Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 392 posts

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#71

Post by atomic77 »

woud420 wrote: post #66
raverbashing wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I, unfortunately, will have to downplay this suggestion If you don't know French some opportunities are not at your reach There aren't a lot of positions, depending on the area, also the market seem to put outsiders in 2nd place (basically anyone that's not from Quebec)

Although I agree with the downplaying of the suggestion, I really disagree with the reasons. Most companies I've worked with in Montreal, english is often the main language in the office (almost to a fault) and companies are STARVED for talent. It's very, very hard to hire people in Montreal, there's a lot of competition (like pretty much anywhere else). Outsiders are very welcomed if they bring well needed help. How…

To address both comments - I didn't mean to suggest Montreal is the new promised land, just to add some discussion of non-US locations that may hold promise since the comments had been US-centric.

Most tech people working in the US likely will be shocked at how little tech workers are paid in most of the rest of the world, including Canada. But not everything is about absolute salary.

Montreal, imo, provides a well-balanced quality of life for a wide range of demographics. Good schools and govt-provided health care for those with families. Bilingualism for the culturally inclined. Nearby mountains and wilderness for nature lovers. Unrivalled nightlife for the younger who want to party it up. I don't know of another place that can offer all of those things together.

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#72

Post by brentbrooks »

seancoleman wrote: post #27

Phoenix is often not included when discussing tech cities, and I think it's a shame. I've lived here my entire life and have seen the startup and tech scenes evolve and mature having started 2 companies here. Just in the past few years, the number of quality startups and investments have soared and I believe we're at the inflection point that will make Phoenix equitable to SV. We have a low cost of living, affordable…

Agreed, Phoenix is the way to go. My wife and I moved here from Chicago and everything is cheaper. The tax environment is very business friendly, cost of living is much lower, and the people are friendlier. Not to mention the influx of startups and VC money that has been flowing in. I believe Scottsdale was recently named the best place for Startups outside of Silicon Valley.

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#73

Post by Phillysteak »

seancoleman wrote: post #27

Phoenix is often not included when discussing tech cities, and I think it's a shame. I've lived here my entire life and have seen the startup and tech scenes evolve and mature having started 2 companies here. Just in the past few years, the number of quality startups and investments have soared and I believe we're at the inflection point that will make Phoenix equitable to SV. We have a low cost of living, affordable…

+1 for Arizona. I was born and raised on Long Island NY, worked at companies both on the Island and in NYC (Ranging from large corps to startups). I moved out to Arizona a few years ago and haven't looked back.

I started my company just over a year ago, the investor scene in Arizona does currently suck unless you are in Real Estate or SAAS; but there are some large players doing their best to support Hardware startups. The article "Arizona breeds workhorses" is a great way to sum the ecosystem up, if you have the tenacity and thick skin to forge forward you will find Arizona a fantastic place to start a company.

Arizona has felt like home since day 1.

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#74

Post by kevan_ »

Hijacking this a bit: for you folks who've relocated, how did you handle getting connected to the tech community in your new city, and eventually finding a job there? Did you find something beforehand (if so, how), or just start interviewing once you're on the ground and established?

I've contemplated this before, and make a point to check out jobs in other cities when I'm job hunting, but it's hard to ignore the local recruiters who just send me local jobs out of the blue so I always end up staying where I am. I'm currently in LA, and am somewhat interested in relocating to somewhere with a similar/warmer climate, lower cost of housing, equivalent/better outdoor recreation opportunities, and not-awful startup/software scene. I've considered Denver, SLC, Bend, and Phoenix pretty strongly, but haven't found anything that lines up yet.

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#75

Post by woud420 »

atomic77 wrote: post #71
woud420 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although I agree with the downplaying of the suggestion, I really disagree with the reasons. Most companies I've worked with in Montreal, english is often the main language in the office (almost to a fault) and companies are STARVED for talent. It's very, very hard to hire people in Montreal, there's a lot of competition (like pretty much anywhere else). Outsiders are very welcomed if they bring well needed help. How…

To address both comments - I didn't mean to suggest Montreal is the new promised land, just to add some discussion of non-US locations that may hold promise since the comments had been US-centric. Most tech people working in the US likely will be shocked at how little tech workers are paid in most of the rest of the world, including Canada. But not everything is about absolute salary. Montreal, imo, provides a well-b…

For a non US location, I agree.

I mean don't get me wrong, Montreal is a nice city to live, the culture is great, the people are nice, a lot of great restaurants and what not. While I don't think healthcare is that great, if you don't have insurance, it is enticing to think about.

However, from somebody coming out of SF, they do have to expect their in pocket income after expenses to drop significantly, on the range of 50 to 60% and up. In this case, salary is a VERY important consideration.

