Salary up here depends on experience really.. Starting salary up here can be as low as 60k/yr if you're a junior.. (this is for unix btw) As a senior you can make up to 130k+ if you're a badass.. The way to go is to contract out.. There are plenty of contracts up here that will pay you 80+/hr just to do typical unix stuff.. And there is no shortage of projects.. I work in DC but I live in Centreville so that makes living even cheaper.. What I have done for the past few years is I have one very long term project that pays me yearly for a support contract to maintain their network, and then I always have my normal day to day project. Doing something like that will pay you very well.