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Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

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Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#71

Post by eckza »

tachyoff wrote: post #5
bittermang wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I was in Detroit the roads were the worst I'd ever seen. You couldn't even call them pot holes, they were just scars in the earth. For a place nicknamed The Motor City, it was a sad state of affairs. And that's the crux of it. It's not just the money, in fact it's never the money for me. It's a total quality of life scenario. Being across a bridge from Windsor Canada is cool, the Detroit museum is a great p…

To be fair, and I don’t know when you were last here, Detroit is somewhat slowly improving. Some of the roads are still terrible, but that’s Michigan in general (I have some friends in the suburbs, and when I visit them, I specifically avoid certain problematic roads that have left me asking if I permanently damaged my car). The real bugbear is insurance, which is a state policy issue (poor, white areas are starting…

Definitely lost a fucking tire to a pothole yesterday morning at Fischer and Springwells at 30mph.

I drive that road every day. Just happened to be in the wrong lane.

(We are getting there... but we have a long way to go.)

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#72

Post by tombachar »

Just moved my startup(www.getpei.co) from Los Angeles to Austin for an accelerator and can attest that software is sprawling! There are tons of great meetups supported by a ton of great innovative companies and with amazing events like SXSW (which will be our first) they environment is growing for engineers.

The reason I see this happening is because I believe with the roots of live music in Austin, there is a lot of creativity growing around here. When you mix it with effective development and adventurous culture, there is a great mixture of support systems to really build a software-based community.

Weirdly enough, my company is actually looking for a CMO now in the area, and we are finding it difficult to fill the position at an early stage company. So shameless plug, if you are in the area ( which I am finding a lot of Austin is HN), please feel free to reach out!

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#73

Post by kdazzle »

Detroit might be okay if you like long commutes, no transit, and (typically) conservative workplaces. Pay seems like its increasing a bit, if stack overflow jobs is any indicator.

It would be an awesome place for a startup with all the cheap property and rent.

People here are nicer than anywhere else I’ve ever lived

I miss biking and walking to work. And while thats possible here, it’s not easy to find.

But Detroit’s not an easy city and that’s one of its charms. Heh, though people generally don’t talk about Detroit’s hardships in terms of biking to your tech job.

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#74

Post by CyberDildonics »

starwind0 wrote: post #52
look_lookatme wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Seriously the drug use is pretty Rampant in Denver too. Not a turn off to all, but given the places I did work, you wouldn't expect it. Texas is so much better. What does this mean? If you mean cannabis use, who cares? It's legal and it's harmless. If you are talking about opioid abuse or something else, that's a different story. It sounds like you had some subjectively bad individual experiences because you mixed…

Feel free to move to Denver :-) Just remember you were warned. I only lived there about 25 years. Trust me I am not talking just coworkers. People in Texas are in general more friendly. You will notice these things if you move around like I have.

Warned about what? You didn't answer his questions or explain what you meant.

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#75

Post by Johnny555 »

_raaq wrote: post #6

EX Denver developer here. Colorado Native. Now an Austin Dev (I'm a senior / lead android dev) I can safely say that the job market in Denver is terrible. Yes you can find work, but the company culture are terrible. I found myself with brogrammers that had 0 engineering style hobbies or being asked to work 60 hours every week. There are a few gems.. But the Jobs you want, aren't hiring mobile devs because their offic…

I found myself with brogrammers that had 0 engineering style hobbies

What is an "engineering style hobby"? I work in the SF Bay Area, and the most popular hobby of my coworkers is "parent".

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#76

Post by austintechwo »

snow_mac wrote: post #63
_raaq wrote: post #6

EX Denver developer here. Colorado Native. Now an Austin Dev (I'm a senior / lead android dev) I can safely say that the job market in Denver is terrible. Yes you can find work, but the company culture are terrible. I found myself with brogrammers that had 0 engineering style hobbies or being asked to work 60 hours every week. There are a few gems.. But the Jobs you want, aren't hiring mobile devs because their offic…

How's the pay in austin?

