For senior engineers, I'd say opportunities weigh more than the difference in salary or even in overall package, unless the package correlates with the opportunities. I may complain about commute, but I'd still be happy to join an exciting startup in the city.

    > South Bay & Peninsula housing is actually more expensive than SF

Per square foot/meter? I find this hard to believe.

I mean, obviously it depends on what city you choose, but given that the article is specifically about X moving to Palo Alto....

San Francisco is $957/sqft median listing price [1]

Palo Alto is $1800/sqft median listing price. [2]

Hell, I live in Redwood City and the median is $996/sqft.

1. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/San-Franci...

2. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Palo-Alto_...

San Jose is a bit less, about $700/sf:

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/San-Jose_C...

The Santana Row neighborhood ("Winchester Orchards") is pretty comparable, at $910/sf though. I was actually thinking of Mountain View & Sunnyvale, which are considered decent places to live in the South Bay but aren't quite as elite as Palo Alto. They are both about $1.2K/sf:

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Mountain-V...

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Sunnyvale_...