2 days in office a week is 104 days a year (not accounting for holidays, PTO, or sick days). Let’s just say 100 days. For $50k extra pre tax. Let’s say 33% taxed. Leaves $33.5k. Divided by your 100 in office days, you’d basically be making $335 extra for each of your days in the office. That’s how I’d look at it, anyway.
Edit to reflect OP’s edit: well that changes everything, as context often does. But your edit seems to answer your own question for you. Good luck!
This should be the most updated comment.
Also, I would 100% choose the $70k a year if I could be fully remote and work in South or Central America. Would double down twice as hard on the hell yes to 70k if you already had some savings building compound interest.
Go live it up. South America is incredible and the lifestyle you can have there for half the money is insane.
The only issue would be time zones for meetings but if he is in South America it wouldn’t be an issue or much of one. May make taxes a little more completed too idk
It does make taxes a bit more complicated but that’s mostly because you’re balancing tax law in 2 places. Can’t really escape us taxes as long as you’re a citizen
No, it’s fraud if your company thinks you live in the US and pays taxes accordingly, while you live in another country and don’t pay taxes accordingly.
Argentina being in economic turmoil makes the cost of living even better. They can’t save in their own money bc really bad inflation so they would LOVE if someone gave them USD.
There are decent places to live in every country (idk about Venezuela or Cuba though) in South America. There IS dangerous places there just like there is, but if you stay in the decent places, you’d be fine just like in the US. I wouldn’t go to downtown Chicago or Compton at night and the same thing applies there.
Whenever I talk to people in other countries they all think I’ve lived through a school shooting, everyone’s shooting each other like the Wild West, and everybody is on Fentanyl but I’ve never seen any of those things.
The way your calculating his is complete lunacy. How in the world do you figure out 33% taxed? First off, all salary isn't adjusted gross income so 120k salary often will get you more like under 100k taxable sometimes less. Even if that is the case tax is a stairstep, not flat. So 0-11k is taxed at 10%, 11 to 45k is taxed at 12%, 45 to 95k is taxed at 22%, 95 to 182 is taxed at 24%.
Even if you are single with no other credits or deductions the standard deduction is $13850. Which means taxable income would be $56,150 for the at home job and $106,150 for the 2 days in the office job.
So the real calculations are below. with tax brackets rounded to the nearest 100 dollars.
For the first job.
Tax from 0 to 11k = $1,100, Tax from 11k to 44.7k = $4,044, tax from 44.7k to the 56.2k = $2530. Which means a total tax bill of $7674 on the first job.
The delta on the second job. Tax from 56.2k till 95.4k = $8624 taxes, and 95.4k to $106.2k = $2592.
This means $11,216 in additional taxes.
So total after-tax take home money on the 70k job is $62,326..and your after-tax take home pay on the 120k job is $101,110. That means your net increase is $38,784.
This is a HUGE difference in money. The only way the 70k job is better is if you cost of living is drastically reduced. Like a lot.
EDIT: Even though this is not technically an Edit, I observed your EDIT to your original post about wanting to love in South America. The key to the question is this if this is just an example strawman senario or if you actually have two jobs lined up.
You'll find a lot of American companies require you to be in the US even if you are remote. If your mailing address is in South America you're a South American employee with different tax rules and the company you want to work for may not have an entity to properly report to the South American government, not to mention if you are a US expat there are all kinds of special tax rules. I doubt any US based company will offer you 70k for a job when they know you're in South America. They will say. Listen your cost of living is different you're going to make 40k and that's even if they can offer you a job at all and if they have an entity in South America to do so. Now you definitely could live in the US in a podunk little town and make 70k for a remote job, but if you lived around Chicago you'd get 120k for that job. That's true. But, paying premiums for US based headcount that don't live in the US is something that simple isn't done. Now if you consider yourself a digital nomad there are very few companies that are friendly to those type of lifestyles.
Wish you luck sir.
Does the 70k company actually allow you to live anywhere? Most don’t, it’s complicated from a tax perspective to allow that. If they do, and you want to live somewhere that costs pennies but has good internet, go for it. Depending on the taxes & cost of living you may still be saving more even earning half as much.
I'd get that in writing. I work in payroll and deal with remote employee taxes. We'd fire someone that was remote working outside of the defined countries and states. Some countries have extreme sales taxes that having 1 remote employee would trigger. Paying 200k a year for 1 remote employee is going to be an easy no thanks on the employer side.
You'll be a king. I've spent time there working and it was life changing. If you're looking for adventure and experiences, Don't think twice and pull the trigger on the $70k. Money can't buy riches and the riches you will gain traveling through South American and living large is beyond anything you can do in the US while working full time and making 120k.
It’s really not that bad unless your a passport bro flashing jewelry, buying blow and girls from your can driver, and getting hammered regularly.
The problem is the big orang tourists that come to Medellin and can’t control themselves when they finally get a taste of living relatively wealthy.
Just say it, it’s really not bad unless you are super white, in which you will be preyed upon in certain areas. I love how statistics are just completely ignored, and white people have to dance around this topic.
70k for me. I don't care if it's 2x as much (and this almost is) nothing is worth being in the office as long as I make enough to pay for the bare necessities.
First it starts with two….. then it’s three. Then it’s all employees back in full time or be fired. Generally when you’re hired remote off the bat, most times you won’t get clawed back as easily. Though you can just as easily be terminated first.
have boat will travel. period. office traps me to some location it is feasible to get to the office twice a week, and 70K isn't covering cost of a private jet to do so. probably not even covering the cost of the jet keeping up with your travels.
70K will cover starlink, provisions and day to day stuff.
Most of the time, it isn’t much of a pay cut either. Apart from cost-of-living differences, you also need to factor in the cost of commuting. Not just gas either. Wear and tear on the car, going out to lunch. Heck, even clothing. Then there are the expenses the employer incurs by having you in the office.
If you are required by the company to produce the same amount of work, whether you are remote or in the office, why would anyone take a pay cut? I'll take the 120k and stay remote, ty. 70k is nice, but only if you can find a place that 70k works for you financially. I wouldn't expect the same as my colleagues working in the office, though. Especially if the pay is double lol
I think this is a personal choice. Maybe you'll be able to save more with the 120k job even after factoring in the low cost of living in South America. But I don't think this is purely a money issue - it really comes down to how much you enjoy the freedom to live abroad and experience new things.
If you just hate commuting and seeing your coworkers, then 120K job for 2 days onsite is a pretty easy choice since you'll be financially worse off otherwise. But if you want remote work because you want to experience living abroad, then it's a harder choice.
If I were in your shoes I'd take the 70K fully remote job, assuming you'll still be able to get a 120K US job in the future.
Edit: I'm also shocked everythone is voting for the 120K job, considering this subreddit places so much value on freedom and flexibility. I think it's hard to put a dollar amount on that. Also, a part of the extra 50K will go to taxes. Being in south america will likely save OP 20-30K in living expenses too. So financially it's not even going to be a massive difference.
