Software Developer / Team Lead - Where to work towards FI? (Globally!)

[ausername]

Hello All,

Background: I am a software developer / team lead.  I've about 5 years work experience and a Ph.D. in Computer Science.  I think that I have excellent technical skills and am good with people, but then again I suppose that everyone thinks that!  I also have a medical issue which means that I find it very difficult to work over 50 hours a week (I could do it if necessary as an exception a few times a year, but I couldn't do it constantly).  I have been a saver for a long time, but am finding it difficult to save more than 30% in my current location (Ireland).  I save approximately 8k of a net income of 27k.  I could perhaps save another 2k if I dropped the remaining "luxuries" in my life, but that would be as low as I could go (my current expenses are 19k and a major extra effort could get them to 17k).  It is going to take a very long time for me to get to FI at this rate!  I have no debt except my mortgage, and this property could be profitably rented if I was to move abroad.     

The Question: Where would you go if you were me in order to achieve FI as soon as possible?  I need to start thinking more flexibly about my location, and consider seriously the concepts of one location being best for the accumulation of money towards FI and another location being better after FI is reached.  I've been reading the blog almost since the start, but moving location always seemed a step too far for me personally.  I'm reconsidering this now, and it would be great to get some information about where might be suitable and what salary I might be able to get there.

Many thanks in advance for any/all thoughts.

[ausername]

Thanks for your reply SIS.  Do you mean Seattle mainly or are there other cities specifically that would be worth looking at?  Would hours of longer than 50 hours a week be the norm?

[jpo]

There are a ton of software jobs in Raleigh/Durham, NC. Cost of living is not horrific and the weather is usually nice.

[gooki]

With those credentials you would be earning the equivilant of 40-60k euros a year in NZ.

[seattlecyclone]

I'm a software developer in Seattle, and highly recommend it here. Work hours depend on the company and position. I work about 40 hours most weeks, sometimes more near a release deadline. Based on your education and work experience, a US$100k salary would not be out of the question for you here. I'm honestly a bit surprised they get away with paying you so little in Ireland. Here in the US the job market is extremely favorable for software developers. You would have to get a visa to work here. I don't know how hard that is for an Irish citizen. I think the bigger companies usually can manage to get it done for people they're interested in hiring.

[dbanta]

I work as a Software Architect in Fort Collins, CO.  It is sunny most days out of the year.  The entire front range of CO (Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver) have a number of software jobs and start up companies.  The cost of living is lower than other areas of the US (lower than most major metropolitan areas like NY, NJ, etc) with higher salaries (I started at about 60k out of college with a masters 7 years ago) than what you are describing.  The quality of life is also very high - Boulder and Fort Collins are often rated the happiest and healthiest cities in the US - tons of hiking, biking, skiing, etc.  I have found in the 2 companies I've worked for that employers value and understand the value of employees having time outside of work.  There are some weeks where I will work 50hrs but it usually close to a deadline.

[goodlife]

Singapore. With your qualifications, you should be able to double or triple your income. Taxes are very low, if you make a 100k you will pay less than 10% tax. Living costs are also low. You can rent a room in a very nice condo for 800 a month. No need for a car because public transport is so excellent and it's a city state.

[ausername]

Thank you to everyone for the information.  It looks like I'll have to start doing some serious research on visas!  Seattle and the front range of CO sound particularly appealing :-)

I don't want to be misleading on salaries here in Ireland, I nominally earn in the low 40s (i.e. my gross salary is in the low 40s) but unfortunately between mandatory pension contributions (5k p.a. approx) and mandatory taxes (10k p.a. approx) my net pay is only 27k. 

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. 

[ausername]

I should add that if anyone else has any suggestions, please keep them coming!  It might be pretty difficult to get a visa for the US or Singapore, and the more information I have the better.

[mxt0133]

With those credentials I would recommend Silicon Valley or SF.  You could easily earn 150k and work a standard 40 hour week.  You could shoot for the moon and try a start-up, but those are 60+ hours a week.

[alm0stk00l]

I would recommend Houston, TX. I have the exact same experience as you and I make well over $100k/year. The cost of living in Houston is very low and the job and housing markets are extremely stable as compared to most of America. I have never had a position that expects me to work more than 40 hours a week, and I really don't even work that many. During my most recent job search, I was able to interview with more than 10 companies and received an offer from each. There is a really big need for more developers throughout the city. The one caveat with this is that I am an amazing developer, but you seem confident in your skills as well, so I am sure you could be quite successful here.

[MissPeach]

My experience is with the US too but you should be able to make at least 80K here. A lot of the high tech areas pay more but they also have larger costs of living. A lot of companies in the SF area have been recruiting like crazy. I have been contacted by Google, Yahoo, Netflix, etc. At least at my company, we will go get visas for candidates we like. I would guess half my department is on a H1 visa.

I would say the major tech areas on the west coast are SF, Seattle but there are a lot of jobs too in Orange County CA, San Diego and LA. Portland has tech jobs too (and I love that city) but I wouldn't want to work in tech there because most jobs are contractor there. More than I have seen in the other cities. Austin is another area I have seen a lot of jobs.

[Insanity]

Get hired in a major city with a company that relies on telecommuting. They'll give you the COL salary for where you are than wait a little bit and move to the middle of nowhere ;-)

[goodlife]

I should add that if anyone else has any suggestions, please keep them coming!  It might be pretty difficult to get a visa for the US or Singapore, and the more information I have the better.

Yes, visa for the US will be almost impossible unless you do an inter-company transfer and get an L1. Singapore is not difficult. Half the population of Singapore is not Singaporean. Getting a work visa is solely dependant on your salary. If you get a job that makes at least 8k SGD a month, your employment pass will be approved. It's a very efficient system too and every employer knows how to do this since so many people there work on employment passes. Given that you have a PhD, it will be even easier.