And here I am thinking I'm good by declining 70-85k jobs and focusing on 100k+.

Don’t believe the hype that all developers live in the three or four major cities where 150K is normal. There are plenty of major metropolitan areas where both salaries and cost of living is lower.

Thanks for pointing that out. I should mention I'm in Seattle.

That's about average for a senior developer in Seattle. But honestly, I wouldn't move to Seattle for that amount. $150K is about the max you will make as a software developer in my neck of the woods but I also just bought a 5 bed 3.5 bath, 3000 square foot house, brand new build for around $320K in a great school district.....

I have a friend who works at Amazon and he was telling me how much he paid for a slightly smaller house. I was amazed. Out of the FAANG companies, Amazon is the one company that I think I would be able to work for.

Interesting. I've heard that the culture at Amazon is generally considered to be worse than at Apple, Netflix, or Google. Not sure about Facebook.

Not referring to the culture - I’m referring to the company that I would actually have the qualifications to work for.

They are always looking for AWS Architects at Amazon.

I just paid off my 720k mortgage in four years.

I only received my first six-figure base (and first six-figure total) offer two years ago. I had to move to NY to get it. The availability of these jobs is very regional and based on your specific skill set.

Sounds like I've got to get out of New Zealand!

New Zealand probably also has a more affordable healthcare system, and lower cost higher education. It's all relative...