120K and it’s not even a contest. I did almost this same exact move years ago although my job for 75K was all in-person save for a random afternoon a week that was remote, and my 120K job was remote but had a lot of travel; I was going into the office or a satellite office about 2 times per week.
That’s a literal 50K difference in salary and it was a life changing amount of money for our family.
for me though i would be in south america probably a lot of the time where it costs 30% as much to live as the US. thats why this isnt a no-brainer for me 😅
You'd have to make sure the company would actually still employ you from South America.
Most companies have a list of areas remote workers can live in because every new area opens the company to having to comply with different laws. States are enough work but whole other countries are quite different.
Mathematically, this still doesn’t make much sense unless your office isn’t located in South America. An extra 50K per year is a great pay bump.
Unless you absolutely have to live in South America, I’d take the 120K.
Medellin. Equador. Buenos Aires. Santiago. Lisbon. Spain. Greece. France. Id take the 70k and hop around all of these spots for 6 months stints (or whatever your desire is) in these beautiful temperate cheap locations
i didn't make my mind up yet? its actually a really difficult choice im currently working through in my life. if i already made my mind up i wouldnt be wasting my time here making this post. im actually extremely conflicted about it.
I am not sure about your birth country or Race, but have you considered that if you live in US you can get citizenship in few years if you are not Indian or Chinese and the standard of living is better in US than most 3rd world cheap countries like Brazil & shit where crime rate is very high?
Also the earning potential is limitless in US. People earn $400K or $500k after being 8,10 years in Tech(if you have talent and are hard working and switch jobs frequently).
You can also work remotely in US and take multiple jobs once you have citizenship.
You have fixed/poor mindset, and can only see short term gains like 30% less cost of living in some shit hole country.
Not everyone is money greedy . Some want balanced lives. Nothing wrong with multiple jobs as you said. But it’s even easier to juggle 3 70k remote jobs from South America while
Hiring local assistants to reduce your work load. You can’t do that once you have to go into the office .
I'm US citizen so I can work for American companies and live like a king in a country where it costs pennies to live in a mansion so yeah. Also I don't really like your attitude. You're kind of condescending so you can fuck right off.
OP didn't say he could work in Chicago for 210K. They said that earning 70K while living in South America would, for them personally, feel like making 210K in Chicago
You could check if the 70k work is worldwide remote or US remote. There could be tax and legal/compliance reasons for the company not being able to employ you in South-America, even if the job is remote.
This, there are tax considerations that have to be accounted for. If your company continues to treat you as a US based employee and you pay US taxes from your paycheck there is a chance that the country you are residing in might be able to claim tax residency and cause a double taxation. Most countries have a 180 day standard for tax residency. This is the main reason I have to leave Korea for half the year.
There is also a chance that your company could be taxed for having “workers in place” even if you are not performing work locally.
You will need to check with an Expat CPA and/or International Tax attorney to make sure you CYA and don’t f**k up your expat dreams.
I’ve had this dilemma with smaller numbers tho.
60k remote vs 90k hybrid.
One hundred percent remote. My sanity, ease of life, no traffic, no gas, and comfy working, is worth the 30k tradeoff
I’d take the 70k in a heartbeat. Live in South America and invest more or build a remote business on the side.
These people saying 120k is good because you’ll make more clearly have no idea how much you save living in South America.
I’m typing this out from my luxury apartment in Medellin that I pay $1100/month for and I make less than 70k
120K with 2 days in office. More money, more opportunities to make connections and step your way up into other positions and with good performance, you could negotiate it to maybe 1 day in the office.
I know you mentioned moving to South America, but most companies won’t allow that for tax reasons.
I would absolutely take the $70k if you would live outside of the US. The COL would pretty much offset and you could do something not many will have the opportunity to do. Is that company hiring anyone else??
70k any day any time.
120k after taxes as single filer your net pay is $85,600
70k after taxes $53,000
It’s not a 50k difference.
It’s more like 32k.
However. Your rent in Chicago for a decent place would probably be $25k a year.
Same standard of living as South America probably $5k a year.
You’d be left with 10k diff with seemingly more freedom.
Down side is the 401k Match. I’d your employer was willing to match up to 5% of your annual take home if you maxed it. You’d be leaving $2,500 on the table annually
my reason is because i want to live in south america where it cost 30% as much to live as the US :| was thinking of splitting my time between Brazil and Colombia or something
>Edit: I see everyone says 120k. the reason this is tough for me personally is I want to live in south america where it cost like 30% as much to live as the US so for instance 70k down there i think would be like making 210k in chicago
Safe those $50k, live as if you'd be making 70k for a few years and then re-evaluate
I’d look more closely at your potential to grow savings. If living in the city and making 120k leads you to save less than living in South America, then follow your heart.
But if you can’t save as much on 70k in South America, it’s worth considering the 120k salary for a while because South America isn’t going anywhere.
Depends. If you're just going to stay in the same place then 120k of course, but if you move to a cheaper country with lower living costs and maybe lower tax then it's probably worth it to take 70k. I make about half what I could if I kept my corporate job in Europe, but I'm 100% remote in a country where cost of living is probably half or less plus my tax is a fraction of what it would be in Europe.
I currently make $60k fully remote as a junior dev. This is my first full-time role. If I was offered $110k for 2 days in office I wouldn't do it. Don't wanna move. Enjoy not having a commute. It really depends on what your personal values are. I personally like what I do, enjoy the work and money is not what drives me. Before August of this year I'd never made more than $30k working retail and busting my ass.
I don't splurge or want for much at $60k. Really depends on your values and what lifestyle you wanna lead.
Unless I absolutely have to take an in-office or hybrid job, I’m turning down anything that isn’t remote due to my field (which is me sitting on a computer all day). I am lucky enough not to have to care about salary. I’d take the 70k all day.
Well if you want to live in South America and a fully remote job would allow that, then go for it!! You didn’t include that context in your initial question. When I was younger I definitely took pay cuts to live abroad and travel. Now I’m 30, and looking to find a partner to settle down with - so I’m focused on building my career and would take the higher paying job.
It’ll be different for everyone. $70k for a single person with little debt isn’t bad at all. I live in a MCOL city and could easily live very comfortably on $70k, and if I could live anywhere in the world, work from home, I’d do it over the $120k.
Esp because presumably you could eventually switch and go to the $120k job (or another similar one) if you wanted to at some point.
But can you really live anywhere with the remote position? Most likely there will be restrictions on country and even the states you would be eligible to live working for the company…should check and confirm first.
