Airbnb will build a new tech hub in Atlanta

I grew up in metro Atlanta and studied at Georgia Tech. The state government subsidizes college education for grads with a certain GPA (HOPE Scholarship). However, I (and most CS grads I knew) left Atlanta for better paying jobs in NYC/Bay Area/Seattle/Austin. I always wondered why the ATL tech scene was 'underdeveloped' compared to comparable sized cities like Seattle and Austin, despite having major research institutions (Georgia Tech and Emory) to anchor it.

This is what I mean by 'underdeveloped':

- Most software dev job postings (as of May 2018) have SPECIFIC tech stack requirements. This to me is a red flag. Most recruiters in 'developed' tech cities assume that software development skills are transferable and that technology stacks/frameworks/languages can be learned.

- The salaries offered were still very low compared to comparable COL locations like Austin

- No major FAANG presence to put upward pressure on local developer wages

Just out of curiosity, as an Atlanta based dev, what kinds of salaries are common in Austin at various levels?

levels.fyi is a good resource. Those are typically Bay Area salaries so a good rule of thumb is to take the numbers reported there and knock off 10-20% for Austin.