[shanwang]

that's partially true, but you forget european countries usually have higher tax than US (not only income tax, but also VAT, fuel tax, etc).

here in London a mid-level engineer, which I assume is the bottom half of senior software engineers, are typically paid £50-£60k/year in startups, which usually have poor pension schemes. £50k is about $60k and you already start paying for 40% tax for the top £10k of your salary.

You can get more if you go to big companies but then so can you in the US.

[openplatypus]

That might be true for start-ups. VP level engineer in the bank can yield £80-120K and that does not include bonuses and other perks.

If you plan to run a start-up, and you can have remote first organisation (physical co-location is not required by say client attendance or manufacturing process) then do so!

And if you do stay in London, compete with banks for best talent with your wallets, not ping-pong tables.

[user5994461]

There are the places that pay and places that don't pay. Your numbers in London suggest that you should look better and negotiate harder ;)

[shanwang]

I was talking about mid-level engineers in startups, not senior engineers in banks, if you want to compare big employers, £80-£120k is nothing compared with $250-300k you get as senior developer in Silicon Valley.

[user5994461]

Well, the 1 bedroom in London is far from 3000-4000 per month.

I don't know the details of the costs of living and all the expenses. Maybe SV is better but I just want to say that it is not twice as better, contrary to what some comments would have you think.

[shanwang]

Renting is about the only thing SV is significantly more expensive than London. Quick Google shows me this: https://www.numbeo.com/cost--living/compare_cities.jsp?count...

The cost of living in SF is 1.4 times higher but the wage is 1.75 times higher. Note this number is assuming you are renting, and not considering electronics which is a lot cheaper in the US.

The house price in London is still more expensive, and if you are a senior developer in your 30s that's probably more relevant than renting price.

Factor those in, as a software developer, in SV you are easily 30-50% better off than London, the best paid city in Europe. The pay gap between Europe and US do exist, Silicon Valley is the technology centre of the world, Europe isn't.