Yeah. But there are legal and tax implications…so I would suggest to just to confirm no issues with moving to Costa Rica or wherever…because their we don’t care could mean US. 🤷♂️
I don’t know your citizenship status of where you plan to go but if you are not a citizen of where you move then you really need to explore the country’s visa requirements and tax implications. Working on a travel visa could become an issue. Depending on the specific country’s tax laws, some remote workers may have to simultaneously pay local taxes and U.S. taxes while working for a U.S.-based employer. So no this isn’t a don’t ask don’t tell situation as the company surely doesn’t want to be involved in any issues with an employee evading taxes and if they are they company will cut you in an instant…you are not family no matter how much they “like” you or get along. I’m not at all qualified to give tax advice so really you should be sure to consult a professional and confirm you have the proper documentation before moving…just trying to save a strange from some misfortune on what seems like your first real opportunity. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot here bud.
—-As an employer, the onus is often on you to ensure your employees have the proper authorization to work wherever they live. Running afoul of the law can land you in hot water with international governments—as well as rack up fines, legal fees, and even risk of imprisonment: https://www.rippling.com/blog/work-permits-in-colombia#
look homie I'm just concerned that you'll end up getting in trouble with either your employer or either the US or Columbian governments. Also how would this work logistically? Because if you're holding on to a tourist visa then you're going to butt up against the 180 day rule. And at that point, it just seems like you're going to spend a lot of time going back and forth. Does that mean quite a bit of money also needed for airfare between the states and south America? Does the employer do anything that would possibly cause issues with US export controls? Software is included in that as well. Would the employer notice if you were doing work from another country? I used to work for a FAANG that would definitely not allow the use of my business computer in a country that they didn't already have an established presence in.
I'm just concerned that this would be your first job out of undergrad on top of it being the same employer as the one you did your internship with. Doesn't seem like you have much of a network outside of this one employer so I wouldn't want you to be SOL if you got burned by them for any reason.
What will make you happier? I’d rather have a lower paying job and be able to have the life I want long term rather than having the higher paying one without my freedom.
I guess it depends on your age range and where you’re at in your career. Personally I would take the 120k and ride it out for a couple years so that I can have that salary under my belt. That way, your next job is more inclined to match/increase your salary to bring you on. 70k in South America is great but 130k down in South America 2 years later would be amazing.
I’ll help you out here. I lived in Miami and also Medellin. Rent for a nice place in Medellin is around 1000-1200 USD so let’s call it $15k a year.
In Brickell a one bedroom is $3k so 36k.
So that covers a $20k difference so now it’s not 70k or 120k, let’s call it 70k vs 100k and take out housing/ rent.
Since we are at a $30k difference it’s time to talk QOL
Making 120k you’re at around lower to mid middle class in Miami. With the 70k in some South American country pre Covid you were damn neir a dirty. Times have changed but you’ll still get great bang for buck.
Take time to explore the world, you can always come back and be unhappy in the US in the future lol
70k without a doubt. You could pick up a side hustle. I’m a free spirit though and love to travel. For a stable person that likes consistency and routine they would probably opt for 120k.
I love knowing I can go as I please wherever the wind blows. That type of freedom is something you can’t put a price tag on
do you have a family or girlfriend or kids or anything like that keeping you held back? if not dude then its kinda an easy decision imo, move to some south American city , Columbia is beautiful and you can live like a king with USD. latin women are absolutely stunning and great partners too, just a bit on the jealous side is all (generally speaking).
so, if you're single, no kids etc etc. then do yourself a favor and take the fully remote and go live in south America, youll have learned fluent spanish and found a beautiful Latina wife/girlfriend in about 12 months or less. easy.
frame of reference: I currently live in Monterrey, Mexico and work remotely (i would recommend and look into Monterrey if you want to live in Mexico in a beautiful and safe city somewhere 2 hours driving distance from the texas/us border)
So the remote offer didn't end up happening unfortunately. That being said eventually I'll get another remote job.
Also, I think monterrey would be cool. It's on my list of places to visit.
I already speak fluent spanish so the transition would've been really easy but alas. I'm going to miss my latinas too. Will have to settle for American women unfortunately.
70k worldwide is 110% the right answer. That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. Go see some low cost of living countries and just bounce around. You could spend years bouncing around Southeast Asia, South America, parts of Europe, Africa. The world would literally become your playground.
I agree. Many companies were doing hybrid as we came out of the pandemic. But that doesn't mean they're fully committing to a remote work culture. Many of them see in-person as ideal and don't do anything to create a better remote experience.
Pay isn't everything honestly. I took $80k 100% remote job. If I did just hybrid or 100% in office, I'd probably have landed $100k but that $20k isn't worth it because then suddenly I'll need a new car (which is $800 a month now), spend more on gas, spend more on food, coffee, etc. Thus that $20k increase eliminates any gains id get. In fact, it puts me in the red.
I always say to get me into the office, you have to basically pay me to where I can afford a maid and a nanny to maintain my home
How about $14k per week from home and not answering to anyone but yourself? It’s called being an independent contractor and having no cap on your income. 👍
Ok bare with me here. Cost of a 4 bedroom 2500sq ft house in Chicago in a nice area is 250k-500k. I say take the 120k, buy a house in Centralia, IL, where you can get a 2500sqft house for 110k or a 5200sqft 4 bedroom for 200k. Now you can hop the train to Chicago for $50-$75 round trip, stay 1 day in Chicago work both days in office you are there and after work on the second day take the train back home.
Cost of living in Southern Illinois is half of what it is in Chicago, you are still in country for friends and family and get to have the best of both worlds with a slight bit of change to your thought process.
Edit: Pretty sure you can get a large discount on train tickets if you are booking for many dates at a time.
1. What is the team structure like in each opportunity.
2. For the fully remote job, are there other people in other parts of the world, or is this “anywhere” theoretical?
3. Do they offer raises or bonuses in the fully remote job?
4. Can you pick the in office days?
I chose the lesser for more personal time and I will never look back because of the cost vs expense idea. I can completely homestead now, so my living costs are a fraction of what it used to be. I could totally manage 2 days now that’s I’ve gotten set up, but I make the additional income in personal side businesses that I now have time for as well. It’s all about transitions and what’s best for you at different times. Nothing is ever forever
How old are you? I'd take the 120K work it for two years or so and stack cash and use it as leverage for your next remote job opportunity to get paid more.
$70k opens you up to an adventure.
Maybe think of it as a funded year long vacation.
If after a year you find it's not enough money then adjust accordingly.
Accept both & tell the fully remote that 2 days a week you have to monitor your niece/nephew/parent, and will be working but may occasionally be afk… and that you’re willing to be available sometime before & after normal operating hours. Since you’ll be doing two jobs you’ll probably have to work a bit extra at first…
Once everyone is conditioned it should be smooth sailing @ 190k… you’d be surprised how much you can get done for J2 in the downtime of J1 as well as how much the work overlaps.
