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Comment by matt__rose | Hacker News Reader

Africa is a big place. From what I hear, Nairobi is one of the most interesting places to be an entrepreneur these days. Yes, there are huge challenges all over africa including, but not limited to, corruption, unreliable power, political instability, and terrible infrastructure.

But this very constraint is what drives projects like M-PESA, and Ushahidi, and BRCK.

Also, Software Developers in the US and Europe don't necessarily make 100,000 Dollars. In some spots you'd be luck y to make half that.

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> Also, Software Developers in the US and Europe don't necessarily make 100,000 Dollars. In some spots you'd be luck y to make half that.

This is correct. Moreover, European salaries are also often lower than those in the US tech hubs.

I would also go so far as to say that nowhere in the US does a median web developer's salary afford her/him a particularly luxurious lifestyle. Salaries are always adjusted, among other things, for regional cost of living.

When I made 6 figures in Washington DC, it afforded me roughly the same standard of living I have in Pittsburgh while making $30k less. That is to say : access to a studio or 1-bedroom apartment, a low cost vehicle and the ability to socialize occasionally while still contributing modestly towards my savings.

Here in Western Europe, earning $100,000 per year would be exceptional. You would have to be both self employed and a highly valued rockstar developer to make anything in that ballpark. A third to half that much is more common, and that doesn't take cost of living into account. Paying $15,000 a year in rent and another $10,000 in utilities for less than 1000 sqft of living space, another few thousand per year for a parking license, about $5000 a year in road tax etc. A California cost of living on a Mississippi income.

Europe is a diverse place - From my experience, 100K isn't unreasonable for a seasoned programmer in London or in most of scandinavia. You'd be lucky to get half that in the less well-off countries, even within EU. And outside of EU, well ..

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