[jniedrauer]

I've never worked in SF and it hasn't hindered my career. There are thriving tech markets all over the United States. If your goal is to maximize your income over expenses, DFW is a fantastic place to work, for example.

As far as networks go, my network is spread all over the country. I have former coworkers in Seattle, San Fransisco, Portland, Austin, Dallas, New York. It hardly matters where you live when you've worked with remote teams for half of your career.

[Klonoar]

I mean... with all due respect, man, you can't argue against what you haven't experienced.

I've worked in tech hubs around the world. I still go back to SF a few times a year and keep connections fresh, because they can make or break things sometimes.

[vonmoltke]

> If your goal is to maximize your income over expenses, DFW is a fantastic place to work, for example.

Must have changed a lot in the couple years since I left, because I was having trouble finding senior jobs that paid over $100k/year.

[jniedrauer]

I haven't had trouble finding salaries above this as a mid level devops engineer. As a senior, I would expect to see 120-140k.

And my cost of living was approximately 30k/year. That's the part I really miss.

[vonmoltke]

In 2016 the only six-figure lead I had (with 14 years of experience) was a really shitty contract gig with Ziosk. I was sitting at $92,500 at a small company. I got a raise to $95,000 just before I left. I would probably be at $105,000 - $110,000 now had I stayed.

When I left Raytheon in 2012 I was making $82,500 + 3%-5% performance sharing. I would probably be about $100,000 now if I had stayed there.

Who around there is paying $140,000 for seniors? If I could have made that I would probably still be there, since I moved to New Jersey for $180,000.