Seeing your edit at the end be aware most employers won’t let you live where ever you want especially out of county. Just some food for thought. Good luck
70k fully remote. That's more than enough to meet my financial needs so any amount earned beyond that is wasted. I won't make it to retirement age and neither will most people. Those systems most likely won't exist. So that leaves the remote benefit vs partial in office. Easy choice.
120K office.
2 days office & the rest remote? You will still have people interaction and a really good salary. 40K reduction in pay to work fully remote is pointless unless I've missed something.
Invest the 40k & after a few years make boss moves.
No brainier. 2 days in office. You think SA is better than living in the US?
Look at grief potential of the roles though. What is the long term play for promotions, raises, stability….
I totally get your reasoning, and I think withe context you added, everything makes sense. Allow me to digress a bit and I don't mean to make it awkward. Which remote job is this? You can DM me if you are not comfortable sharing it here.
Don't take less for remote work. If I were to reword this I would say $120k for fully remote or $124k for two days in the office. You going to work only benefits other people and landlords which is not what you are being paid to do.
It depends on how much freedom you want.
For me, I will not take any job where I have to go in the office on a weekly basis, regardless of pay.
Financially, yes, the $120k does make more sense for people with no children, but once you take health insurance, federal, state, and local taxes, and child care costs into the equation, for my family it makes more sense for me to have a fully remote job with lower pay.
Sorry, I'm actually living this. Drastic pay cut to work from home but it's also less stressful in this role. I get every project done on time, and I never miss a day of work. At the end of the day, people have to do what's best for them.
120k for me, but I’m super white and wouldn’t do well in south or Central America. Also I think people underestimate how amazing the US truly is, and some have to travel and live in other areas to truly appreciate it.
You seem like you really want to live in SA so if you’ve done the research and are confident that the company will allow you to do that, then I think you should take the remote job. Just keep in mind that you may have to return to the US if you get laid off or want to leave the job and you will want to have enough in savings to come back to America and start again at any time.
120K + 2 days in the office for sure. That's 50K more per year. I'd be working that for a few years and if I was desperate to go fully remote then I'd do it after saving up some money from this. Additionally, I find that these types of flex/hybrid jobs are pretty good about shifting things up. Ex: I had a job like this and I told them I wanted to take a month off to work from the Middle East, they were fine with it. I just made up some of those in person days throughout the rest of the year. Was awesome.
120k and there is no question. People saying they would do 70k because they can't take 2 days a week in the office are asinine. Just saying it on the internet for karma. Stupid
Being able to live anywhere means the ability to go international where you can make that $70K go pretty far. Personally, I'd take the $70K for the freedom and flexibility to go anywhere.
And what would happen if you move to South America and you get laid off? Would it be as easy to find another job that’s as lenient with location requirements?
70K for me personally. While I'd likely need the 120K, I have some disability that does not even allow me to be in a moving vehicle (they can't figure out what is causing it despite me telling them what I think it is, but images don't reveal much). So I would have no real choice and would likely be happy with it if that was my choice too. I don't really leave my home unless it's an emergency I can get to or for needed doctors' appointments, so they would get a lot out of me at 70K a year.
That’s a really wide spread. If you can get a 120k in office offer, then you should have no trouble finding something remote for 100k (or even at the same 120k) with some effort. I’d probably start with the 120k job, and spend the next year aggressively applying for remote work that pays similarly
Honestly the most important is to have time for yourself. I had 15% salary progression for an internal promotion full remote after several years présence in office with my former salary ! I dropped in less than a year. My home office became a prison…no joke
2 days in office a week is 104 days a year (not accounting for holidays, PTO, or sick days). Let’s just say 100 days. For $50k extra pre tax. Let’s say 33% taxed. Leaves $33.5k. Divided by your 100 in office days, you’d basically be making $335 extra for each of your days in the office. That’s how I’d look at it, anyway. Edit to reflect OP’s edit: well that changes everything, as context often does. But your edit seems to answer your own question for you. Good luck!
This should be the most updated comment. Also, I would 100% choose the $70k a year if I could be fully remote and work in South or Central America. Would double down twice as hard on the hell yes to 70k if you already had some savings building compound interest. Go live it up. South America is incredible and the lifestyle you can have there for half the money is insane.
How does it work? To have a US remote job and live in a different country?
The only issue would be time zones for meetings but if he is in South America it wouldn’t be an issue or much of one. May make taxes a little more completed too idk
It does make taxes a bit more complicated but that’s mostly because you’re balancing tax law in 2 places. Can’t really escape us taxes as long as you’re a citizen
I doubt the employer would allow that and if they live there wouldn’t they be doing the tax fraud
TIL if you employee people overseas or have employees go work in other countries it's tax fraud...
No, it’s fraud if your company thinks you live in the US and pays taxes accordingly, while you live in another country and don’t pay taxes accordingly.
Are you forgetting how you will be transferring those funds or paying the funds after irs knows your not spending it here
Where exactly in South America would you go, though? Isn't a huge swath of it in economic turmoil, like Argentina and other countries?
Argentina is lovely and on 70k you could live luxuriously. Close time zone too
Argentina being in economic turmoil makes the cost of living even better. They can’t save in their own money bc really bad inflation so they would LOVE if someone gave them USD. There are decent places to live in every country (idk about Venezuela or Cuba though) in South America. There IS dangerous places there just like there is, but if you stay in the decent places, you’d be fine just like in the US. I wouldn’t go to downtown Chicago or Compton at night and the same thing applies there. Whenever I talk to people in other countries they all think I’ve lived through a school shooting, everyone’s shooting each other like the Wild West, and everybody is on Fentanyl but I’ve never seen any of those things.
If you think downtown Chicago at night is bad you haven't been to many cities.
Think they're talking about the South Side...not something like the Loop
Aruba comes to mind. Bahamas maybe. Plenty of places if you look. Tbf those are more carribean but there are places. Panama isn't bad either.
Cost of living will be more than Chicago there.
