[hef19898]

SV vs. Berlin? Sure. Kentucky's hinterland vs. Paris? No, you don't.

Fun fact, FAANG salaries in Europe depend on the lovation you are hired at, with differences between, e.g., Munich and Berlin for the same job levels. It is funny, because companiesbreally understood how salaries and cost of living are connected, and still every discussion on HN regarding dev salaries ignores this simple favt and only compares absolute numbers. Heck, mostly there isn't even an agreemt on the measurement baseline (including US benefits, EU common health care, vacation days...).

[sokoloff]

Many individuals either don’t understand (or pretend to not understand) that most companies make an offer based on what it takes to get you to accept their offer, not based on the value they expect you to create. (It’s perhaps capped by that, but is otherwise not related.)

“What’s your best alternative?” is what underlies the companies’ positions on negotiating salaries.

[roland35]

It's called "cost of market" at my company. Cost of market doesn't necessarily equal cost of living.. for example I make about 20% less in the Midwest than I would in New York or SF, but still way more than if I worked in London. But my cost of living is waaay less than London and also way less than 80% of SF