Ask HN: Company is offering me a move from NYC to Nevada. Should I take it? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Company is offering me a move from NYC to Nevada. Should I take it?

8 pointshomosaphien117 comments

Paid move from New York City to Sparks, Nevada with same New York salary. I make 120K in New York City right now as a Software Engineer with 7 year experience. My only goal currently is financial independence. My only concern is if this company goes down and I get settled get a house in Sparks/Reno area where there are no jobs what would I do? In NYC if this company goes down there are a lot of backups. Will appreciate any advice on:

a) Should I even move to Sparks, Nevada?

b) If I do, should I buy a house there or rent? My company is a startup.

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You said that your only goal is financial independence. I've never lived in either NYC or Sparks, so I can't give you numbers. However, assuming you make $120k a year forever, how many years are you away from financial independence in NYC? How about in Sparks?

The cost of living in Sparks is likely significantly lower, so if all else stays equal, you'd get closer to your goal faster if you were there.

That said, all else is not equal. How would you and your girlfriend deal with the climate in Sparks? What about art and culture? What if you have trouble making friends in Sparks?

Personally, I would rather be broke and happy than rich and miserable. But there's another side. If you're unhappy and have $$$$$ in the bank, the temptation will be to travel all the time. Heck, spending every second weekend in San Francisco will quickly eat up the cost of living difference between NYC and Sparks.

If you go, rent first. I've moved around quite a bit and am a firm believer that it's a bad idea to buy until you've been somewhere for a year. The alternative is to end up in a horrible neighbourhood...

really appreciate your reply. Thanks!

Sparks is basically Reno for what it's worth. Meaning you can rent a house or apartment in Reno and not be far from your job in Sparks. If I were you I'd rent until you have a better feel for the place.

$120k/yr will go a long way in Reno. Would not be hard to save $30-40k a year without feeling like a poor church mouse. And I would not say there are no tech jobs in Reno.

Note Reno is 30-45 minutes from Tahoe and Carson city. There is a fair amount of other places within a 1-2 hour drive.

It all depends on your situation and appetite for risk. Young, single and no kids, I'd do it and save as much as possible. $120k would go a long way in Nevada, maybe you could save/invest half of your salary. Maybe rent at first and see how it goes before buying (I assume you are renting now in New York). If it doesn't work out with the company short term you can always go back to New York with your savings.

I have no kids, gf has a small business which she operates from home and is willing to move with me.

Moving will result in saving more money, and that will further your goal of financial independence.

If the company goes down you can always move back to NYC.

> If I do, should I buy a house there or rent? My company is a startup.

Uh, why is that even a question? Just rent. If you do have money for a down payment then save it for when you're really getting settled.

hmmm good points.

Is it just you to consider, or do you have a spouse and children?

If it's just you, I'd do as one person suggested, rent a room and live as cheaply as you possibly can.

Financial independence is going to require sacrifice on your part, but try and be balanced about it too. If you go too crazy, like trying to go uber-minimialist, that's extreme and harder to keep up.

Also, since your a sw dev, I'd recommend coming up with a project and/or finding other work you can do on the side, as a sort of "Plan B" should things go sideways with the dayjob.

Good luck!!

I would personally consider it career suicide to move to Reno since you will have few or no options to move on to something bigger or better.

It will be far easier imho to increase your income in NYC such that you can save the as much or more than you can save in Reno. The potential upside in NYC is insane. There is no upside in Reno other than perhaps being close enough to the Bay Area to cultivate professional contacts there.

Said another way, you will leave this startup eventually. Where do you want to be when you leave?

Idaho resident here. I do everything that I can to ensure that I don't even have to drive through Nevada for any significant length of time. I certainly wouldn't want to live there.

That said, if you're going to move:

If your current company goes away, you could always find a remote gig. You could also plan for the worst and put away some money to facilitate a move back to NYC if that's what you're worried about.

>My only goal currently is financial independence.

If this is true you'd have already made the decision. You wouldn't "get settled into a house" because you wouldn't buy.

A house in the desert is starting to look like one of the worst investments ever. You'd rent a room or get the smallest apartment possible and bank as much as possible.

> Software Engineer with 7 year experience.

Relative to the job itself-- you didn't mention anything about the role, technology stack, or space. Something to consider, assuming you stay with them 2-3 years -- how might you leverage this experience into the next thing?

With 7 years experience you might be able to double or more than double that income at a larger company in New York, FWIW.

I'm a Reno native, and I'd be happy to chat. Shoot me a message at nv.throwaway.acct@gmail.com.

I have a question, I hope this doesn't sound like antagonistic towards any group I fully realize majority of americans are rationale and loving people. I am an immigrant to USA of south asian descent. In my years living in rural new england 99% white areas I have faced considerable racism/hostility from people but when I moved to NYC this has never happened which I really like about NYC. How diverse is the community in northern nevada?

Here are US census estimates. You can take from them what you will. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/RHI125215/3260600,00.

It's not 99% white. There are other communities here, Hispanic being the largest by far. I can't speak too much more on the topic.

Try reaching out to a local group that you think represents you. Hit them up if you're worried about that sort of thing. I'm positive that there's something, at least at the university.

No state income tax either in Nevada!

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