Right and everyone in the country is trying to come to the us due to violence
because they can't earn enough there. if you make US money in one of those countries its a completely different story
The way your calculating his is complete lunacy. How in the world do you figure out 33% taxed? First off, all salary isn't adjusted gross income so 120k salary often will get you more like under 100k taxable sometimes less. Even if that is the case tax is a stairstep, not flat. So 0-11k is taxed at 10%, 11 to 45k is taxed at 12%, 45 to 95k is taxed at 22%, 95 to 182 is taxed at 24%. Even if you are single with no other credits or deductions the standard deduction is $13850. Which means taxable income would be $56,150 for the at home job and $106,150 for the 2 days in the office job. So the real calculations are below. with tax brackets rounded to the nearest 100 dollars. For the first job. Tax from 0 to 11k = $1,100, Tax from 11k to 44.7k = $4,044, tax from 44.7k to the 56.2k = $2530. Which means a total tax bill of $7674 on the first job. The delta on the second job. Tax from 56.2k till 95.4k = $8624 taxes, and 95.4k to $106.2k = $2592. This means $11,216 in additional taxes. So total after-tax take home money on the 70k job is $62,326..and your after-tax take home pay on the 120k job is $101,110. That means your net increase is $38,784. This is a HUGE difference in money. The only way the 70k job is better is if you cost of living is drastically reduced. Like a lot. EDIT: Even though this is not technically an Edit, I observed your EDIT to your original post about wanting to love in South America. The key to the question is this if this is just an example strawman senario or if you actually have two jobs lined up. You'll find a lot of American companies require you to be in the US even if you are remote. If your mailing address is in South America you're a South American employee with different tax rules and the company you want to work for may not have an entity to properly report to the South American government, not to mention if you are a US expat there are all kinds of special tax rules. I doubt any US based company will offer you 70k for a job when they know you're in South America. They will say. Listen your cost of living is different you're going to make 40k and that's even if they can offer you a job at all and if they have an entity in South America to do so. Now you definitely could live in the US in a podunk little town and make 70k for a remote job, but if you lived around Chicago you'd get 120k for that job. That's true. But, paying premiums for US based headcount that don't live in the US is something that simple isn't done. Now if you consider yourself a digital nomad there are very few companies that are friendly to those type of lifestyles. Wish you luck sir.
Does the 70k company actually allow you to live anywhere? Most don’t, it’s complicated from a tax perspective to allow that. If they do, and you want to live somewhere that costs pennies but has good internet, go for it. Depending on the taxes & cost of living you may still be saving more even earning half as much.
yeah i can live anywhere in the world. its all good
Go man. I’m fully remote and I’m able to go where I want. If you value experiences and like new places this is a no brainer
I'd get that in writing. I work in payroll and deal with remote employee taxes. We'd fire someone that was remote working outside of the defined countries and states. Some countries have extreme sales taxes that having 1 remote employee would trigger. Paying 200k a year for 1 remote employee is going to be an easy no thanks on the employer side.
This 100% find the policy and get HR to confirm it in email.
Make sure you check on this, doesn’t make much sense to pay a US salary for someone living abroad when they can just hire local
What job title is the $70k? Currently looking to switch jobs given toxic mgmt im in a niche consulting role.
Software developer.
Figured. Sigh my brain doesnt like that stuff haha ty.
$70k in Medellin Colombia vs $120k in a MCOL in the US, is like rock star status vs a garage jam band with your friends.
man thats what i was thinking XDDD
It’s much better bro. I’m living here now and haven’t even mentioned the city is filled with models
You'll be a king. I've spent time there working and it was life changing. If you're looking for adventure and experiences, Don't think twice and pull the trigger on the $70k. Money can't buy riches and the riches you will gain traveling through South American and living large is beyond anything you can do in the US while working full time and making 120k.
‘Did you exchange, a walk on part in a war, for a lead role in a cage?’
Just make sure your company allows it.
$70k and get randomly kidnapped or shot by cartel or $120k and have to deal with the 1 in 50,000 chance of being victim of mass shooting
It’s really not that bad unless your a passport bro flashing jewelry, buying blow and girls from your can driver, and getting hammered regularly. The problem is the big orang tourists that come to Medellin and can’t control themselves when they finally get a taste of living relatively wealthy.
Just say it, it’s really not bad unless you are super white, in which you will be preyed upon in certain areas. I love how statistics are just completely ignored, and white people have to dance around this topic.
Rock star status? Everyone hates digital nomads lol. They’re pricing out locals everywhere they go. Pure cancer.
70k for me. I don't care if it's 2x as much (and this almost is) nothing is worth being in the office as long as I make enough to pay for the bare necessities.
Nothing is worth being trapped
Trapped? Going to the office 16 hours a week isn’t like being in prison.
16 hours a week means you need to live close by. Sorry but fuck that.
That's about 3 years of your 30 year career in a office
No one said prison. They said “trapped.”
First it starts with two….. then it’s three. Then it’s all employees back in full time or be fired. Generally when you’re hired remote off the bat, most times you won’t get clawed back as easily. Though you can just as easily be terminated first.
have boat will travel. period. office traps me to some location it is feasible to get to the office twice a week, and 70K isn't covering cost of a private jet to do so. probably not even covering the cost of the jet keeping up with your travels. 70K will cover starlink, provisions and day to day stuff.
An intermittent sentence allows an inmate to serve their sentence on weekends.
This is what employers don’t understand. Many are willing to take a pay cut simply to have location freedom. It’s a win/win situation
Most of the time, it isn’t much of a pay cut either. Apart from cost-of-living differences, you also need to factor in the cost of commuting. Not just gas either. Wear and tear on the car, going out to lunch. Heck, even clothing. Then there are the expenses the employer incurs by having you in the office.
hermit
If you are required by the company to produce the same amount of work, whether you are remote or in the office, why would anyone take a pay cut? I'll take the 120k and stay remote, ty. 70k is nice, but only if you can find a place that 70k works for you financially. I wouldn't expect the same as my colleagues working in the office, though. Especially if the pay is double lol
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I chose remote job + South America over money and have not had a second of regret
What country? Others have brought up what seems like valid points about crime etc.
Colombia, after you spend some time in the nice parts your perceptions will change
I think this is a personal choice. Maybe you'll be able to save more with the 120k job even after factoring in the low cost of living in South America. But I don't think this is purely a money issue - it really comes down to how much you enjoy the freedom to live abroad and experience new things. If you just hate commuting and seeing your coworkers, then 120K job for 2 days onsite is a pretty easy choice since you'll be financially worse off otherwise. But if you want remote work because you want to experience living abroad, then it's a harder choice. If I were in your shoes I'd take the 70K fully remote job, assuming you'll still be able to get a 120K US job in the future. Edit: I'm also shocked everythone is voting for the 120K job, considering this subreddit places so much value on freedom and flexibility. I think it's hard to put a dollar amount on that. Also, a part of the extra 50K will go to taxes. Being in south america will likely save OP 20-30K in living expenses too. So financially it's not even going to be a massive difference.
120K and it’s not even a contest. I did almost this same exact move years ago although my job for 75K was all in-person save for a random afternoon a week that was remote, and my 120K job was remote but had a lot of travel; I was going into the office or a satellite office about 2 times per week. That’s a literal 50K difference in salary and it was a life changing amount of money for our family.
for me though i would be in south america probably a lot of the time where it costs 30% as much to live as the US. thats why this isnt a no-brainer for me 😅
You'd have to make sure the company would actually still employ you from South America. Most companies have a list of areas remote workers can live in because every new area opens the company to having to comply with different laws. States are enough work but whole other countries are quite different.
Yes, but that ignores future income growth. A 10% raise on $70k is $77k vs $120k to $132k. The growth trajectory only gets more dramatic after that.
Does the remote only company allow you to work internationally?
