How does your total comp fare relative to Seattle? I’m living in downtown Seattle now working for Amazon. I’ve been here almost 8 years. My TC is north of $300K, but the mental strain this fucking company has had on me has me constantly on the edge. I’m thinking about leaving to join another FANG company or drop out of big tech all together.

My TC is significantly lower(half) but we aren't public and not a FAANG so.

Living in Seattle on two high incomes(maybe not relative to you, but still) and having no kids was amazing. Paid off about 80k of student loans in a short amount of time. However, the prospect of having a massive 500k-1m mortgage in a boom or bust town was just too much for me. Here, If the housing market flipped upside down and my house magically worth 0$ id still come out alright! It's that, plus I can afford my housing while working at Starbucks(exaggeration) that gives me peace of mind.

I will say though, if Seattle's housing market crashes I'd be back in a heartbeat. I miss the water and the mountains!

Also FWIW my company is remote first, and I get paid the same in Seattle as I do here.

Seattle is booming but I don't see that big of a bust coming, even though I kind of wish it would. I've lived here 25 years and people thought there would be a real estate bust in 2000 and again in 2008. It was only slightly down for housing in 2000 and in 2008 even some programmers lost their jobs. In my area in 2008 the 2 million dollar houses went down to 1 million for about 6 months, and then under a year later were back up to where they were. Less expensive houses didn't move as much % wise.

In 2008 it was systemically threatening, I don't see it happening this time. Yet, I'm a little bit like you, I am hoping prices will go down, because I want to buy a condo or 4 unit duplex as an investment and I've been waiting for prices to go down. For years ;-)

In Seattle there doesn't seem to be enough new housing to make prices go down on sale purchases. Unless Amazon goes down I don't see demand lessening. The only thing I see easing is apartment housing. And we need an easing so that people not in "the industry" an afford to live here. Theoretically more apts should lower prices for condos eventually. But it hasn't happened.

People I know who work remotely from the midwest for Bay Area/Seattle companies are ~200 TC when they would probably get ~400 if they moved.

Not who you asked, but it's almost guaranteed to be lower. It's extremely rare to be both remote and get paid at the prevailing salary of the company. That only works for companies that generally don't allow remote, as they don't have COL-adjusted salaries to worry about.

As an Amazonian that works remote, I have the same payscale as everyone else in Seattle.