k as an SWE, and it goes a lot further here (although having to spend $700-$800 a month for a car, which I did not have to do in NYC, bites into that a little). I have a new, big, apartment with a front door to a tree-lined street in a nice walkable neighborhood near my workplace for less than $2000 a month. In New York I would have an older, smaller apartment on a higher floor in not as nice of a neighborhood for more a month.
I know people say to move to the Bay area because that's where the action is for tech jobs and where you make connections etc., but I don't see why not take a step on a way for a decent paying job in a cheap city where you can accumulate savings while your skillset is increasing.
The juniors/associates I work with making <$100k a year say they can barely afford their expenses now here. I don't know what they'd be doing in the Bay Area or New York. They have roommates too.
I saved up a ton of money down here, and gained experience as well. If I move back to New York (or to the Bay Area), I do so on surer footing - I have a lot of money saved up for a rainy day now.
It also makes for a situation where those with lower income - even associate/junior SWEs at Fortune 100 companies - can't afford to live in cities like NYC, San Francisco etc.
> If they're not offering a pretty major cost of living adjustment to salaries (probably in the realm of doubling salaries), this is going to really suck for those who were previously remote.
Literally no salary adjustment will make it better for many people. Your spouse has a geo-tied job? Your kids love their school (or, hell you just don't want to raise kids there full stop)? Oh, and what salary adjustment will make up for it if you live in the kind of place you can afford a half-acre back yard?
> I have tried to hire in low COL places and people want to move to SF instead.
In another comment you suggest that you'd pay $350k, but at $700k you would suspect their loyalty. I'm in Portland and not interested in moving to SF, and if you're offering $350 - $700k comp I'd be happy to talk with you. :-)
> But if they had offered me a full-time position, they would have had to offer to pay me at least $250k-$350k per year, for me to be able to afford to keep that same apartment.
Huh? Rent is expensive in Cupertino, but not THAT expensive. You can live quite comfortably with half that.
You'd be surprised. Granted it was over a period of 4 years, but I did hit that 5x.
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