I've gone over to the darkside. I live in a suburb 20 minutes from my favorite neighborhood for entertainment, 30m from my parents, 20m from endless fields, 1 hr from the rest of my family and friends. I have a yard, access to a lake, a riding mower, and no utility lines in my backyard so I can dig and build to my heart's content.

I also have Gbps internet and a job at a startup as a principal. This literally is the best of both worlds for me. I'm not particularly wealthy and not particularly clever - I'm sure everyone is doing this and the best part is, there's _room_ out here, at least in the USA.

> employees will also have to get used to large pay cuts if that's a hard requirement for them.

I make more now in a remote position than when I commuted? I'm in California, not in a LCOL location.

> employees will also have to get used to large pay cuts if that's a hard requirement for them

Then these companies are going to have to get used to lower profit margins as time catches up and kicks them out with competitors.

I mean yes in general I agree remote first companies are probably going to have lower profit margins and fail to keep up with competitors but how does that help them find a well paying remote job?

> I assume some many continue to exist but employees will also have to get used to large pay cuts if that's a hard requirement for them.

How does that follow from anything? I am working remotely from the start of 2011 and never once took a pay cut compared to an on-site job, as far as I am aware at least.

Well, yes, eventually companies will have to pay a premium if they want people to actually move there every day.

Relative to what is an open question, because the jobs that require that also don't currently pay a lot.

> I assume some many continue to exist but employees will also have to get used to large pay cuts if that's a hard requirement for them.

Some companies are losing their more experienced employees when they force RTO. If they want to compete for this portion of the talent pool, they'll need to offer more than the other remote first companies.

> I assume some many continue to exist but employees will also have to get used to large pay cuts if that's a hard requirement for them.

In my experience, the employees that have to go into the office are generally the ones that get paid less than the ones who can work from home. I'm not really sure how you came to that conclusion.