[stoilt]

> Companies are already hiring nation-wide. How many SFBay employees were born there, and how many relocated from all other parts of the country for a job?

Yes, but employees had to relocate to the Bay Area so companies had to pay that level of salaries. But if people can work from whatever cheap location then why would any company keep paying that much?

> As for global: global competition has been upon us for decades now. Most big tech companies have foreign offices in countries like India.

Sure, and they get paid on Indian levels. I am also not from the US, I work and live in Europe but both my current and previous employers are big American tech companies with HQs in the Bay Area, and guess what they pay here? Standard European salaries that any other local company does. Maybe a couple of percent more, but nothing outstanding, definitely not close to Bay Area level salaries. And that is exactly the point I'm trying to make here: companies adjust the salaries considering the cost of living of the area their employees live in. If you move to a cheaper place, that will definitely have an impact on your salary.

> Finally, you are mistaken if you believe pay will drop so much.

Well, time will tell. I hope you'll be right there.