Find a new city • Hacker News Board

Re: Find a new city

#51

Post by dionidium » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:06 PM UTC

initram wrote: post #37

rpazyaquian wrote: post #34

This jumped out at me: > “I’m trans, so I need to live somewhere progressive so I feel safe day-to-day and don’t feel like I’m going to get beat up for using the wrong restroom.” This is a pretty damn good reason to live somewhere like Seattle or Boston, and a pretty damn good reason not to live somewhere like (edit:) North Carolina or Tennessee or Georgia. The reality is that many of us are limited by not wanting to…

For me it's not only about being safe. I don't have to worry too much about that sort of thing because I blend in most places in my country. But I've lived where people had different values than me and it just gets exhausting. Constantly being bombarded with messages you fundamentally disagree with 24/7. Billboards; local TV; newpapers/web sites; overhearing conversations of the people around you; having odd things s…

This really hits home for me. I grew up in rural Missouri where people can be pretty casual about a racist or homophobic slur, so you're often in a position where you have to decide if a confrontation is worth it, while not wanting to provide the encouragement or consent that a polite smile might imply.

But that's rural Missouri. As I said in my other comment, urban centers are more or less progressive places all over the country.

Re: Find a new city

#52

Post by wwwdonohue » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:09 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #26

I used to live in Nowhere, Florida, and would move back in a heartbeat, but from an employment standpoint it became too risky. Most places outside of The Usual Tech Hubs are one-horse towns when it comes to tech employment, major opportunity risk. If you're a software engineer and live in the Bay Area and suddenly lose your job, depending on the economy you're probably in for a 1-6 month job search at local companies…

If you're a software engineer and live in the Bay Area and suddenly lose your job, depending on the economy you're probably in for a 1-6 month job search at local companies

That long? Funny that we're always hearing about how difficult it is for tech companies to find software engineers.

In any case, OP is expressly not talking about getting a job at a tech company -- he's talking about doing something interesting with your life. I presume this means getting a 9-5 at a laundromat in Ohio and working on open source projects in your spare time.

Re: Find a new city

#53

Post by smelterdemon » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:11 PM UTC

rpazyaquian wrote: post #34

This jumped out at me: > “I’m trans, so I need to live somewhere progressive so I feel safe day-to-day and don’t feel like I’m going to get beat up for using the wrong restroom.” This is a pretty damn good reason to live somewhere like Seattle or Boston, and a pretty damn good reason not to live somewhere like (edit:) North Carolina or Tennessee or Georgia. The reality is that many of us are limited by not wanting to…

I'm not sure Boston or Detroit are particularly good examples of the two types of cities you're trying to illustrate

Re: Find a new city

#54

Post by rpazyaquian » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:12 PM UTC

wwwdonohue wrote: post #52

ryandrake wrote: post #26

I used to live in Nowhere, Florida, and would move back in a heartbeat, but from an employment standpoint it became too risky. Most places outside of The Usual Tech Hubs are one-horse towns when it comes to tech employment, major opportunity risk. If you're a software engineer and live in the Bay Area and suddenly lose your job, depending on the economy you're probably in for a 1-6 month job search at local companies…

If you're a software engineer and live in the Bay Area and suddenly lose your job, depending on the economy you're probably in for a 1-6 month job search at local companies That long? Funny that we're always hearing about how difficult it is for tech companies to find software engineers. In any case, OP is expressly not talking about getting a job at a tech company -- he's talking about doing something interesting wi…

>I presume this means getting a 9-5 at a laundromat in Ohio and working on open source projects in your spare time.

This doesn't sound like it'd be any more conducive to productivity on side-projects than a 9-5 at a tech job. Consuming 8 hours of the work day is bad for productivity no matter what.

Also, nthing the sentiment that tech hiring is screwed up. I highly doubt that companies are having a hard time finding engineers at all.

Re: Find a new city

#55

Post by bluedino » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:12 PM UTC

mkolodny wrote: post #17

I love the sentiment. Silicon Valley and NYC became what they are because of people hacking on things in garages / shitty apartments. Now those shitty apartments cost $2,000/month. The equivalent of those places, where things like Apple started, isn't Silicon Valley and NYC. It's places like Detroit. Or wherever people doing cool things decide to move and congregate. Then again, it is still possible to live cheaply i…

Silicon Valley was full of castaways from big high tech companies, they created Intel in the 70's, software companies in the 80's, and web companies in the 2000's

Your Midwestern cities don't have that.

