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

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

#291

Post by yitchelle »

captaindiego wrote: post #192
WhatsName wrote: post #77

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...

Does anyone know easy is it to get a visa for working in tech/engineering areas for Austria? Is something that's actually doable or is it more of a moon shot moving from the US?

The blue card [0] is one route into Europe that is easiest to get for most working in tech, especially if you have a degree. It is also a quick route to getting a permanent settlement or citizenship.

By the way, Berlin or Cologne has a great startup / hacker scene, and they are very friendly.

The beer and wurst is also excellent.

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Card_(European_Union)

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

#292

Post by whoa-duder »

el_benhameen wrote: post #260
whoa-duder wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

San Diego is cool, but I don't agree with the "fair number of tech companies". I think there are very limited opportunities and a lot behind-the-curve thinking in San Diego tech.

Out of curiosity, what sort of behind-the-curve ideas have you seen?

Maybe it's a pattern I've seen: people don't move to San Diego for a career, they move for the lifestyle. Now I know there are a ton of bio-tech companies and, yes, Qualcomm. But the cost-of-living is still high and San Diego companies are notoriously stingy on salary (Sunshine Tax). Beside bio-tech, what are the other dominant industries in San Diego? Some idea: military, tourism, retail, etc. San Diego is awesome, but the tech opportunities don't match the size of the city (8th largest in the US!).

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

#293

Post by solveforall »

mikekij wrote: post #108

San Diego is awesome. The cost of living is probably 30% less than the bay area (I rent a 4 bedroom single family house for $2495), I live 3 miles from the beach, and there are a fair number of tech companies in the area, focusing primarily on healthcare and defense. And I love the outdoor activity opportunities. Direct flights to SFO are about $140 round trip, or less.

I have found San Diego challenging if you want to work for a big company with a good salary or get a contract at a reasonable rate. There are some startups in downtown SD though. Commuting is pretty tough without a car, unless you live near one of the few rail stations. And the trains are slow. If I were young and unencumbered, I'd definitely be in Seattle.

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

#294

Post by boha »

whoa-duder wrote: post #292
el_benhameen wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, what sort of behind-the-curve ideas have you seen?

Maybe it's a pattern I've seen: people don't move to San Diego for a career, they move for the lifestyle. Now I know there are a ton of bio-tech companies and, yes, Qualcomm. But the cost-of-living is still high and San Diego companies are notoriously stingy on salary (Sunshine Tax). Beside bio-tech, what are the other dominant industries in San Diego? Some idea: military, tourism, retail, etc. San Diego is awesome,…

+1 to all of this.

I'm not in San Diego right now, but I've started projects and a company there, and hired dozens of engineers from the talent pool. If you have are a decent employer, you can have your pick of the litter . . . of bright, experienced folks who are aggressively 9-5.

I'm not knocking 9-5ers. They're in the right place: San Diego is truly paradise, and I support work/life balance more than I used to.

But the consistent high quality of life, and the large portion of talented people who live there for it, will always suppress San Diego's entrepreneurial aspirations.

Of course, if you are OK with less-than-leading-edge projects, or you are aggressively seeking stability, I can't recommend it enough.

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

#295

Post by mlent »

captaindiego wrote: post #192
WhatsName wrote: post #77

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...

Does anyone know easy is it to get a visa for working in tech/engineering areas for Austria? Is something that's actually doable or is it more of a moon shot moving from the US?

I can't speak about Austria/Vienna, but if it's anything like Germany, you can basically just show up, sign a contract, present a number of documents (necessarily: an original university diploma) to the authorities, and they will "consider" you, but you work under the assumption you'll be approved and a few weeks later you get a residence card in the mail.

