Newly Remote Workers – Where Are You Moving?

For me, this is the number one reason that I work remote. Here was my thought process:

- Identify the thing you really want to do most in life.

- Find the place in the world where you can do that the best.

- Find a house there.

For me, as a rock climber, that meant moving to a little village near Fontainebleau, France, where they keep the best Bouldering in the world.

For you, it might mean finding the best concentration of snowboarding, a really good surf break that somehow has affordable houses near it (which probably means Puerto Rico, from my research), a cheapish southwestern Austin'y town with a good music scene, or if you're lucky in choosing your hobbies, a beautiful, unknown trout stream way up in the hills.

It could also turn out that the place you want to be is "The Road". There's something to be said for flying one-way to a strange corner of the world, and slowly making your way through it while working from the laptop (3G is ubiquitous nearly everywhere you'd expect it wouldn't exist). You might need to choose your spot carefully this year in particular, but this was what I did for 10 years or so before settling on that house.

The important thing is that it's actually somewhere you'd rather be spending your time, so make sure you really know what it is that you want out of life. Because if there's no reason to be near an office, it only makes sense to be near something better.

Chattanooga most likely. My company is doing 85% base salary with no adjustment to RSUs. Tennessee is a great place to save money due to 1) no state income tax, 2) no capital gains taxes, and 3) low cost of living. I estimate I’ll be able to save ~$100k more per year than I currently am in the Bay Area. Plus Chattanooga is known for having some of the fastest internet in the country, rolled out by the city a few years ago. Signal Mountain has great schools for when my kids are older, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s a naturally beautiful place as well (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/66/c2/24/66c22405229f125fea23...).

I’d really like to move to Asheville or Charleston, but the taxes make it a bit too much of a premium over Chattanooga.

We tried to move to Santa Cruz. My significant other grew up near there and desperately wants to be near her friends again. Turns out, all the Bay Area peeps wanted to do the same. Rents haven’t gone down there and the competition is really fierce. (“Honey, what if you got a job at Looker/Google?! We could be in Santa Cruz forever!!!”)

Started thinking about moving to Denver...

But, I don’t really want to move yet. See - the thing is - I’m in the Bay Area because I want to make it. I came here because I needed /a/ job. Then I got sucked in and decided I wanted /the/ job. I want to get the big $$$ and be able to afford that nice house in Los Gatos with a 911 in my driveway. Doesn’t mean I would pull the trigger if I had the money - I won’t know until I’m there. But moving away - well, it means that’s definitely never going to happen. I’m not ready to accept that level of failure yet. After all, I’m not even 30 yet. I got a few days left. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

I'm not newly remote as I made the move a little over 3 years ago. That said, I moved to Northern Georgia specifically to work remotely. I have an incredible (inexpensive) house that gets fiber internet, live in an inexpensive area, have luxuries pretty close (Apple store, Wholefoods, Tesla, etc), 45 min south of the mountains, live just off a lake and I'm only an hour outside of Atlanta.

There are very few places in the country that can give me all of these things I want at a bargain value. Even though I'm 100% remote, I always have Atlanta to fall back on if remote work dries up. I can't stress how important that peace of mind is (pun intended). I've lived and worked in the Pacific Northwest and just couldn't make it work financially.

Moved to Reno, NV. Already sold all my property in the bay area and went back to renting. No state income tax in NV! and we have lake tahoe close by. I sold my property because I'm figuring that the bay area is going to be less appealing from a property investment stand point, so I cashed out while prices are still high.

I honestly don't see companies going back to in-office stuff, at least not as much as it was in the past. I could see meetings and stuff like that being in-person. My company has already basically transitioned to 100% online and our productivity has increased overall so no way we are going back to in-office working exclusively.

Not moving at all because I'm remote temporarily and I'll likely have to move back to a big city in a few months.

Another thing to consider is that if you're young and don't have a family yet, moving to a remote location where you'll be completely alone just so you can pay less for rent seems kind of dumb.

Yet another thing - nobody's job is all that secure right now. Even if attitudes towards remote work have changed, a big city is still your best chance of finding work. So if you're laid off in near the future, living in the middle of nowhere will only make things worse.

You would have to be insane to move because you've recently been given remote work privileges, especially in the middle of a recession caused by an ongoing pandemic.

Companies provide remote work options all the time and once you move they ask you to come back into the office out of the blue thenlay remote workers off if they cant come back into the office.

The other thing you need to keep in mind is a lot of the places you want to live have people who don't want you living there. If they find out you work remote and don't need anyone they will start screwing around with your life.

