Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#11

Post by xfour » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:44 AM UTC

locust101 wrote: post #6

Is being part of tech scene a requirement? Chicago is pretty nice, affordable and cosmopolitan.

Tech Scene for me personally provides a type of insurance. Here in the Bay Area you just have 1000s of companies bit and small contributing to this insane ecosystem that feels so that you could get a new job if necessary relatively easily.

In other cities it seems like you have a single or a few employers and if it didn’t work out with them you’d need to uproot your life and move areas again. Having an ecosystem like that allows a bit more options.

That being said I don’t imagine Chicago to be like that, what tech companies do you like in that area? As that’s what I’m qualified to do.

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#12

Post by wbl » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:46 AM UTC

xfour wrote: post #11

locust101 wrote: post #6

Is being part of tech scene a requirement? Chicago is pretty nice, affordable and cosmopolitan.

Tech Scene for me personally provides a type of insurance. Here in the Bay Area you just have 1000s of companies bit and small contributing to this insane ecosystem that feels so that you could get a new job if necessary relatively easily. In other cities it seems like you have a single or a few employers and if it didn’t work out with them you’d need to uproot your life and move areas again. Having an ecosystem like…

You don't need to be at a tech company to work as a programmer.

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#13

Post by xfour » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:48 AM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #4

Come to Berlin

Had a friend that recently washed out of SoundCloud and returned to the U.S. I spent some time there and went to the disrupt Europe when it was in Berlin. I might be able to swing it long term as my wife has an Italian passport but would be a longer process with that.

Seemed like when I was there it was something about a rocket and cloning US tech and SoundCloud were the two big games in town.

Has there gotten to be a more critical mass of companies there recently?

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#14

Post by xfour » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:51 AM UTC

anonytrary wrote: post #3

GiorgioG wrote: post #2

RTP (Research Triangle Park, Raleigh/Durham NC) edit: (in the original post I only posted the 'RTP' acronym.)

I was gonna say Raleigh, NC. After looking up what RTP refers to, I am pleasantly surprised to see this as the first answer!

Yea I googled it, Research Park Triangle it seems. It seemed really interesting. Housing seemed to be pretty reasonable by California standards.

What neighborhoods are worth checking out and what companies are interesting.

Saw a lot of NetApp and IBM. Nothing wrong with those just seems like not a lot of companies just a few of ones from first glance.

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#15

Post by vyrotek » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:51 AM UTC

Lot of good stuff happening in Scottsdale and Tempe Arizona. Cost of living is fantastic.

Lehi, Utah as others have mentioned is great too. I moved from there back to AZ to escape the show though.

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#16

Post by lwhalen » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:53 AM UTC

Seattle? You can also land a job working remotely, and live whereever you please.

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#17

Post by meritt » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:53 AM UTC

Portland has a thriving tech scene with 4,782 open jobs [1] at the moment. Home prices are about a third of the median in SF/SV.

[1] http://portlandtech.org/

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#18

Post by corv » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:54 AM UTC

The idea that home ownership guarantees growth is a fallacy. In most cities prices only keep up with inflation.

Ergo you are financially better off renting, and investing the money you would have spent on a house.

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#19

Post by xfour » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:56 AM UTC

_vuqm wrote: post #5

Have you worked with a real estate agent and lender to see what properties you could afford? You might be surprised with what you can afford. I recently moved from SF to San Diego about a year ago and just bought a house. It’s not that we couldn’t afford a house in the Bay Area. Just that in SD we could afford a house in a neighborhood we’d actually want to live in. It’s a different market down here. Lots of biotech…

Pretty familiar with San Diego, it’s the nicer part of Southern California from my perspective.

My Cousin just opened a Brewery called the Kensington which I believe is the name of the neighborhood as well.

What neighborhood did you land in?

What’s the percentage difference in Salary you’d expect? Say Mid Level Developer in SF is ~150-200k at this point would it be 100k median or so?

Re: Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

#20

Post by xfour » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 5:58 AM UTC

vyrotek wrote: post #15

Lot of good stuff happening in Scottsdale and Tempe Arizona. Cost of living is fantastic. Lehi, Utah as others have mentioned is great too. I moved from there back to AZ to escape the show though.

What show was so scary it chased you back to AZ? Book of Mormon?

J/K assuming you meant snow.

Jokes aside what companies do you like in the area?