Seoul

Seoul is a high-convenience, high-energy, very safe megacity that many foreigners genuinely love. Redditors consistently praise the public transit, walkability, nightlife, cheap eating out, affordable healthcare, cleanliness, and the feeling of being able to go out late without fear. For someone who loves dense urban life, Korean culture, cafés, food, hiking access, and 24-hour city energy, Seoul can be deeply rewarding.

For software engineers, though, the career equation is more complicated. The Reddit sentiment is notably cautious: tech workers warn that local SWE salaries are not globally competitive, especially compared with the U.S. and sometimes not enough to justify leaving another strong tech market. The data supports that Seoul is not a top purchasing-power city for engineers, while home ownership is extremely difficult. It is much better as a lifestyle move than a pure financial-maximization move.

The people happiest long-term tend to have a strong personal reason to be in Korea, a good employer, foreign income, a spouse/family connection, or enough Korean ability to engage with the country beyond the expat bubble. The people who struggle are often those who arrive early-career, underestimate the visa/language/work-culture barriers, or eventually burn out on pollution, crowds, small apartments, and limited space.

Overall: Seoul is worth it if you actively want Seoul, not if you are simply looking for the best global SWE market. It offers exceptional urban quality of life in some areas, but the compensation, housing, visa, and language tradeoffs are too significant to ignore.