If you move and work remote be extremely careful, dont assume you're welcome anywhere in the countrh a lot of places are filled with backwards luddites who hate anyone in STEM fields. Yes, this is a real thing.

Either coastal Carolinas or Hawaii. We like living near the ocean and access to good outdoors activities on land. Coastal Carolinas is much more affordable than Hawaii and more access to certain outdoor activities (hunting and freshwater fishing). Also not as isolated as Hawaii.

But Hawaii looks incredible. I hope to visit them both and make a decision when more things are open in both places to get a feel for them.

I think both are probably close to tech wastelands so will need to have employment that allows remote from those states to do it.

Left my $500k TC job because my remote offer got rescinded mid-move when a new VP abruptly took over our BU. He didn't "believe" in colocated teams. This was right before COVID hit and everyone was forced remote. Wish I could laugh in his face over the fact that the pandemic doesn't give a shit about his opinion on remote workers.

Staying in Brooklyn, but without a commute. New York is still a nice place to live, and rent prices seem to have come down 10-20%.

Let’s see how things are looking come winter though. Could be pretty grim without bars/restaurants to go to.

We're now selling almost everything we own on the East coast. We're planning a six month stop in Austin, TX, on our way to our final destination: Yucatán, Mexico.

The financial leverage of USD is great there, and the last few years have led me to believe I'm not a good culture-fit in the US.

Newly remote here. I'm a "Sr. BI Programmer Analyst" working in Walnut Creek, CA paying about $2,700/month for an apartment. I plan to move to Pittsburgh, PA and move in with my little brother into his newly purchased house where I'll make more money due to much lower state income tax and rent that will fairly be about a third of what I pay now.

The motivating factors for me are money and family (though I would argue that my brother more importantly means friendship to me).

Was working in Toronto, covid19 happened, moved back to Montreal, and work agreed I could permanently stay there even after covid19.

I bought a boat and made the driving license right when the lockdown started in March. Put solar panels up, big batteries and a 4G hotspot. Been living on the boat ever since. Best decision ever.

I was already remote, but I’m moving from Seattle to Denver.

Combination of family and a more favorable climate. The somewhat lower cost of living doesn’t hurt, but it’s not like Denver is cheap.

I work at a non-profit and all back-end office workers are going to be WFH for the foreseeable future.

My MIL has been living on her own for a while now, so my wife and I will be moving in with her to help her out, be close to family, and save $.

My quick estimate is that it'll save us ~24K/year. I used to be able to justify rent and other expenses but it's never seemed dumber to me. If/when we move back to the city where I work, we will do so when we can buy a house/condo.

We will use this saved money to pay off debt, save, and help out our family.

P.S. I should clarify that we are moving from a large city to a very small town in a nearby state where COL is significantly lower.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Phoenix yet. Folks are definitely flooding in that's for sure. Housing prices were already climbing for years but now they're rocketing. Maricopa County is the fastest growing in the US.

I live on an island on the coast of Norway. It's kinda weird with all the bird life and postcard-like views. Also, there is a family of grouses (is this the right word?) living in the bushes outside!

A little bit lonely, too. But, the cities are too expensive and everything is so compressed. Maybe if I could afford an actual house in a city that would be OK.

Company offered permanent remote work, thought through career trade offs and whether we wanted to stay in the Bay Area forever.

Picked suburbs between Denver and Boulder. Good tech jobs, similar sunshine and outdoor activities as the Bay Area (but with snow also! we’ll see how that goes), affordable housing and better COL.

No where. My company came out with remote pay tiers and it's much more lucrative for me to stay put. They say there is a potential savings by moving away to lower CoL but I can actually save more absolute $ per month by living here. I'll move away _after_ I've stashed some money.

If location did not affect my career I probably would move around a lot. (Sans covid19) I'd like to go to Mexico, Italy, SE Asia ... many places in the US too.

I work remotely and have done so for a couple of years. Recently moved to the country side of Sweden. I have fiber connection, cheap housing and lots, and lots of space.

It affects my well being in a very positive way. I can walk my dogs without breathing in polluted air. I sleep great since it's very silent and get to do other stuff than just sit by the computer.

Nevada. No state taxes. Friendly gun laws. Less BS.

Also - companies that are doing salary "adjustments" because employee wants to move to another location needs to be publicly shamed.

Temporarily moved from Seattle to Camano Island, abt 60 miles N of Seattle. Telecommute from my office with a picnic table and a wrought iron chair under a soccer shelter served by an indoor access point sheltered under a green plastic bucket. Walks on the beach instead of another cup of coffee. Heaven to me!

