Source: I’m a full time engineer happily working out of the PHX suburbs.
Personally, I have no intention of returning to the Bay Area.
There's dozens of us...dozens :-D
That is fine, but the salaries for 5-day-a-week-from-office jobs need to compensate for this -- not just for execs, but also for normal workers.
Living in a 1br was charming as a 25yo, and not so much for someone with a family. Driving for 1hr+ is also not so charming.
As a former co-founder, i'd happily take this trade --
1. Not compete on city salaries
2. Employees 100% WFH, work from wherever you want. NO salary grading based on metro area (that is so unfair)
3. Quarterly on-site, paid for by company
4. Invest in processes to enable good WFH productivity
I love living in the city. If work wants to keep me remote, I need an extra bedroom or dedicated office space.
This is a fair point. Not sure if you're from the US, but I'll note that the weighted majority of all US technology job opportunities are in cities and major metro areas. If someone wants to live in a high-cost-of-living area, thats a great problem to have, because probably half the tech jobs are already there in the Bay Area especially. There is also no shortage of compensation in such high-cost-of-living areas.