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Comment by bsimpson | Hacker News Reader

Salaries in Utah are a lot healthier than I expected. Maybe moving away from SF wouldn't be as big of a salary cut as I thought...

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Every time I've thought about moving away from Utah, I've found it almost impossible to find a place with a better salary/cost of living ratio.

There are a handful of things to not like about Utah, but in the software industry at least, it has been pretty good for the last decade.

Des Moines, Iowa has been on top of some lists for best salary / cost of living; not sure how that stacks up for the tech industry in particular nor how scientific they were.

Ohio seems pretty similar. The salary ranges are pretty close to this survey and it has some of the lowest housing prices in the nation -- although this secret is out and housing prices have begun their ascension.

It's enormously healthy when you compare cost of living.

In 2015, I bought my unexceptional starter house for under $200k. (Fifteen minutes from Salt Lake city center, built 1970s, average condition, 2k sq ft, two car garage, 0.2 acre.)

Utah has always been big in tech (relatively to its size). Novell and WordPerfect were the homegrown giants of yesteryear. Now it's Pluralsight, Qualtrics, Instructure, Domo, and bunch of up and comers.

Lots of Utah companies have to reach outside the state for engineering muscle because the demand is so high.

I recently interviewed with a "large SF based social network" and their COL equivalent salary for what I make here in Salt Lake City would have been like taking a 50% pay cut!

It's a huge increase in pay when you consider how much lower the cost of living is.

I live in Utah and work remote (best combination for me). The local tech community is vibrant and fun.

Every time I've talked to devs who have moved from SF they universally tell me stories about:

1. Ridiculous cost of living

2. Horrific commutes

Which has soured me on the idea of ever moving there.

In my experience Northern Utah is good, Southern Utah is not very good

My thoughts on "good" vs "not very good":

I live in Saint George (very far Southern Utah). It's beautiful, the weather is great (if you like hot and dry), and Washington County is very small compared to Utah County and surrounding areas. Traffic is becoming something of a problem and the area is going to be under constant road construction for the next 20 years if growth continues.

There are very few software companies in the area: PrinterLogic, BusyBusy, Mango Voice, and perhaps a few others. If you do move to the area, make sure you have plenty of remote opportunities or are willing to commute to Las Vegas daily (about 90-ish minutes one way).

That's like correcting someone saying California has high salaries. "Well sure, maybe in th cities, but not on farms or in the mountains!"

Of course Capitol Reef, Zion, and a bunch of relatively small towns don't have good pay.

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