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#76

Post by raverbashing »

woud420 wrote: post #66
raverbashing wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I, unfortunately, will have to downplay this suggestion If you don't know French some opportunities are not at your reach There aren't a lot of positions, depending on the area, also the market seem to put outsiders in 2nd place (basically anyone that's not from Quebec)

Although I agree with the downplaying of the suggestion, I really disagree with the reasons. Most companies I've worked with in Montreal, english is often the main language in the office (almost to a fault) and companies are STARVED for talent. It's very, very hard to hire people in Montreal, there's a lot of competition (like pretty much anywhere else). Outsiders are very welcomed if they bring well needed help. How…

Yes, the main language is usually English

"and companies are STARVED for talent. It's very, very hard to hire people in Montreal"

Yadda, yadda, yadda

I spent a couple of months sending CVs around Montreal (this was after having Canadian experience) to no avail, just to have several ones take me seriously in Toronto and actually make an offer

So yeah, they're starved by their own doing.

(And I do speak French actually)

The city is lovely, very cultural, I love it, but the fact that it's an Island makes real-estate issues "interesting". Worse taxi-drivers on the planet though (but now there's Uber)

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#77

Post by WhatsName »

Vienna (Austria). Great living standard, lifestyle and housing prices are growing, but regulated and mostly affordable. Fast growing startup and hacker scene, backed and supported not only by accelerators, but also by ongoing campaigns to support innovators and founders.

"Vienna named world's top city for quality of life" - http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/23/vienna-named...

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#78

Post by sf_rob »

HelloMcFly wrote: post #67
sf_rob wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a fellow former Atlantan, I'm going to disagree. Atlanta has a lot of cool stuff going on, but I find the food, drink, scenery, and to a lesser extent the people better in Seattle/Portland/SF. Now Atlanta is a good city and the pay/cost of living is very good. There's a pretty solid tech scene, but not a great startup environment IMO.

It's definitely not a startup environment, and I should have clarified that given the crowd. The west coast has more variety of beer, and that will be a big loss. However, for my taste buds I'll take many of the restaurants in Atlanta over SF or Seattle most days (though I'll miss the Sushi and Korean food greatly). Maybe that means I'm not a super healthy person. And I definitely disagree on the people. We found peo…

I think that your reasoning is good, I don't have quite the same feelings. Full disclosure that I've only lived in Portland and SF, I only visit Seattle.

People are quieter and more stand-off-ish in the PNW, but I find once I get talking to people I tend to get along. Then again, I'm a PNW stereotype (bearded, liberal, outdoorsy, tech-y) so it's a more congruent lifestyle for me here. I didn't get along with people in S.F. as much, and found people to be quite negative / not friendly.

I will agree on diversity and understand why you would prefer Atlanta's weather, but I'm a snowboarder and hate the summers there.

I miss some of the southern food, but wouldn't trade it for the west coast's New American / Mexican / beer.

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#79

Post by kat »

ArtDev wrote: post #11

Bend, Oregon. Direct flights to and from West Coast hubs. Active startup scene. https://youtube.com/watch?v=KxhA2jopebQ Bend has already been "discovered". However, there is still affordable housing and you can't beat the weather, beer scene and the outdoors here. If you want to check it out, you can stay in my awesome big house when we are traveling: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7497695

I have to agree. The work/life balance here is amazing. There are start-ups and bigger enterprise-sized tech companies (Sony!) There is also a decent amount of tech jobs available right now.

Re: Ask HN: Moving Out of Silicon Valley because of housing? Where to?

#80

Post by Apocryphon »

jerf wrote: post #20

As you point out, there's a lot of options; you've only really even scratched the surface. Some guidance on your interests (both professional and recreational/social), skills, and desires would be helpful. I sometimes wonder, do people think that the rule is that you have to post an Ask HN, then you're not allowed to interact? Go ahead, interact! For that matter, if you've got a similar question but you're not the OP…

Thanks for the consideration! Right now I'm mostly curious than actually planning on moving anytime soon, so I was asking for general recommendations. I'm in mobile development and I'm a single twenty-something male. I think generally any city with a mature enough software industry that has need for app developers would be acceptable. For the sort of "hacker environment", it's good if there are meetups/local dev scenes.

But in general, I think the criteria are:

1) Affordable cost of living 2) Access to variety of software jobs (big corporate vs. small startups both present) 3) Reasonable commute 4) Vibrant city life (nightlife, food/music/arts scene) OR easy access to outdoor activities

I think 2) and 4) are the reasons why most people flock to S.F. and stay, despite the lack of 1) and 3).

Post reply on HN