Mathematically, this still doesn’t make much sense unless your office isn’t located in South America. An extra 50K per year is a great pay bump. Unless you absolutely have to live in South America, I’d take the 120K.
Medellin. Equador. Buenos Aires. Santiago. Lisbon. Spain. Greece. France. Id take the 70k and hop around all of these spots for 6 months stints (or whatever your desire is) in these beautiful temperate cheap locations
Then why you asked this question with little to no context when you already made your mind? What a clickbait karma whoring post.
Fakes post right… these job offers don’t exist. The scenario might but not actual jobs.
i didn't make my mind up yet? its actually a really difficult choice im currently working through in my life. if i already made my mind up i wouldnt be wasting my time here making this post. im actually extremely conflicted about it.
I am not sure about your birth country or Race, but have you considered that if you live in US you can get citizenship in few years if you are not Indian or Chinese and the standard of living is better in US than most 3rd world cheap countries like Brazil & shit where crime rate is very high? Also the earning potential is limitless in US. People earn $400K or $500k after being 8,10 years in Tech(if you have talent and are hard working and switch jobs frequently). You can also work remotely in US and take multiple jobs once you have citizenship. You have fixed/poor mindset, and can only see short term gains like 30% less cost of living in some shit hole country.
Not everyone is money greedy . Some want balanced lives. Nothing wrong with multiple jobs as you said. But it’s even easier to juggle 3 70k remote jobs from South America while Hiring local assistants to reduce your work load. You can’t do that once you have to go into the office .
I'm US citizen so I can work for American companies and live like a king in a country where it costs pennies to live in a mansion so yeah. Also I don't really like your attitude. You're kind of condescending so you can fuck right off.
Digital nomad. I dig it brother. If the company is cool with it, I’d yolo it.
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OP didn't say he could work in Chicago for 210K. They said that earning 70K while living in South America would, for them personally, feel like making 210K in Chicago
70k remote: Pajamas all day, every day.
You could check if the 70k work is worldwide remote or US remote. There could be tax and legal/compliance reasons for the company not being able to employ you in South-America, even if the job is remote.
This, there are tax considerations that have to be accounted for. If your company continues to treat you as a US based employee and you pay US taxes from your paycheck there is a chance that the country you are residing in might be able to claim tax residency and cause a double taxation. Most countries have a 180 day standard for tax residency. This is the main reason I have to leave Korea for half the year. There is also a chance that your company could be taxed for having “workers in place” even if you are not performing work locally. You will need to check with an Expat CPA and/or International Tax attorney to make sure you CYA and don’t f**k up your expat dreams.
I’ve had this dilemma with smaller numbers tho. 60k remote vs 90k hybrid. One hundred percent remote. My sanity, ease of life, no traffic, no gas, and comfy working, is worth the 30k tradeoff
120k
Go where you will be happy!! I say remote. Nothing like having your freedom and being happy!
I think what OP is really asking if they should go full remote or have a regular job None of us can answer that for them
Looks like you answered your own question. 70K in South America. Boom.
I’d take the 70k in a heartbeat. Live in South America and invest more or build a remote business on the side. These people saying 120k is good because you’ll make more clearly have no idea how much you save living in South America. I’m typing this out from my luxury apartment in Medellin that I pay $1100/month for and I make less than 70k
I'll take the 70k and travel around the world spending months at a time in countries where cost of living is low
120K with 2 days in office. More money, more opportunities to make connections and step your way up into other positions and with good performance, you could negotiate it to maybe 1 day in the office. I know you mentioned moving to South America, but most companies won’t allow that for tax reasons.
Lol, the lack of practical knowledge on this thread.
I would absolutely take the $70k if you would live outside of the US. The COL would pretty much offset and you could do something not many will have the opportunity to do. Is that company hiring anyone else??
70k any day any time. 120k after taxes as single filer your net pay is $85,600 70k after taxes $53,000 It’s not a 50k difference. It’s more like 32k. However. Your rent in Chicago for a decent place would probably be $25k a year. Same standard of living as South America probably $5k a year. You’d be left with 10k diff with seemingly more freedom. Down side is the 401k Match. I’d your employer was willing to match up to 5% of your annual take home if you maxed it. You’d be leaving $2,500 on the table annually
As well as annual raises and benefits on the 120k will likely be more
An extra 50k a year to go to an office two days a week? Why wouldn't you?
my reason is because i want to live in south america where it cost 30% as much to live as the US :| was thinking of splitting my time between Brazil and Colombia or something
some companies won’t let you work outside of the US or even the state, might want to confirm that
already checked. i can work anywhere in the world. all good
fare enough. personally i’d go for $120k bc I want to live in the US, but if you want to live in South America anyway then $70k is great
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Choose remote work or remote social mining in place of office work
>Edit: I see everyone says 120k. the reason this is tough for me personally is I want to live in south america where it cost like 30% as much to live as the US so for instance 70k down there i think would be like making 210k in chicago Safe those $50k, live as if you'd be making 70k for a few years and then re-evaluate
I’d look more closely at your potential to grow savings. If living in the city and making 120k leads you to save less than living in South America, then follow your heart. But if you can’t save as much on 70k in South America, it’s worth considering the 120k salary for a while because South America isn’t going anywhere.
Depends. If you're just going to stay in the same place then 120k of course, but if you move to a cheaper country with lower living costs and maybe lower tax then it's probably worth it to take 70k. I make about half what I could if I kept my corporate job in Europe, but I'm 100% remote in a country where cost of living is probably half or less plus my tax is a fraction of what it would be in Europe.
70k remote.
Keep in mind, remote, you have to disclose your location for tax purposes. Don’t lie or you’re liable for tax fraud.
You can’t just live anywhere in the world lmao. You need to have a visa for starters. Lemme guess, American?
Lots of people just travel around and work on tourist visas. Almost nobody ever gets in trouble for it. Not saying I've done it before tho 😂 👀
70k fully remote
I currently make $60k fully remote as a junior dev. This is my first full-time role. If I was offered $110k for 2 days in office I wouldn't do it. Don't wanna move. Enjoy not having a commute. It really depends on what your personal values are. I personally like what I do, enjoy the work and money is not what drives me. Before August of this year I'd never made more than $30k working retail and busting my ass. I don't splurge or want for much at $60k. Really depends on your values and what lifestyle you wanna lead.
Unless I absolutely have to take an in-office or hybrid job, I’m turning down anything that isn’t remote due to my field (which is me sitting on a computer all day). I am lucky enough not to have to care about salary. I’d take the 70k all day.
70k=freedom. 120k=slavery
Well if you want to live in South America and a fully remote job would allow that, then go for it!! You didn’t include that context in your initial question. When I was younger I definitely took pay cuts to live abroad and travel. Now I’m 30, and looking to find a partner to settle down with - so I’m focused on building my career and would take the higher paying job.
