Which would you choose: $165k in the Bay Area vs. $95k to work remotely (San Francisco: apartments, renting)

[usamathman]

Hi All,

Not sure if I should have posted this in the general work forum. Would love to get a few opinions of those in the Bay Area.

Currently weighing several offers. Landed a nice gig in downtown San Francisco. Base pay of ~165k with other incentives. Startup Environment. Interesting and challenging work.

Also landed another opportunity to work remotely. Salary of $95k (with other incentives). Same type of work as the SF gig. Free to work in any city I want.

I've never lived in Bay Area. Visited several times and think that I would enjoy the city. Much more than I would where I currently am. Pretty sure that I wouldn't want to stay more than two years.

Just wondering if the extra $65k salary hike for the bay area job is enough incentive to make a move and turn down a chance to work from any location making a decent salary?

My dream job would be to to work from home making $110k+. Hoping to get as far away from the corporate environment as I can.

Any thoughts/advice on my situation.

Is the Bay area pay and quality of living worth turning down a chance to work remotely on a decent salary?

[Nn2036]

Where are you living now? Or where do you intend to live with that remote job?

[jade408]

1. do you have a family or plan on having one?
2. domyou mind living in an old apartment?
3. do you need to purchase a home?
4. do you have anyone to support?
5. do you have debt?

[usamathman]

Originally Posted by usamathman

Hi All,

Not sure if I should have posted this in the general work forum. Would love to get a few opinions of those in the Bay Area.

Currently weighing several offers. Landed a nice gig in downtown San Francisco. Base pay of ~165k with other incentives. Startup Environment. Interesting and challenging work.

Also landed another opportunity to work remotely. Salary of $95k (with other incentives). Same type of work as the SF gig. Free to work in any city I want.

I've never lived in Bay Area. Visited several times and think that I would enjoy the city. Much more than I would where I currently am. Pretty sure that I wouldn't want to stay more than two years.

Just wondering if the extra $65k salary hike for the bay area job is enough incentive to make a move and turn down a chance to work from any location making a decent salary?

My dream job would be to to work from home making $110k+. Hoping to get as far away from the corporate environment as I can.

Any thoughts/advice on my situation.

Is the Bay area pay and quality of living worth turning down a chance to work remotely on a decent salary?

Ideal location would be somewhere in midwest or south. Atlanta, Minnesota, Chicago. Mid to Large city with some nightlife.

Originally Posted by jade408

1. do you have a family or plan on having one?
2. domyou mind living in an old apartment?
3. do you need to purchase a home?
4. do you have anyone to support?
5. do you have debt?

1. None
2. Yes
3. No
4. No
5. Student loans

[ambient]

Originally Posted by usamathman

Hi All,

Not sure if I should have posted this in the general work forum. Would love to get a few opinions of those in the Bay Area.

Currently weighing several offers. Landed a nice gig in downtown San Francisco. Base pay of ~165k with other incentives. Startup Environment. Interesting and challenging work.

Also landed another opportunity to work remotely. Salary of $95k (with other incentives). Same type of work as the SF gig. Free to work in any city I want.

I've never lived in Bay Area. Visited several times and think that I would enjoy the city. Much more than I would where I currently am. Pretty sure that I wouldn't want to stay more than two years.

Just wondering if the extra $65k salary hike for the bay area job is enough incentive to make a move and turn down a chance to work from any location making a decent salary?

My dream job would be to to work from home making $110k+. Hoping to get as far away from the corporate environment as I can.

Any thoughts/advice on my situation.

Is the Bay area pay and quality of living worth turning down a chance to work remotely on a decent salary?

You'll do fine on $165K plus bonus in SF, but no doubt you can go further on $95K elsewhere. You could own nice property with that income; not so in SF.

I would make the decision based on what experience you want to have, both personally and professionally. And that will hinge kn what stage of life you're in.

Living in SF can certainly be fun if you're young and up for adventure; much more of a pain in the ass if you're older, hace a family, and want to settle down. Conversely, being remote can be a better fit later but duller in your early years.

