Ask HN: Potentially Moving to SF / SV with a Family
I could use some advice. A few weeks ago, I did the Triplebyte quiz on a whim, later did their interview, and now I'm talking to companies in Silicon Valley / San Francisco about potentially interviewing with them. If you're unfamiliar with Triplebyte, they do their own candidate vetting, with the promise that if you pass their process, you can go directly to a final interview at their client companies (typically early- to mid-stage startups, many YC graduates) who are located almost entirely in California or NYC. (Triplebyte has been great, by the way, and I highly advise trying them out if you're looking for a new position.[1])
I currently live in Ohio with my wife and infant daughter. She has a fairly low income job (non-profit), and if we moved to California, she would be a stay-at-home mom. We own a three bedroom house here. I make roughly $85K as a full stack developer for a startup here for whom I've worked for a few years.
I'm going to be at the point soon where I need to pick the companies with whom I'll interview. The expenses of living in a SF / SV suburb are scaring me. Renting seems in the $3K+ range for a two bedroom (which would be the minimum since we have a daughter... may try for another child later). By comparison, my mortgage is ~$850 / mo.
We're relatively frugal and ideally want to get to a point where we can be financially independent, so savings rate is important. We would also want to find a decent school district for when my daughter starts school. Also, we would be moving away from my wife's family, which would require her to fly up fairly frequently so our daughter could see her grandparents.
Basically I'm trying to figure out if I'm crazy for even considering this, and if there is a way to make it work. Triplebyte has said I'm probably mid- to senior-level and could expect around $130k - $150k.
What are your thoughts?
1. Triplebyte referral link: https://triplebyte.com/iv/afyYdFu/cp ($1500 for both if you get a job through them.)