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I noticed in your original post you referenced "we". If that includes your spouse, which of the two locales is she more likely to find employment? Will she have a work visa? The SF bay area has many things going for it. Unfortunately, affordability is not one of them. If the spouse/S.O. will likely make a meaningful contribution to the household income, I'd consider the bay area. If yours will be the sole income, I'd lean heavily towards Vegas.
There is a reason why it's less expensive in Las Vegas than San Francisco. If there wasn't, everyone would move from San Francisco to Las Vegas, right?
I don't want to start any flame wars, but after living in both Seattle and Phoenix, I understand well why Phoenix is cheaper than Seattle. That's not to say that Phoenix is a bad place to live, but there is an elephant in the room when everyone talks about cheap housing. (Hint: ask yourself: "why is housing cheap in Las Vegas?")
Nah you don't. You just think you do.
In general OC is equivalnet to Seattle in costs...why would anyone who can afford to live in Seattle not move to OC? Or even up a little to Vancouver. That is Seattle with a much nicer climate.
There are lots of reasons but many deal with the luck of the draw.
The cost issue is front and center just like everyone else has suggested, you'll have to decide that one on your own.
Just another point that nobody has brought up yet, I'm not sure who you're planning on working for in Vegas, but consider the number of IT jobs available in Vegas vs San Francisco. I'm not saying there are no IT jobs in Vegas, but there are comparatively few to SF. The biggest difference you'll probably notice job wise is that most IT employers here don't "get" knowledge work and will treat you like an assembly line worker, partly because they don't get it and partly because they don't have to since competition is low.
Obviously it depends on the company but my guess is that you'll likely have better quality of work life in SF and if you don't then you'll have many more options to find better quality of work life.
Good luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by irishman_irl
1. Las Vegas - 70k
2. San Francisco (mountain view) - 78k
and I am trying to decide which is the better option.
The role (database developer) is pretty much identical with both companies, except the SF one pays a little more.
Things that are cheaper/better than Las Vegas in San Francisco
1. Public Transportation
2. Water
3. Electricity
4. Car Insurance
5. Education
6. People
Things that are cheaper/better than Las Vegas in San Francisco
1. Public Transportation
2. Water
3. Electricity
4. Car Insurance
5. Education
6. People
Food is about the same.
Career income is way better than Vegas
You forgot to mention that the housing costs 3 times as much in San Fransisco making it WAY more expensive to live in.
Things that are cheaper/better than Las Vegas in San Francisco
1. Public Transportation
2. Water
3. Electricity
4. Car Insurance
5. Education
6. People
Food is about the same.
Career income is way better than Vegas
Looking at the number of votes in the poll, not too many are agreeing with you armyjimb
Things that are cheaper/better than Las Vegas in San Francisco
6. People
Do you mean people in SF are poor tippers?
Sorry, couldn't resist the tongue in cheek, but there is no way to quantify how people are better. I have had great experiences with people since I moved here. I've also stayed off the strip and away from the entertainment centers; that probably influences my viewpoint. You can point to concrete things like number of buses per 100000 people, or car insurance rates, and state those are better in SF and have something on which to base your statement. But people? That's a personal prejudice that weakens your other positions.
Sorry, couldn't resist the tongue in cheek, but there is no way to quantify how people are better. I have had great experiences with people since I moved here. I've also stayed off the strip and away from the entertainment centers; that probably influences my viewpoint. You can point to concrete things like number of buses per 100000 people, or car insurance rates, and state those are better in SF and have something on which to base your statement. But people? That's a personal prejudice that weakens your other positions.
Great post teach, I completely agree. Sounds like the poster you replied to didn't have much success in Las Vegas. I might be wrong, but my experiences in this forum have shown this is usually true when encountering this type of comment from "sour grape" posters
But you have to realize, there is a reason why housing and cost of living is way cheaper in Las Vegas as opposed to San Francisco.
If there wasn't any reason for the difference, then hoards of people would be leaving SF and moving to Vegas. But from reading here, I don't think that is happening.
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I moved back from Las Vegas to San Francisco
