[femiagbabiaka]

Software engineer salaries have been rising in a globalized market. Companies can already hire wherever they want. Many do.

I have no doubt that if companies can pay workers less then they will. But that’s not what’s happening.

[pishpash]

Rising compared to what? Junior engineers are doubling or tripling up to live near work in metropolitan areas or face crushing commutes. It's a sign that even in software engineering, capital is crushing labor.

[femiagbabiaka]

You're describing two different problems. Housing supply in the Bay Area and New York -- the areas I'm assuming you're talking about, because most other metropolitan cities are building to keep up with supply just fine -- is incredibly low. In addition, in the Bay Area especially, the incredibly high salaries in combination with that supply is causing skyrocketing prices.

[emiliobumachar]

Be aware that Silicon Valley is an extreme global outlier in real estate prices.

[AYBABTME]

Not really, there's cities all over the world with conditions that lead to crazy high real estate/housing costs. Most every metropolis ends up with a similar situation. Slightly different settings that all sum up to "high demand low supplies". NYC, London, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Tokyo, ...

[ben_w]

SF is an outlier compared to London. From expatistan.com:

Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in NORMAL area:

SF: $3,663 (£2,789) London: £1,766 Difference: 58%

[foldr]

Worth noting that the difference there is exaggerated somewhat by the unusually low value of the pound at the moment.

[onlyrealcuzzo]

Worth noting that tech workers in London make about 1/2 to 1/3 of what they do in the Bay.

[ben_w]

The unusualness of the pound is about 10%, +/- the usual variations, isn’t it?

[harimau777]

Is this true when you are comparing similar conditions? Something along the lines of: Large cities with significant multiculturalism, high tech jobs, significant culture (arts, media, entertainment, museums, etc.), public transportation, and openness to various ways of life

[bluGill]

Yes. Try moving to Minneapolis, which has plenty of everything you ask for and housing prices are not out of control. If you don't need a large city, Des Moines does well too on the rest of your qualifications.

[C1sc0cat]

Not Compared to London though - London does have a much better transport system so living 60-70 miles away and commuting isn't as bad as it would be in SV.