But... you can also get six figure developer salaries outside of silicon valley in places that are significantly cheaper and with far cheaper taxes than California. And they are a lot more common than people I talk to from the Bay Area seem to think. It's almost like there is some sort of group think that believes that there aren't any well paying developer job in nice locations outside of the Bay Area.
Liquidity? You mean as in it is easy to find a different job? I guess that's good if you enjoy that sort of thing. But, I've been working a six figure developer job at the same company for the past 15 years and I'm thrilled that I don't have to worry about the liquidity of the market ;-)
Here is the setup: Literally dozens of companies paying $150k+ (base) for engineers with experience. Upward pressure on wages and working conditions. Cross-pollination of lessons learned between companies.
People always think about startups, but there is an army of engineers at profitable tech companies in the bay area that are well comped for work that generally is free of death-march conditions.