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

#296

Post by mlent »

wprapido wrote: post #249
captaindiego wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does anyone know easy is it to get a visa for working in tech/engineering areas for Austria? Is something that's actually doable or is it more of a moon shot moving from the US?

it's much easier for you US citizens to get work visas (and a permanent residence permit is automatic after 5 years) than it is for us EU citizens (or for a matter of fact, just about everyone except canadians and mexicans) to get a work permit in the US, while a green card is a tough call. not sure about austria, but germany and spain give you a residence permit even as a freelancer / entrepreneur, so these are good…

The only caveat about the freelancer/entrepreneur route is that you have to prove that you have a bunch of money in the bank at all times. For example, over 10K euros or something like this. Because as a freelancer, they want to ensure that you are not going to become unemployed and have to live off the system, presumably.

You also have the option to work in Germany at a real job, and thereafter apply for a freelancer visa. I have heard that this is a lot easier than going straight for the freelancer visa.

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

#297

Post by jlubawy »

mikekij wrote: post #108

San Diego is awesome. The cost of living is probably 30% less than the bay area (I rent a 4 bedroom single family house for $2495), I live 3 miles from the beach, and there are a fair number of tech companies in the area, focusing primarily on healthcare and defense. And I love the outdoor activity opportunities. Direct flights to SFO are about $140 round trip, or less.

I've had similar experiences living in Newport Beach and San Diego (Mission/Pacific Beach). I've never paid more than $1000/room (in three bedroom houses) and those are usually good sized houses or condos just across the street from the beach, which is worth it to me. If you live by yourself it could cost as much as $1600 nowadays, probably in an ~800sqft apartment. I also have friends that pay similar amounts to live in downtown SD which is also nice.

All in all I can't imagine living/working anywhere better.

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

#298

Post by ido »

wprapido wrote: post #249
captaindiego wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does anyone know easy is it to get a visa for working in tech/engineering areas for Austria? Is something that's actually doable or is it more of a moon shot moving from the US?

it's much easier for you US citizens to get work visas (and a permanent residence permit is automatic after 5 years) than it is for us EU citizens (or for a matter of fact, just about everyone except canadians and mexicans) to get a work permit in the US, while a green card is a tough call. not sure about austria, but germany and spain give you a residence permit even as a freelancer / entrepreneur, so these are good…

Austria is significantly more immigrant-hostile than Germany, in terms of the burocracy - how much paperwork you have to submit, how often you need to renew your visa, down to how long they make you wait for an appointment and how (un)pleasant the government workers who are handling immigration are.

I've lived for 8 years in Austria and a bit over 2 now in Germany. The feeling I get was that the Austrian officials were constantly looking for ways to make it as hard as possible for me to stay in the country and the Germans for ways to make it easier.

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

#299

Post by ido »

mlent wrote: post #296
wprapido wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's much easier for you US citizens to get work visas (and a permanent residence permit is automatic after 5 years) than it is for us EU citizens (or for a matter of fact, just about everyone except canadians and mexicans) to get a work permit in the US, while a green card is a tough call. not sure about austria, but germany and spain give you a residence permit even as a freelancer / entrepreneur, so these are good…

The only caveat about the freelancer/entrepreneur route is that you have to prove that you have a bunch of money in the bank at all times. For example, over 10K euros or something like this. Because as a freelancer, they want to ensure that you are not going to become unemployed and have to live off the system, presumably. You also have the option to work in Germany at a real job, and thereafter apply for a freelance…

When I was applying for the freelancer visa in Austria the requirement was 100k, not 10k. Not sure if a typo or if stuff changed.

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

#300

Post by Intimatik »

gravypod wrote: post #142

If you have enough money to start working remotely there are a few places that I want to move to. - Alaska: Pay you to stay, land is cheap, I like the cold. - PA: Land is cheap, I like the cold, next to Philadelphia - Poland: Everything is cheap: 1 zł is 0.25 USD, great food and amazing nightlife. - India: 1 USD ~= 70 rupies, amazing food and culture Every one of these places has its pros and cons, but they have all…

Hello from Krakow, Poland

- The life here is pretty cheap compared to the Western Europe standards - food is great (have i said that it's also cheap?) - lots of lowcost airlines, i.e. plane to Brussels less than for 100$ - no need to own a car, walk from home to work takes 20 minutes (i live in the downtown) - cheap services - homogenous society

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