> Not to take away from the very real issue of what the cost of living > here is and how it puts a strain on people, but it certainly doesn't > require earning $150K to $200K a year.
Depends on your lifestyle. For example, $100k can do significantly more for you in Arizona than $150k can in Silicon Valley or SFO. When I explored positions in SV, I realized very quickly that I would be paying twice as much money to live in an apartment half the size of my house—and that was just the beginning. In the end, it just wasn't worth it. The other factor, though, was the thought of becoming a sort of "cog in the machine" in SV. Working for a big company like Apple or Google, you can lose your whole identity. At Apple, for example, they wholly condemn the idea of going out and speaking at conferences unless your name is Steve, and I was told outright that my speaking schedule would have to come to an untimely end. I couldn't see sacrificing all the great things I get to do as a consultant to work at one of the bigs. Again, not worth it. And as far as opportunities go, well, let's just say I'm doing just dandy living outside of SV. Sure, I'd probably get some very sexy commercial projects working in SV, but sexy commercial projects aren't my focus, so it's a moot point. I'll leave the sexy commercial projects to the youth. :) -r- ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
