> It’s not surprising that people left MSFT for companies that pay double or triple. The part that’s more interesting is if people are willing to take a 50% pay cut to go remote. I haven’t seen any research on that yet
It would also be interesting to see if there are preferences when given equal pay. I suspect most people have a number where they're willing to go into the office every day, it's not surprising to me that people are willing to RTO for multiples of their current pay.
It all gets a touch weird when comparing comp, though. If someone takes a 50% pay cut, but they move from SF to somewhere that costs something like 60% less, have they taken a pay cut or not? That feels subjective to me, and I've heard both sides. Their ability to save may have gone down, their quality of life may have gone up, it feels like a wash.
Another factor that may be weighing on people is stability of infrastructure and of the remote work job market. I grew up rural and would like to return to the country (not for farming, I already know I hate that from experience). I'm also fully remote, but haven't moved back.
There are too many uncertainties. Will the remote work job market hold up, or will it collapse and I have to keep the same job for forever or uproot my whole life? Will Starlink continue to be a reliable provider, or are they going to enter the race to the bottom in 5 years?
In the end, I work remotely, about a 15 minute drive from the office, because of the certainty it brings. I don't have to watch the news with anxiety, waiting to see whether the life I've chosen has become unviable or not. That undercuts the kind of peace I'm looking for in moving to a rural area in the first place. It's probably less of a concern for the digital nomads, who seem to live in relative chaos generally (not a moral judgement, I can see the appeal, it's just not for me at this point in my life).