
Why software engineers should start their careers in San Francisco - RachelF
http://qz.com/570389/one-major-reason-why-software-engineers-should-start-their-careers-in-san-francisco/
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shostack
Not an engineer but on the marketing/advertising/analytics side of things. I
moved from Chicago to the Bay a while back. If I could do my career over, I
would have started in the Bay (beyond the hindsight that would have enabled me
to purchase real estate here at 2008 prices...ugh).

Simply put, as you grow in your career and can provably add more value than
you cost, you gain more leverage in salary negotiation (typically). So if you
ratchet up to a high salary in SF, you might have to take a dip when moving to
lower cost of living areas, but perhaps not. Maybe you just take less of a pay
increase. Either way you'll likely still come out much further ahead.

If you can manage to budget effectively and can save/invest smartly, those
dollars you initially earned in SF can go much further elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love living in the Bay, but I'll admit I've
been very tempted to move somewhere with a lower cost of living where my money
goes a lot further. Of course the tradeoff is I likely wouldn't have the
amazing weather, people, food, activities, culture, etc. that exists here in
such a rare combination.

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gizi
I have never set foot in SF and probably never will. I currently make much
more than the average there. Anybody who bases his decisions on that kind of
meaningless statistics will obviously drive the average down, wherever he
goes.