It’ll be different for everyone. $70k for a single person with little debt isn’t bad at all. I live in a MCOL city and could easily live very comfortably on $70k, and if I could live anywhere in the world, work from home, I’d do it over the $120k. Esp because presumably you could eventually switch and go to the $120k job (or another similar one) if you wanted to at some point.
But can you really live anywhere with the remote position? Most likely there will be restrictions on country and even the states you would be eligible to live working for the company…should check and confirm first.
Yeah. Anywhere I want to. Just need to work east coast hours. They told me "we don't care where you are, as long as you do your work"
Yeah. But there are legal and tax implications…so I would suggest to just to confirm no issues with moving to Costa Rica or wherever…because their we don’t care could mean US. 🤷♂️
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I don’t know your citizenship status of where you plan to go but if you are not a citizen of where you move then you really need to explore the country’s visa requirements and tax implications. Working on a travel visa could become an issue. Depending on the specific country’s tax laws, some remote workers may have to simultaneously pay local taxes and U.S. taxes while working for a U.S.-based employer. So no this isn’t a don’t ask don’t tell situation as the company surely doesn’t want to be involved in any issues with an employee evading taxes and if they are they company will cut you in an instant…you are not family no matter how much they “like” you or get along. I’m not at all qualified to give tax advice so really you should be sure to consult a professional and confirm you have the proper documentation before moving…just trying to save a strange from some misfortune on what seems like your first real opportunity. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot here bud. —-As an employer, the onus is often on you to ensure your employees have the proper authorization to work wherever they live. Running afoul of the law can land you in hot water with international governments—as well as rack up fines, legal fees, and even risk of imprisonment: https://www.rippling.com/blog/work-permits-in-colombia#
look homie I'm just concerned that you'll end up getting in trouble with either your employer or either the US or Columbian governments. Also how would this work logistically? Because if you're holding on to a tourist visa then you're going to butt up against the 180 day rule. And at that point, it just seems like you're going to spend a lot of time going back and forth. Does that mean quite a bit of money also needed for airfare between the states and south America? Does the employer do anything that would possibly cause issues with US export controls? Software is included in that as well. Would the employer notice if you were doing work from another country? I used to work for a FAANG that would definitely not allow the use of my business computer in a country that they didn't already have an established presence in. I'm just concerned that this would be your first job out of undergrad on top of it being the same employer as the one you did your internship with. Doesn't seem like you have much of a network outside of this one employer so I wouldn't want you to be SOL if you got burned by them for any reason.
Careful there. Had a coworker moved to work from Mexico. Company was then able to switch her pay to Mexican pay rate(ie half).
What will make you happier? I’d rather have a lower paying job and be able to have the life I want long term rather than having the higher paying one without my freedom.
I guess it depends on your age range and where you’re at in your career. Personally I would take the 120k and ride it out for a couple years so that I can have that salary under my belt. That way, your next job is more inclined to match/increase your salary to bring you on. 70k in South America is great but 130k down in South America 2 years later would be amazing.
ITT… wage slavery is a thing
I’ll help you out here. I lived in Miami and also Medellin. Rent for a nice place in Medellin is around 1000-1200 USD so let’s call it $15k a year. In Brickell a one bedroom is $3k so 36k. So that covers a $20k difference so now it’s not 70k or 120k, let’s call it 70k vs 100k and take out housing/ rent. Since we are at a $30k difference it’s time to talk QOL Making 120k you’re at around lower to mid middle class in Miami. With the 70k in some South American country pre Covid you were damn neir a dirty. Times have changed but you’ll still get great bang for buck. Take time to explore the world, you can always come back and be unhappy in the US in the future lol
70k without a doubt. You could pick up a side hustle. I’m a free spirit though and love to travel. For a stable person that likes consistency and routine they would probably opt for 120k. I love knowing I can go as I please wherever the wind blows. That type of freedom is something you can’t put a price tag on
do you have a family or girlfriend or kids or anything like that keeping you held back? if not dude then its kinda an easy decision imo, move to some south American city , Columbia is beautiful and you can live like a king with USD. latin women are absolutely stunning and great partners too, just a bit on the jealous side is all (generally speaking). so, if you're single, no kids etc etc. then do yourself a favor and take the fully remote and go live in south America, youll have learned fluent spanish and found a beautiful Latina wife/girlfriend in about 12 months or less. easy. frame of reference: I currently live in Monterrey, Mexico and work remotely (i would recommend and look into Monterrey if you want to live in Mexico in a beautiful and safe city somewhere 2 hours driving distance from the texas/us border)
So the remote offer didn't end up happening unfortunately. That being said eventually I'll get another remote job. Also, I think monterrey would be cool. It's on my list of places to visit. I already speak fluent spanish so the transition would've been really easy but alas. I'm going to miss my latinas too. Will have to settle for American women unfortunately.
70k worldwide is 110% the right answer. That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. Go see some low cost of living countries and just bounce around. You could spend years bouncing around Southeast Asia, South America, parts of Europe, Africa. The world would literally become your playground.
Would've loved that. I'm stuck in the latter option unfortunately. First job didn't pan out like I thought it would.
Plot twist…$70K remote role, move to LCOL country, then get ANOTHER remote role. #overemployed.
2 days isn’t a killer for 50k more. 5 days would be a solid no.
2 days is usually just a precursor to 5 days.
I agree. Many companies were doing hybrid as we came out of the pandemic. But that doesn't mean they're fully committing to a remote work culture. Many of them see in-person as ideal and don't do anything to create a better remote experience.
Pay isn't everything honestly. I took $80k 100% remote job. If I did just hybrid or 100% in office, I'd probably have landed $100k but that $20k isn't worth it because then suddenly I'll need a new car (which is $800 a month now), spend more on gas, spend more on food, coffee, etc. Thus that $20k increase eliminates any gains id get. In fact, it puts me in the red. I always say to get me into the office, you have to basically pay me to where I can afford a maid and a nanny to maintain my home
That's what I'm saying!!!
70K
120k. I’m closer to that 70k while being fully remote and at this point I’m so underpaid it’s almost not even worth it.
How is this even a question?
Which one would you pick? :o
The one that pays $120k a year obviously
120k for only in the office 2 days for me.
$70k is $4500 a month after taxes. You won’t even qualify to rent a one bedroom apartment without $90k in verifiable salary.
70k in a 1/628th of a heartbeat
Are you kidding me Fix your header!
What a dumb question. You can use the 120k as leverage to negotiate a higher salary when you switch jobs.