Low. About 100-120k for senior level.

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#77

Post by CyberDildonics »

bittermang wrote: post #3
padobson wrote: post #2

Detroit engineer here. There may be a lot of openings around here as Detroit industry continues to modernize and the startup scene matures, but salaries are still lagging. Some of the large companies (autos, insurance, etc) will occasionally offer higher-paying gigs, but competition is fierce and interviewing (like everywhere) is a crap shoot. I'm currently contracting remotely with a company in the Los Angeles area,…

Last time I was in Detroit the roads were the worst I'd ever seen. You couldn't even call them pot holes, they were just scars in the earth. For a place nicknamed The Motor City, it was a sad state of affairs. And that's the crux of it. It's not just the money, in fact it's never the money for me. It's a total quality of life scenario. Being across a bridge from Windsor Canada is cool, the Detroit museum is a great p…

Detroit is actually a pretty cool place in a lot of ways but the streets as you mentioned are absolutely terrible. On top of how torn up they are, there is practically no light on the street. A few dim street lights scatter much too far apart gives you major arteries where you can barely see anything. Then there is the fact that the actual design of the streets is terrible, with lots of odd mechanics you don't see anywhere else, one way streets, and the old 'michigan left' (turn right, then find a place to turn around.

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#78

Post by da_chicken »

tachyoff wrote: post #13
ghaff wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, assuming you just hate winter/snow, you've just described the entire northern tier of the US that's not right on the West Coast. Which is of course your prerogative. I'm just not terribly sympathetic to arguments that life isn't livable outside of the Bay Area because of the weather.

I somewhat hate winter, but I like seasons; they give a nice tempo to life. Personally, I’d rather have snow than earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, tornadoes, and hurricanes, which the rest of the country gets some combination of. Michigan, though? Maybe there’s a tornado in the hinterlands once in a while, but otherwise it’s just the occasional blizzard, and that’s hardly life-threatening for most. Plus, we’re surr…

If you stay away from the west side of the state, you'll even avoid most lake effect snow.

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#79

Post by danans »

bittermang wrote: post #3
padobson wrote: post #2

Detroit engineer here. There may be a lot of openings around here as Detroit industry continues to modernize and the startup scene matures, but salaries are still lagging. Some of the large companies (autos, insurance, etc) will occasionally offer higher-paying gigs, but competition is fierce and interviewing (like everywhere) is a crap shoot. I'm currently contracting remotely with a company in the Los Angeles area,…

Last time I was in Detroit the roads were the worst I'd ever seen. You couldn't even call them pot holes, they were just scars in the earth. For a place nicknamed The Motor City, it was a sad state of affairs. And that's the crux of it. It's not just the money, in fact it's never the money for me. It's a total quality of life scenario. Being across a bridge from Windsor Canada is cool, the Detroit museum is a great p…

> and the area has a great lineage for quality pizza

What lineage are you referring to? Domino's and Little Caesars? (Both are headquartered in the area). They are perfectly edible, but I've never heard those described as representing a "quality pizza" lineage.

Re: Austin, Denver, Detroit: Good Places to Be a Software Engineer Looking for a Job

#80

Post by scottlegrand2 »

starwind0 wrote: post #52
look_lookatme wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Seriously the drug use is pretty Rampant in Denver too. Not a turn off to all, but given the places I did work, you wouldn't expect it. Texas is so much better. What does this mean? If you mean cannabis use, who cares? It's legal and it's harmless. If you are talking about opioid abuse or something else, that's a different story. It sounds like you had some subjectively bad individual experiences because you mixed…

Feel free to move to Denver :-) Just remember you were warned. I only lived there about 25 years. Trust me I am not talking just coworkers. People in Texas are in general more friendly. You will notice these things if you move around like I have.

I heart Austin. Happiest place I've ever lived as a techie. Hope to return.
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