> I dunno about Stripe, but a lot of folks at Google (and presumably the other FAANGs in the region) have had that option for a decade or more. ... Only restrictions are that you have to be a solid performer beforehand, and you have to find a team that's either in that location or that's willing to have you work remotely (many teams are happy to have remote workers, particularly ones who are high performers).
Anecdotally, I have never heard of anyone getting a job at a FAANG with that kind of salary working remotely from day 1. On the other hand, I have met several people who started on-site but switched to working remotely later. I'm not saying it's not possible to do the former, but it seems like it's way easier to work remotely for a FAANG if you've already proven yourself, which obviously doesn't work if you have already moved to a lower CoL area and are looking for work.
Anecdotally, I have never heard of anyone getting a job at a FAANG with that kind of salary working remotely from day 1. On the other hand, I have met several people who started on-site but switched to working remotely later. I'm not saying it's not possible to do the former, but it seems like it's way easier to work remotely for a FAANG if you've already proven yourself, which obviously doesn't work if you have already moved to a lower CoL area and are looking for work.