For the sake of the question, let's pretend COVID-19 never happened. Yes, remote work may take off after all is said and done and you won't be able to find an office job as a software worker in NYC. But since we don't really know what work culture will look like 6 months from now, let's just assume I'm asking this question in November 2019.

I've been remote for the past 4 years, and I'm finally ready to move to NYC, something I've wanted for a long time. Since remote salaries are a little depressed compared to one you'd get in an office in NYC, I have absolutely zero clue in what salary I should ask for when applying for an office job. My first conversations with recruiters had me fumbling, trying to do the math on COL adjustments, what my mortgage might be, etc.

I make $120k right now in a mid-range role. I see posts listing jobs with a range of 150k-180k on /r/sysadminjobs where people chime in saying that the recruiter better double that if they want them to even click on the link to the job application. Posts offering equity instead of a higher salary are laughed out of the room. Are these really the going rates for SREs? Is everyone such hot shit in NYC that they can carry around a $300k price tag? I know that's probably a possible salary for a senior at a financial firm, but it's really skewing my perception on what I should be asking for in the negotiating room.