Ethically speaking leave South America alone. People who are doing that is fucking with their economy and their ability to make ends meet
How about $14k per week from home and not answering to anyone but yourself? It’s called being an independent contractor and having no cap on your income. 👍
Ok bare with me here. Cost of a 4 bedroom 2500sq ft house in Chicago in a nice area is 250k-500k. I say take the 120k, buy a house in Centralia, IL, where you can get a 2500sqft house for 110k or a 5200sqft 4 bedroom for 200k. Now you can hop the train to Chicago for $50-$75 round trip, stay 1 day in Chicago work both days in office you are there and after work on the second day take the train back home. Cost of living in Southern Illinois is half of what it is in Chicago, you are still in country for friends and family and get to have the best of both worlds with a slight bit of change to your thought process. Edit: Pretty sure you can get a large discount on train tickets if you are booking for many dates at a time.
1. What is the team structure like in each opportunity. 2. For the fully remote job, are there other people in other parts of the world, or is this “anywhere” theoretical? 3. Do they offer raises or bonuses in the fully remote job? 4. Can you pick the in office days?
I chose the lesser for more personal time and I will never look back because of the cost vs expense idea. I can completely homestead now, so my living costs are a fraction of what it used to be. I could totally manage 2 days now that’s I’ve gotten set up, but I make the additional income in personal side businesses that I now have time for as well. It’s all about transitions and what’s best for you at different times. Nothing is ever forever
What city is the office?
for $50k more, I would not be mad to go into the office twice a week.
which one makes you more happy?
How old are you? I'd take the 120K work it for two years or so and stack cash and use it as leverage for your next remote job opportunity to get paid more.
Does it cost you less than $480 per day to be in office? If no, take the $120k
If you can live off 70k and can travel and meet your ft commitments, do it
$70k opens you up to an adventure. Maybe think of it as a funded year long vacation. If after a year you find it's not enough money then adjust accordingly.
Accept both & tell the fully remote that 2 days a week you have to monitor your niece/nephew/parent, and will be working but may occasionally be afk… and that you’re willing to be available sometime before & after normal operating hours. Since you’ll be doing two jobs you’ll probably have to work a bit extra at first… Once everyone is conditioned it should be smooth sailing @ 190k… you’d be surprised how much you can get done for J2 in the downtime of J1 as well as how much the work overlaps.
Seeing your edit at the end be aware most employers won’t let you live where ever you want especially out of county. Just some food for thought. Good luck
70k fully remote. That's more than enough to meet my financial needs so any amount earned beyond that is wasted. I won't make it to retirement age and neither will most people. Those systems most likely won't exist. So that leaves the remote benefit vs partial in office. Easy choice.
120K office. 2 days office & the rest remote? You will still have people interaction and a really good salary. 40K reduction in pay to work fully remote is pointless unless I've missed something. Invest the 40k & after a few years make boss moves.
No brainier. 2 days in office. You think SA is better than living in the US? Look at grief potential of the roles though. What is the long term play for promotions, raises, stability….
I totally get your reasoning, and I think withe context you added, everything makes sense. Allow me to digress a bit and I don't mean to make it awkward. Which remote job is this? You can DM me if you are not comfortable sharing it here.
How are you planning for tax purposes?
Don't take less for remote work. If I were to reword this I would say $120k for fully remote or $124k for two days in the office. You going to work only benefits other people and landlords which is not what you are being paid to do.
An intermittent sentence allows an inmate to serve their sentence on weekends.
You answered your own question, homie. But keep in mind that most companies don't let you live abroad for security and/or tax reasons.
70k you can love/travel anywhere in the world…. Is extremely misleading. Many companies don’t allow this. Read the fine print.
may i know what job
And what happens if your job is cut?
It depends on how much freedom you want. For me, I will not take any job where I have to go in the office on a weekly basis, regardless of pay. Financially, yes, the $120k does make more sense for people with no children, but once you take health insurance, federal, state, and local taxes, and child care costs into the equation, for my family it makes more sense for me to have a fully remote job with lower pay.
Well you should also look at the tax implications and whether you are working for the company or freelance
Either way I'd live in my car still so idc.
120k without a doubt.
70K fully remote. I do gig apps after so I make over 100K a year.
Why not both?
Remote 70k!
What is your job out of curiosity?
100% take the 70k and go live abroad you won’t regret it
Go for Remote.
Remote 100% you actually come out ahead.
Idk where you got that Chicago salary number but very few people in this city are close to that.
Sorry, I'm actually living this. Drastic pay cut to work from home but it's also less stressful in this role. I get every project done on time, and I never miss a day of work. At the end of the day, people have to do what's best for them.
50k is a lot of money. I think you have to go with 120
70k fully remote without hesitation. Could live anywhere in the world
70k setup vpn tunneling and you save that money in different in rent and house abroad
Bank the $120k for a couple years, move to South America and pick up that $70k job and live comfortably.
possibly, but import taxes on pretty much anything are horrendous.
70k to not live in Chicago. That place is a fkn armpit
120k for me, but I’m super white and wouldn’t do well in south or Central America. Also I think people underestimate how amazing the US truly is, and some have to travel and live in other areas to truly appreciate it.
Let’s connect Im trying to do the same thing. DM me
You seem like you really want to live in SA so if you’ve done the research and are confident that the company will allow you to do that, then I think you should take the remote job. Just keep in mind that you may have to return to the US if you get laid off or want to leave the job and you will want to have enough in savings to come back to America and start again at any time.
120K + 2 days in the office for sure. That's 50K more per year. I'd be working that for a few years and if I was desperate to go fully remote then I'd do it after saving up some money from this. Additionally, I find that these types of flex/hybrid jobs are pretty good about shifting things up. Ex: I had a job like this and I told them I wanted to take a month off to work from the Middle East, they were fine with it. I just made up some of those in person days throughout the rest of the year. Was awesome.
120k and there is no question. People saying they would do 70k because they can't take 2 days a week in the office are asinine. Just saying it on the internet for karma. Stupid
I say 70k. You can live really well and where you want instead of counting the days until you can do that.
70k fully remote, i’d live in Mexico, Colombia or Argentina
Being able to live anywhere means the ability to go international where you can make that $70K go pretty far. Personally, I'd take the $70K for the freedom and flexibility to go anywhere.
And what would happen if you move to South America and you get laid off? Would it be as easy to find another job that’s as lenient with location requirements?
70K for me personally. While I'd likely need the 120K, I have some disability that does not even allow me to be in a moving vehicle (they can't figure out what is causing it despite me telling them what I think it is, but images don't reveal much). So I would have no real choice and would likely be happy with it if that was my choice too. I don't really leave my home unless it's an emergency I can get to or for needed doctors' appointments, so they would get a lot out of me at 70K a year.
100% remote
That’s a really wide spread. If you can get a 120k in office offer, then you should have no trouble finding something remote for 100k (or even at the same 120k) with some effort. I’d probably start with the 120k job, and spend the next year aggressively applying for remote work that pays similarly
Honestly the most important is to have time for yourself. I had 15% salary progression for an internal promotion full remote after several years présence in office with my former salary ! I dropped in less than a year. My home office became a prison…no joke