Problem is a lot of companies get smart and "pay by location". I've seen big cos from the Bay offering half the salary (before currency exchange) for workers in Vancouver.
Gitlab, for example. You can see the multiples in the json used for the salary calculator (eg. Vancouver 57.367 % of a SF salary): https://about.gitlab.com/salary/data.json
Enjoy life outside of work? Look, I enjoy my work and it's pretty meaningful work that affects people in real ways.
But I work to live, not live to work. My job is a means to an end, that end being to have a fulfilling life that doesn't revolve around what I do for a living.
Because of that, I find the quest to climb the corporate ladder has lost it's appeal. I'm cool staying at my current, well-paying, work from home job until I retire. I don't want to be running a company, I want to be running my life.
Amen. You could also consider starting a small business if you want to stay lower key.
Corporate ladder does seem a bit... sad? But maybe some people like it! More power to them!
Cool thing about a small business is you can create a long term sustainable lifestyle that suits you. I like the philosophy of TJ Holowaychuk with Apex (created expressjs and a million other amazing things), super cool. At one point it was referred to as a “non startup”. Love that dude :-D
Nothing wrong with building a company up to an ipo either, that could be a blast depending on the people and context.
One could also work for a medium sized company. Build mission critical software, then maintain it.
I know a guy that has done this for a few companies and then moved onto consulting for them. Makes SV money in the midwest. Works whenever he wants, 99% of time remotely, and companies will sometimes wait if he has too much going on to do work for them.
The guy is living the life. So, I want to do the same.
All of these options people are presenting are not realistic for most workers. Contracting, starting your own company, and working at the same place for the rest of your life are generally not advisable (Or even doable!).