
Ask HN: Thoughts on relocating from SF to Sydney? - sydney_market
Hi HN,<p>I currently work in SF at a startup in a semi-technical role (think: Analytics&#x2F;UX&#x2F;Product).  I&#x27;ve been looking to move on from my current company and am considering an offer to move to a startup in Sydney (they would handle all the visa stuff and help with relocation).<p>The offer is extremely attractive for a few reasons:<p>1 - The startup is doing cool stuff, has great leadership, and seems poised for big things<p>2 - Improved title (ie: Senior XX) with interesting scope of work<p>3 - I&#x27;ve been in the Bay Area most of my life, so I&#x27;m really excited about the potential opportunity to live overseas for a few years while still developing my career.  Sydney is great and I have no kids or real obligations to speak of, so now would be the best time to do something like this.<p>My main concerns are:<p>1 - My S&#x2F;O.  She has similar overseas aspirations would love to move out shortly after I get settled in.  She&#x27;s great and has no trouble getting job offers in the US, but I&#x27;m unclear on the visa situation - is it easy for companies to sponsor foreign workers or did I get really lucky?<p>2 - Comp&#x2F;Standard of living. In raw #s, the offer is about equivalent to my current wage, but the AUD &lt;&gt; USD exchange rate results in close to a 25% pay cut for me in USD terms.  I&#x27;m not sure if that&#x27;s &quot;normal&quot; for tech salaries in Sydney vs SF, and if so - is Sydney really that much cheaper??<p>3 - Career Development.  I&#x27;m assuming I&#x27;ll be able to hop back to SF after 2-3 years relatively easily, but I could be way off base.<p>4 - I don&#x27;t know what I don&#x27;t know.<p>I have a couple of contacts in Sydney and Australia through family and grad school, but I know nobody working in Tech there outside of the folks I&#x27;ve been interviewing with so I&#x27;m still quite a bit in the dark.  I&#x27;d love any thoughts or input you may have!
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airbreather
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