Florida or TX, no state tax and relatively warm weather than NY where I stay now.

If I could, I would move to Medellín, Colombia. It's beautiful modern city with friendly people and there seems to be a lot of digital nomads there to connect with.

And since I would only get to stay 180 days per year in Colombia, I would probably spend a few months in Costa Rica and in the Peruvian Amazon.

Las Vegas, Nevada!

- super cheap cost-of-living

- no state income taxes

- cheapest flights in the US

- no natural disasters

- close to Los Angeles (where all my friends/family live)

- no grafitti or litter in most places

- reasonable traffic

- plenty of things to do (shows, Red Rock, conferences)

- friends from across the US will visit once or twice per year

- lots of open space

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But I guess the REAL reason I moved is because I wanted a chance to reinvent myself. My friends weren't helping me grow, I developed some terrible habits, I felt "trapped", etc.. Changing cities gives me another chance to be intentional about my time, career, and relationships.

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If there are any other current/future Vegas locals out there, I'd love to meet you! Feel free to reach out with an email or DM.

I moved back to Austin, Texas when this all started. Family, breakfast tacos and more living space were all factors.

If it were just me and I could go anywhere:

In US, I would get somewhere with a lot of land. Montana, ND, Wyoming, something like that.

Outside US, Probably Norway for a while. Would also love to try out New Zeland or SE Asia.

Staying in Bay Area for now. If I move away, I am concerned that my career progression will stagnate - not just at my current company, but also the opportunities that would be available if I decided to switch companies.

My plan is to work here for a few more years. If the trend continues and remote working proves itself, we are dreaming about moving to Asheville NC. Cheaper CoL, beautiful scenery, and a microbrew scene that is awesome. Also close-ish to Charlotte if you want to go to a "big city" for the day

Probably Porto, Portugal.

Coolangatta, Queensland - Australia. World famous surf spots + easy going lifestyle + affordable real estate by the beach.

I'm not newly remote but have been remote since pre-COVID in San Antonio, Texas.

Relative to the Bay Area and other major Texas cities, it has a really low cost of living. We also have great parks, great food, less traffic than Austin, and it's only about 2 and a half hours from the beach. In non-COVID times the social life is pretty great too.

There aren't a lot of tech companies, but there are enough jobs for me not to worry if for some reason I couldn't do fully remote in the future.

It's generally just a laid back place to be, and I enjoy living in a place where the cost of living is low enough that people in a variety of non-corporate careers can do pretty well.

The only downside for me is the brutal heat, but you kind of get used to it.

Saugerties, NY (already moved). Close enough to Boston, NYC, Philly to make day trips if necessary. Cut cost of living by 50% over where I was. Employer has cut 75% of office space in NYC already, holding onto remainder as hot desk space.

I am not who you are asking about because I went almost completely remote like ten years ago.

I am from San Diego. It took me awhile but I eventually got the courage and circumstances to move to Tijuana a few years ago. I couldn't really afford to stay in the US anyway unless I got a different job.

Its a tiny startup and very low pay but I have plenty of energy on the weekends etc. for my own projects and it's low stress. Also have the ocean a block away and convenience store downstairs and very low rent.

If I had a real salary I would probably move back to the US though. Somewhere that they don't turn the water off multiple times during the summer.

I started working remote 2 years ago. Last year I moved to the Greater Sacramento area. I grew up in the bay area and worked in SF tech cos for 10+ years before this, so I still have lots of friends and family in the bay. Sacramento is a great balance between moving away to somewhere with more space, less crowd, less expensive, and still being close enough to drive to see friends and family. COVID happened soon after I moved and sheltering in place here is much easier than the bay given that outdoors/parks etc. have so much less crowd.

Dallas. Have friends there, wife went to college there. I'm in the PNW right now, and I'm not really that confident that this area will manage the recession very well. Plus home prices in Texas are way more reasonable (and logical, imo), and no state income tax as well. Have talked to a realtor, but kind of hard to actually see something in the current environment. If I was to pick my dream house and location it would be a ranch in South Dakota or something.

Montana would be nice however my company refuses to announce any firm dates on when we possibly might need to return to the office which makes signing a lease troublesome

Hawaii if flying didn't feel risky(virus) and logistics were easier. The 2 week quarantine makes a hard move harder. I'm not sure I actually want to be in a hotel. I am "settling" lol for Santa Cruz. I really thought I wanted to live in so cal for awhile too but watching the reactions to blm and covid makes me second guess that. Actually made me really unsure where I might want to live. Also thought about Florida in the future.

