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Remote work is becoming more "real" by the day, so it's certainly possible in the age of the internet to work remotely in a low cost location while making a sal
by sjdb77 7y ago
Remote work is becoming more "real" by the day, so it's certainly possible in the age of the internet to work remotely in a low cost location while making a salary competitive with a higher cost of living city like SF/NY/LA.
- Tehchops 7y agoOh I totally agree. I'm doing this very thing: SF salary, live in Western MI. But that's really only available for a small subset of the population.
- freehunter 7y agoOn a team of 50 (all remote workers), I have four coworkers at my multi-national tech company who live in/around Grand Rapids. It might be more common than you think.
- Accujack 7y agoIf you're in a technical job and an occupation that allows it, sure. Plenty of machinists, auto mechanics, health care professionals and welders aren't gonna have much luck working from home.
- cylinder 7y agoThey don't work in the CBD though, so being in housing walking distance to major transport options isn't important (and thus can work out cheaper housing options).
- aledalgrande 7y agoProblem is a lot of companies get smart and "pay by location". I've seen big cos from the Bay offering half the salary (before currency exchange) for workers in Vancouver.
- sjdb77 7y agoThe trick is usually to get a job locally in SF, do well for a couple years, and then ask to work remote.
- claudiulodro 7y agoAnd then just work for that company forever? What's the end-game?
- sjdb77 7y agoWork for yourself eventually?
- bradlys 7y agoAll of these options people are presenting are not realistic for most workers. Contracting, starting your own company, and working at the same place for the rest of your life are generally not advisable (Or even doable!).
- aledalgrande 7y agoYes I think a lot of people were thinking of working for Lehman Brothers until retirement, but then the company died.
- davidjnelson 7y agoThis is a great goal for certain types of people with exceptionally high talent and resilience.
- taborj 7y agoEnjoy life outside of work? Look, I enjoy my work and it's pretty meaningful work that affects people in real ways. But I work to live, not live to work. My job is a means to an end, that end being to have a fulfilling life that doesn't revolve around what I do for a living. Because of that, I find the quest to climb the corporate ladder has lost it's appeal. I'm cool staying at my current, well-paying, work from home job until I retire. I don't want to be running a company, I want to be running my life.
- swlkr 7y agoI do this and I want other people to know it's possible too. I'm putting together a list of the best places to live for remote workers with families, hoping to turn it into a little website that you can filter by schools, available internet speeds, median house price, that sort of thing. Hopefully it will help someone out there when there's more data. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X2JihFpA97EEAMz8kD-jwETnR09oEaGux7v2TynY8qI/edit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X2JihFpA97EEAMz8kD-j...
- mikebonnell 7y agoHow would one contribute to this?
- taborj 7y agoAgreed, I want to contribute. So I can direct people away from where I live, so the prices don't skyrocket.
- swlkr 7y agoHaha, for now it's just the spreadsheet like I mentioned in parent comment.
- freehunter 7y agoWhere I live, there is a concerted effort to do the same thing. For a long time people in the area have been trying to convince the world that our region is the best. Best beaches, best food, best beer, best outdoor activities, best mix of weather, best music, best quality of life. And then we all saw what happened to Portland, Seattle, and Austin once the word got out and everyone knew about these "secret" cool cities. So now we keep our mouths shut and enjoy our beer and beaches without all the tourists and transplants.
- swlkr 7y agoFor now it's just the spreadsheet, (anyone can edit) but the website will be by done by Nov 11th. That's the goal anyway, and then from there I could open source or just do weighted average input for people to rate their favorites w/ no login required. It's early days.