Re: Find a new city

#56

Post by hx87 » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:12 PM UTC

wwwdonohue wrote: post #52

ryandrake wrote: post #26

I used to live in Nowhere, Florida, and would move back in a heartbeat, but from an employment standpoint it became too risky. Most places outside of The Usual Tech Hubs are one-horse towns when it comes to tech employment, major opportunity risk. If you're a software engineer and live in the Bay Area and suddenly lose your job, depending on the economy you're probably in for a 1-6 month job search at local companies…

If you're a software engineer and live in the Bay Area and suddenly lose your job, depending on the economy you're probably in for a 1-6 month job search at local companies That long? Funny that we're always hearing about how difficult it is for tech companies to find software engineers. In any case, OP is expressly not talking about getting a job at a tech company -- he's talking about doing something interesting wi…

> Funny that we're always hearing about how difficult it is for tech companies to find software engineers.

As we hear so often here at HN, the hiring process in the tech industry is beyond screwed up.

Re: Find a new city

#57

Post by rpazyaquian » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:13 PM UTC

smelterdemon wrote: post #53

rpazyaquian wrote: post #34

This jumped out at me: > “I’m trans, so I need to live somewhere progressive so I feel safe day-to-day and don’t feel like I’m going to get beat up for using the wrong restroom.” This is a pretty damn good reason to live somewhere like Seattle or Boston, and a pretty damn good reason not to live somewhere like (edit:) North Carolina or Tennessee or Georgia. The reality is that many of us are limited by not wanting to…

I'm not sure Boston or Detroit are particularly good examples of the two types of cities you're trying to illustrate

I'll admit not knowing much of anything about Detroit, but I'm not sure how Boston doesn't count as a relatively safe place for LGBT individuals.

Re: Find a new city

#58

Post by wwwdonohue » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:14 PM UTC

mathattack wrote: post #8

There's a difference between attracting artists, and attracting engineers. Both thrive in communities surrounded by like minded people. The difference is entry level artists can't live in high priced cities, so they must find new habitats. Otherwise art goes back to a hobby for the idle rich. Engineers can get by (if not save a ton) on entry level jobs in places like Silicon Valley or SF. It just takes a willingness…

I left Manhattan because you had to be in a hedge fund to have a good life. For all the talk of Silicon Valley being expensive, you don't need to add private school costs to a $6K rent.

Manhattan vs. Silicon Valley isn't exactly a fair comparison.

Re: Find a new city

#59

Post by anti_dang » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:16 PM UTC

rpazyaquian wrote: post #34

This jumped out at me: > “I’m trans, so I need to live somewhere progressive so I feel safe day-to-day and don’t feel like I’m going to get beat up for using the wrong restroom.” This is a pretty damn good reason to live somewhere like Seattle or Boston, and a pretty damn good reason not to live somewhere like (edit:) North Carolina or Tennessee or Georgia. The reality is that many of us are limited by not wanting to…

Is this Tumblr.com right now? Are you kidding me?

Re: Find a new city

#60

Post by nostromo » Fri, Aug 05, 2016, 6:16 PM UTC

rpazyaquian wrote: post #34

This jumped out at me: > “I’m trans, so I need to live somewhere progressive so I feel safe day-to-day and don’t feel like I’m going to get beat up for using the wrong restroom.” This is a pretty damn good reason to live somewhere like Seattle or Boston, and a pretty damn good reason not to live somewhere like (edit:) North Carolina or Tennessee or Georgia. The reality is that many of us are limited by not wanting to…

Have you actually spent time in Raleigh or Atlanta? The idea that trans people are getting murdered in the street is just not correct.

I'm gay and I've spent a lot of fun nights in Boise, Idaho because a gay friend of mine lives there with her wife. We always have a blast. She has a great career in Boise and I don't think she's experienced more homophobia there than when she lived in New York City. (I know she had at least one bad experience in NYC as she was cat-called once right before I met her and her then girlfriend.)

I think a lot of coastal elites have no idea what they're talking about when they speak about the extreme danger of being different in middle-America.