Interesting I could see that as a possibility, but I think we're comparing two different fictional people. Of course if you could double your salary moving to SF it usually makes sense, but I think its often more of a 25-50% difference.
And also, I don't believe it scales 1:1. The developers I know well here, 5 to 7 years out of school, nearly everyone in Atlanta is making close to 100k (almost all +/- 10k). Developers with similar positions and experience aren't making 180-220 are they?
Perhaps I'm wrong, maybe SF really is the promised land, but the numbers have never worked out on any positions I've looked at. YMMV of course.
I think you're more likely to get meaningfully-valued equity in Silicon Valley $140k/yr jobs than in Atlanta $80k/yr jobs, and then there's the tax differential there (lower rate as well as the income vs. LTCG differential).
The absolute win seems to be to work in Silicon Valley for 3-5 years, accepting a low "house" standard of living while enjoying consumer goods and travel, and then take your $100-150k/yr salary (and history of working at top companies) to do one of two things:
1) work remotely for top companies from a place like Seattle for $100-120k/yr (or, if you want to optimize even more, move to Thailand or something and work remotely for $60k/yr)
2) Found a startup, deferring as much compensation as possible into LT capital gains. Being much easier to raise money in Silicon Valley makes up for all the other things. Potentially open an engineering office outside the Bay Area to hire people who chose path #1.
And also, I don't believe it scales 1:1. The developers I know well here, 5 to 7 years out of school, nearly everyone in Atlanta is making close to 100k (almost all +/- 10k). Developers with similar positions and experience aren't making 180-220 are they?
Perhaps I'm wrong, maybe SF really is the promised land, but the numbers have never worked out on any positions I've looked at. YMMV of course.