Respect the srs tag pls - any advice or suggestions for what to do in pivotal life decision? (yes asking gay indians on bodybuilding forum)

Some info:
I'm 27, deciding on first step after phd:

1) Bay Area battery startup ~$140k salary, minor equity, ~40-45 hours/week, flexible role, commute could be 10 min or 30 min depending on where I live
2) Boston technical consulting ~$120k salary + 1x overtime, ~50-60 hours/week, commute 30-45 min

Family prefers me to move to Boston, I feel like dating pool in Boston is better and it's less ****gy than the gay area, and might be interesting to start a fresh chapter there. However, work life balance is better and work at startup seem far more interesting. Anyone done technical consulting in failure analysis before or have any thoughts about living in Boston? I don't anticipate staying at either job long-term at the moment..


for your time
Spoiler!

Anywhere > Bay Area

Could the battery startup go tits up within the next year or two?

Decision pretty much boils down to if that startup is going to do well.

Startup can be risky, but more money for less time and a more interesting role? You're still young, seems like a no brainer.

Boston and SF will both have big city dating pools. SF you might have to do a little more work with the more liberal dating pool to find a keeper but it's definitely not a deal breaker, it's not like we're talking about a city with a population of 10k or something where your dating pool will be gone through in a few months. You'll have basically unlimited options in either city.

startup role: battery data scientist
consulting role: associate

I should add that the Boston position has better healthcare/dental/vision benefits and 7% matching 401k vs just 401k for startupSeems unlikely, they got enough funding for the next two years minimum and have just expanded. The equity is unlikely to make a difference even if it goes well tho as I am joining as member 20 vs first fewI live in sf bay area right now and dating in the last two years has been hit/miss, tho mainly just using apps and covid somewhat affected that. Wondering if I should move to Boston for a fresh start..
This is not in SF exactly which is also a negative imo

Bump for morning folks

So I exited stick up the ass (not technical) consulting to a startup and couldn't be happier. 60 hour weeks were on the low end and I absolutely hated my travel schedule. The nice thing about the Bay Area is you can get outdoors, Boston is rough in the winter. The flexibility and autonomy of startups are also nice, and you get to have your hands in all sorts of functions. Is there any chance you can negotiate a remote role? Startup and living somewhere with a LCOL is fab.

EV startup? What's their funding like? What series?

Remote is not a possibility at the moment although I could envision transitioning to data science and remote work years down the line (currently more of an experimentalist)

it is a next generation battery startup, R&D position, ~30M corporate funding recent round, and Series A-D apparently ~100M raised?

Cali is for those who could not make it in Boston.

Ok. So to start this off you need to get the salaries meshed as far as cost of living is concerned. Both cities are expensive, as a successful IT worker I've had offers in both so I've gotten to visit and compare both, but SF is significantly more expensive than Boston. Online calculators tell me that 120k in Boston is worth 160k in SF which seems right. That means that 140k in SF is worth about 105k in Boston, so Boston starts off with 15k more money right out of the gates. I don't count equity in a startup because you're playing the lottery at that point.

At this level of salary you don't have to worry about basic life expenses in either city so the discussion moves more towards which one fits your lifestyle more. It sounds like, from the few sentences in the OP, that you are trying to sell Boston to yourself and us. I also assume Boston is closer to family since they want you to take that job. Both of these things tell me you should take the Boston job, and the fact that it is 15k more money (cost of living equalized) is the decider. You do say that the job seems more interesting in SF, but in my experience a job is only "interesting" until you're really good at it, then the only thing that matters is if you like the people you work with which you haven't included in this decision so I'll exclude it from my decision.

If you're fielding job offers in the 120-140k range you've already made it, it's time to worry about how and where you want to live. I'd murder everyone who lives in my neighborhood before moving to SF but Boston isn't all that bad.

Imo bay area is not even an option, dont care how much money. Also startups can work well or go southquick.

Just my opinion