Remote work removed most of the practical barriers to hiring outside your city, but that doesn't mean local is never the right call. The decision comes down to what you actually value in the working relationship.
The case for hiring remotely
- A much larger pool of candidates to choose from, at a wider range of price points
- Web development is inherently a remote-friendly discipline — code, design files, and calls cover almost everything
- Often lower cost for comparable skill, depending on where the developer is based
The case for hiring locally
- Easier in-person meetings for complex projects that benefit from whiteboarding
- Shared time zone with no scheduling friction for calls
- Some businesses simply prefer supporting developers in their own community
What actually matters more than location
Overlapping working hours matter far more than the same city. A remote developer with a few hours of overlap and clear communication habits will be easier to work with than a local developer who's slow to respond.
A simple way to decide
If your project needs frequent in-person collaboration — a large team, physical hardware, on-site training — weight local higher. For most standard websites and applications, remote hiring opens up better options for the same budget.
Putting it together
Location matters less than communication habits and time zone overlap for the vast majority of web projects. I work with clients remotely across time zones on exactly this basis — if that fits what you need, feel free to get in touch.