[Valien]

Here in the South (and namely Greenville, SC) we've had a shortage of talented IT (devs mainly) since 2008. Great gigs here and great opportunities but most folks don't or can't relocate (due to being upside down in a home someplace) or can't fathom a 'pay cut' since our area doesn't pay Silicon/Boston/NY rates yet our cost of living is quite a bit lower (at least has been).

If you're a talented developer and out of work more than a month you either are horrible at interviewing, have terrible soft skills, or really aren't that good. Or you might be on vacation :)

[prodigal_erik]

I doubled my salary over the last couple of years by moving from Seattle to the Bay Area. Unless SC would involve a much smaller hit, the cost of living there could be $0 and I'm still better off here. I'm not assuming valley rates are sustainable compared to almost anywhere in the world, but somehow they haven't ended yet.

[mahyarm]

I was getting job offers close to bay area wages from seattle when I moved down to the bay area several months ago. I think seattle has caught up money wise.

[mahyarm]

How much lower is it? If it's more than 24'000 then the valley is still a better deal. The number next to your wage also has positive carrer benefits even if you net the same amount in the end.