It sounds like you're not particularly ambitious in terms of career, but if you were, I would strongly advise you to take the SF job. Not only do you learn more on site, you also grow your network a lot faster, both inside the company and out. SF tech scene is a fantastic place to grow a really strong network that can open many doors for you. You don't have to stay at your startup long for that virtuous cycle to begin. This applies to being on site in other major cities as well.

Just know that you may well reduce your career trajectory and increase your risk as a remote employee. You won't have as many opportunities for promotion and advancement. You wont have the same networking opportunities as your peers, and you'll oftentimes watch them get ahead of you. And when restructuring hits, remote folks will tend to be earlier in the queue of layoffs. In my company - a major tech firm you have definitely heard of - our leadership has effectively banned remote workers. They only happen by exception or are grandfathered in from before the policy was enacted.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

You're talking about $70,000. That ain't chump change. Figure out the cost of commuting (and you don't have to own a new car), and the tax you'd have to pay on it, then decide if you can lose that money.

Also, if you have to pay for childcare or any other costs you might incur driving to work every day to an office. Clothes, etc.?

It seems hard to believe you'd be better off without that much extra income.

To put it into perspective, my retirement income is about $900/month. And I don't live under a bridge.

So, although you could be fine with the lower income, you have to look at your lifestyle to know if you're willing to make the sacrifices for that extra income that you could, in theory, actually sock away for your retirement. Some sacrifices are worth it - some aren't. It really comes down to you and what is important to you. If you would be eons happier staying home and are willing to make sacrifices as far as spending, then that's what you should do. If you can't stand not to be able to go out all of the time with your friends, while wearing new clothes, etc., then you better go for the bigger salary.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by jade408

2. do you mind living in an old apartment?

Originally Posted by usamathman

2. Yes

If you want a nice new apartment in SF plan on spending a lot. Here is a new looking studio in a just ok location for $3060/month.

https://www.avaloncommunities.com/ca...ue/floor-plans

[usamathman]

Great comments all. At this point I'm really leaning toward the remote job primarily because I've grown very tired of working in an office environment. The work wouldn't be nearly as challenging as what the SF gig provides, but that is something I'm willing to live with.

Money drove me to my current gig. Looking back, I'm not any happier than I was before at my lower paying job.

Guess it's just the money that's really making thing so hard about this next decision.

Am I right to say that I should be expecting to take home about 60% of income after taxes and insurance if living in the bay?

Lot's to think about. Keep the comments coming. Very helpful.

[BurnInTheMil]

$165K in the Bay Area is solid, especially for a single person. It really depends what you ultimately want.

After spending 2 1/2 years here so far, and making around $120K per year, I can say I’ve never had any issues making ends meet, taking trips, spending money, etc...but I also have almost no debt. I do also live in the East Bay (Pleasant Hill/WC) which saves some money.

Without a doubt, I would choose to work remotely for $95K though. There are sooooo many places I’d rather be than the Bay Area, and as someone else said, $95K will go a very long way elsewhere as well. Only you know what you want most.

[Novatoman]

Hello usamathman,

I've done onsite and remote work for many years and here is what I think:
1. I prefer remote work a bit more than on site, especially if you can work flexible hours (lets say 7am-12pm and then 2pm-5pm, for example). Please note here, your work model does not have to be one way or the other. No one is prohibiting you to come and stay on site for a week once in a while and catch up.
2. It is harder to get remote work opportunity so I would not through it away. You can find an onsite job in San Francisco almost any time.
3. Buy a house you can easily (and profitably) resell (even if you will end up renting it to someone else). This is almost always the right decision. If you will end up switching back to onsite position in SF (for whatever reasons) you will have a passive income from the rent.
4. Working remote can be harder if you are always alone in the house/apartment. After awhile you start missing interaction with people. But there is an easy fix - I can go hike every afternoon (with someone.
5. Outside of CA $95K is good money but if you need more cash you can do some other consulting work after hours/and on weekends. This also helps with taxes
6. If you work remote you can travel the world (a big bonus!)

P.S. In your situation you can go either way and reverse decision later (win/win) and benefit from experience.

Good luck!