My wife and I made a very conscious decision to NOT move to SF when we were looking to move back to the US from Australia. Frankly, SF and the whole valley were not where we wanted to raise our three kids (6, 2.5 and newborn). Doing cost comparisons, quality of life and education we just couldn't justify SF over other places.
This is, by all accounts, a career limiting move for me (I'm in tech, but I work remote right now), but it is the right decision for our family.
Perhaps in 10-15 years when the kids are older, though right now, !SF feels like the right decision for our family.
My big hope for the next 10-15 years is that remote work becomes more and more common.
It will be nice to see your comparison of the cost of living between Bay Area and, let's say, Sydney. Can you please provide one? Starting with the assumption that AUD 80k salary in IT in Sydney for the software engineer position will be equal to around $100k in SF.
Out of curiosity: I've often heard that Australia is a great place to live. Did you move back to the US because you were missing "home", or was there anything in Australia you felt unhappy about for raising a family?
This is, by all accounts, a career limiting move for me (I'm in tech, but I work remote right now), but it is the right decision for our family.
Perhaps in 10-15 years when the kids are older, though right now, !SF feels like the right decision for our family.
My big hope for the next 10-15 years is that remote work becomes more and more common.