I moved to a different part of SF. Around the same price for rent, bigger space (I have a home office now!), and it's not the TL. :) I'll have added ~15min to my commute when we go back in, but the other benefits are worth it - especially the home office, it's good to be able to separate my work space from my relaxation space. I don't want to move extra times, and I'd rather just lock in the ideal place now.

No where. My partner's job only extends her remoteness every 3 months and has made it clear that there will be no full time remote available post covid.

I honestly would not be surprised if they do layoffs at the end of the year. I'd flip out though. Ideally, we'd like to move to Austin to save $2k per month on rent and 13% of our salaries on state income tax.

https://nomadlist.com/ is a good resource.

To be honest, I'd like to move back to Europe from SF. The time difference probably makes it a bit tricky to get the Silicon Valley money from there though. If I had to move somewhere else in the States, I might go to San Diego or Denver. Living in the middle of nowhere just for the money doesn't sound too enticing.

Sad irony that Thailand is definitely an amazing place to relocate, but also it's currently not letting anyone in

Vancouver BC.

3/4 of the Engineers on my team have moved to the 'west end' neighborhood in the last couple years. And i'm now the 4th. Incredible nature w/ healthily-managed high population density & safety. And it's incredible being in close proximity with your team (e.g. hike/ski-meetings)

Think about America's heartland... Montana comes to mind, after two straight months of detailed R&D I think I put together a solid picture that make it very clear why it called America's Heartland, its perfect.. check it out search sidneymontanapropertyforsale.com ... #sidneymontanapropertyforsale

I just drove home from cleaning out my office. I'm now officially remote. I don't plan to move. I live in Washington DC, and I found a job that would let me stay here after graduation. The rise of remote work opens up more job opportunities for me, but I'm staying here.

Big White mountain village in B.C., after my work confirmed I could continue to work remotely permanently.

Based on a lot of responses here, Santa Cruz seems really popular.:) I bet surfer dudes are getting a little nervous. I actually moved from a SF to a East Bay suburb in the Bay Area, and bought home on a 0.5 acre land. Great school, only 25 mins to SF, and all the nature

Ukraine or Colombia until Summer 2021, if I can't find a good deal in So Cal.

I work in Paris where i can't really do what I enjoy the most in life : surfing and skateboarding.

My future plan is to identify a place where I can find good dev projects, next to skateparks and surf areas.

Any recommendations are welcome !

I started off in Austin, TX but took a job just outside of Los Angeles about 6 years ago. When the pandemic hit I couldn’t move back to Austin fast enough! CA just wasn’t for me...

Nowhere, my friends all live here and I like the town I live in.

I was on Bali when it all started and I am still here :)

Indonesian government allowed to stay everyone until the end of the pandemic even though the country is closed.

Montana, probably one of the bigger cities or nearby. Already in the region, but would like to be closer to the mountains.

Ask HN: Newly remote workers... Are you so dumb as to make two major life changes at once?

Haven't moved yet but I am planning. Hopefully somewhere warm where the cold/moisture/pollen triggered allergies don't have me pinned for months every year.

I am in Bangalore so I guess I'd be Hyderabad or Chennai. On the plus side I will also get rid of atrocious rents and traffic of Bangalore.

1-2 year plan also involves exploring options outside India. Somewhere where if something like COVID-19 hits again I won't need a politician's phone call, or a powerful bureaucrat relative's clout to get even a test done (though I've neither), let alone a hospital bed. Yeah, it's that bad here.

Maybe years/months later when real numbers come out (if it happens) the world will see on what scale it was going on in India. Is there a word for this - something like a genocide but not really genocide in literal sense?

[NSFW/L] https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/andhra-pradesh-shocker...

Moving to Santa Cruz temporarily!

North.

If by February there isn't a vaccine or I don't have a physical office I'll be moving back to Texas and live with my parents.

It's 100% worth the money IMO, however, I've also strongly considered New Hampshire, Utah or Nevada.

nowhere, i like it here.

and maybe the market will normalize enough for me to be able to buy in!

I moved to suburbs in a mountain state. In a few years may move to a rural area if gigabit is available.

Most people have ZERO idea what this country is, how vast and unpopulated it is. You can have a mountain to yourself in many areas. The west is essentially empty. You can have 360 mountain views in a beautiful agricultural valley. You can live on a uninhabited part of a lake or river. You can live in an area that looks like a national park. Just need stable power, water, and internet which is/will be easy with solar and sat internet.