[Christos Teriakis]

Originally Posted by TheLastSuperman

US/UK Based Developer - $250 to $500+/-
Non US Based Developer - $25 to $50+/-

Why do you think that cost of life is higher in US/UK? You're totally wrong if you think something like this.
I believe that there many other factors to determine each coder what rates he/she will has. eg as for me: I know that by getting 250 Euros a day is a big amount. Especially if you compare it with the fact that my daughter, 33 years old currently, and with 14 years of work at Airlines, her salary dropped down to 235 Euros a month (for 4 hours work a day). So, yes, I have high rates. But why?

1.- I had no luck to study. Not because I didn't wanted it, or not because I was not good student. But lack of money. Being elder child in a 5 children family, there were no money for studies. So I started working to help my family. But half of my money I was spending to buy books for computers and programming. What I know now is not because I studied in the best College, neigther because I had good professor. It's because I loved it. You're reading my text now. Is it understandable? Not high level in English language and maybe poor vocabulary. But when I started reading English books I had 2 problems. First to understand what the book says and second to try to learn the programming language.
I spent years for learning. For years I was not going to holidays/vacations just to keep that money to buy books. More and more books. Money to spend for buying software. So, yes. I want to get that money back. I can't get back the years that I spent reading. I'll never get the feeling of being 22.. or 25... or even 30 years. Because I didn't really lived that years. No vacations as I said, no clubing, not even cinema.

2.- I work in an open market. Why to ask for 100 Euros a day, while I have clients waiting 2 and 3 months in the queue to start their project? I'll ask more. It's normal. Another reason is the experiance. Why to ask the same price with someone having 2-3 years experiance while I've 29 years??

This is my "2 cents". But for sure the cost of life in Greece, believe me, is much higher than USA or UK. Especially in USA, I've many relatives in LA, so I do know very well many things. And you know where is the difference? That the cost of life is something that you can control there. What I mean... This A area has $1000 monthly rental. But the area B has $700. Here there are no such differencies. Anywhere if you go, you'll find crazy owners asking the same rental. That's why we have a common joke when someone asks incredible rentals. "My dear owner, you didn't understood me. I want to rent it and not to buy it".