Im pretty sure that even after adjustment, savings rates for software engineers in SF is much higher than in Berlin.

There are many perks to Berlin over SF, but salaries and net income are not it.

So why are you even comparing the two and not e.g. working for Google in San Francisco and Zurich?

Berlin is a start-up hub, and its a place i know. I cant speak for Zurich from first hand experience.

Im just emphasizing that the fact that europe has benefits, it does not necessarily (or likely) outweigh the difference in salary from one to the other. You are certainly taxed more by a lower wage and by a higher tax rate that could compensate ubering every day and private schooling.

Was not the point of the thread that money is not the only factor in life?

That's the point everyone else is making, yet conanbatt keeps coming back to comparing salaries between Berlin and San Francisco as an example of higher salaries in the US. Berlin is not even the highest paying city in Germany, let alone Europe.

I'd go as far as claiming Berlin is a very low paid place in Europe. Living costs and standards are quite low here compared to Munich or Amsterdam. You'd earn 50% more there for the same work.

> every single dev I know has roommates or an hour+ commute into the city

They should probably look for housing near a commuter rail then

This generally won't solve the commute issue; you spend time driving, parking, on the train, walking/subway to work area. And then all of that in reverse. You still 'lose' 50+ minutes each way.

I have a much shorter commute than many of my colleague who actually live in Boston.

If nothing else it's much more pleasant, anyway.

Bike to / from the commuter rail

Biking is probably slower than driving.

That's the "has roommates" part. That housing is going to be more expensive.

I live in the South Shore near the commuter rail. It's pretty affordable for someone making $80k.

Do you not have student loans? A few people in my social circle managed to get out of college without them through parents paying/scholarships and they have a much different calculus than the majority of us

My wife had some, but not a lot, and they're paid off now. So, yeah, you might be right.

I know several devs who are within a few minutes walk of a commuter rail and still deal with the hour+ commute. The best I've seen is my own 12 minute walk I had for a few months but the job didnt pay nearly enough for the rent in the same area and I had to move on to a new job, or if you get the reverse commute, but those are uncommon