Actually, I really hope things heat up in the Bay Area. Because when things start getting crazy out there, companies have no choice but to go with the satellite office approach and expand elsewhere.
At times, there were up to 20% pay differences between Bay Area and SD, it’s getting close to that again.
The past 3 full time gigs I had here in San Diego was for a company that had a presence in the Valley.
My dirty secret was that I’d do the meet/greet relationship building in the bay area main team, and then put myself “on loan” to a team in S.D, which inevitably ended up being permanent. I still reported to senior management in Bay Area. But then I would lead the team down here so that they didn’t pull me back… Ended up being the best of both worlds. My reviews/comps/raises were always Bay Area comps….But then I could live down here with a slightly lower cost and slightly better environment. Not to mention, because I was remote, I could function like a renegade development team, that could bypass all the bureaucracy that hindered progress, provided I delivered good quality, on time, and didn’t piss off anyone in the process.
Unfortunately, in mobile space now, you kinda have to be down here, at least part time.
