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Ask HN: Where are other tech scenes outside Bay Area

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

#31

Post by mech4bg »

xfour wrote: post #26
meritt wrote: post #17

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/

Portland is definitely somewhere I’ve been thinking. Schools seem to be an issue in a lot of neighborhoods except Lake Oswego. Anywhere closer to the city know for good schools? Also what’s your favorite companies of those 4K openings I should look into?

Forest Heights has good schools, is affordable (by Bay Area standards at least) and is a short drive to downtown, 10-25 minutes depending on where and what time of day.

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

#33

Post by guitarbill »

xfour wrote: post #22
lwhalen wrote: post #16

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

I hear Seattle has gotten just as expensive as SF not true? Remote is interesting for sure. The rise of companies like Buffer and I believe the Wordpress company is 100% remote. Definitely solves half my issue also looking for somewhere actually nice to live.

Seattle should be okay if you already have a partner. Everywhere is growing insanely, but there's still affordable property out there (e.g. north) if you don't mind an awful commute, or are willing to do park & ride/public transport. With the growth rate, those communities will become really lively/ruined, too (depends on your PoV).

Could be worth waiting until HQ2 is announced though. Families won't necessarily be interested moving, but there's enough people around who'll make the jump, which maybe helps with prices? Who knows.

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

#34

Post by nkingsy »

xfour wrote: post #10
mpolichette wrote: post #8

SLC, Utah is pretty great, I almost don’t want to mention it because the tech jobs are great and the state provides a lot to do.. its like a hidden gem no one thinks about because they consider it Mormon land... There are a lot of companies opening offices out here though!

Sounds pretty interesting. On a more micro (neighborhood level) of suburb level what areas are worth checking out. On the job front, what companies do you think are innovative or majors opening branches are worth looking at?

We moved from the bay to SLC in November to be closer to my wife's parents (second kid) and own a nice home in a nice neighborhood (Cottonwood Heights, highly recommended).

That part is spectacular. We have our choice of clean, nicely appointed parks full of kids 3 minutes walk in either direction, 2 minute drive to get into the canyons, and I have a big garden.

The options for jobs and salaries are nothing like the bay. Software engineers rarely make over 120k here. Plenty of techish companies scattered all around the valley and Park City, but not many I was excited about. I took a job in Kimball Junction (PC), commuting 26 minutes. Here that qualifies as a big commute.

Until recently, SLC was mostly LDS and mountain lovers, and the work culture reflects both groups' regard for to their non-work life. The company I joined is based in SV and almost all of the people in the office are transplants. I think that's because the company's work/life balance expectations are not in line with what most people want around here.

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

#35

Post by adventured »

xfour wrote: post #26
meritt wrote: post #17

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/

Portland is definitely somewhere I’ve been thinking. Schools seem to be an issue in a lot of neighborhoods except Lake Oswego. Anywhere closer to the city know for good schools? Also what’s your favorite companies of those 4K openings I should look into?

A couple of years ago I seriously looked at the Camas / Vancouver area, just across the line from Portland. No income tax in Washington of course (if you work in Portland that obviously changes the equation, as opposed to remoting). Use Portland for the nearby metro benefits, and housing prices in the region are drastically better than Seattle. I can't speak to the schools in the area however.

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

#36

Post by imAsking9836 »

atlasunshrugged wrote: post #7

I'm a former Bay Area startupper (Marketing/Sales early stage and a bit of product, not an engineer) and did a stint in Berlin and am currently in Tallinn (Estonia). I think for quality of life Berlin can't be beat, it's a big city but you can choose the right neighborhood for a reasonable price and get any sort of vibe you want from small town to big city hipster (okay maybe there are a few neighborhoods with the la…

Always wanted to work in Berlin. How did you manage the language barrier? I know that most gigs use English as the first language but how about the daily life like doing groceries or calling the phone company for a bad bill?

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

#37

Post by mockingbirdy »

atlasunshrugged wrote: post #7

I'm a former Bay Area startupper (Marketing/Sales early stage and a bit of product, not an engineer) and did a stint in Berlin and am currently in Tallinn (Estonia). I think for quality of life Berlin can't be beat, it's a big city but you can choose the right neighborhood for a reasonable price and get any sort of vibe you want from small town to big city hipster (okay maybe there are a few neighborhoods with the la…

Edit: Sorry, skipped the home ownership part. Berlin's real estate market is currently too hot right now. In Munich it's the same - I know some millionaires who couldn't afford homes (with more m2) for their families there. It's generally better to rent for yourself and buy a home as an investment (you get tax breaks and the tenant basically pays the mortgage).

Can vouch for Berlin, too. In Berlin Mitte near Alexanderplatz there are great apartments for approx. $2k/month (around 60m2). It's one of the more expensive areas, but I think it's better for young families who want a calm place.

You will make way less money, though. $5-7k/month should be possible. At SAP you can make $10k/month after some years. But in general it isn't really comparable to US salaries.

For the lang. barrier: Most people speak english and there are many coffee shops where 80% of the employees can only speak english.

Alternatively: I heard that Zurich also pays good, but that the people are not too social and it can be hard to build a social circle there.

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

#38

Post by expertentipp »

imAsking9836 wrote: post #36
atlasunshrugged wrote: post #7

I'm a former Bay Area startupper (Marketing/Sales early stage and a bit of product, not an engineer) and did a stint in Berlin and am currently in Tallinn (Estonia). I think for quality of life Berlin can't be beat, it's a big city but you can choose the right neighborhood for a reasonable price and get any sort of vibe you want from small town to big city hipster (okay maybe there are a few neighborhoods with the la…

Always wanted to work in Berlin. How did you manage the language barrier? I know that most gigs use English as the first language but how about the daily life like doing groceries or calling the phone company for a bad bill?

> calling the phone company for a bad bill

oh, here the knowledge of German doesn't matter - an individual consumer is a pariah with obligatory 2 years contract. One should certainly avoid English speaking landlords in Berlin though.

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

#39

Post by gcampos »

xfour wrote: post #22
lwhalen wrote: post #16

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

I hear Seattle has gotten just as expensive as SF not true? Remote is interesting for sure. The rise of companies like Buffer and I believe the Wordpress company is 100% remote. Definitely solves half my issue also looking for somewhere actually nice to live.

Seattle is expensive, but not near as much as SF.

I actually think here is one of the best places to leave. You can find SV level paychecks, no income tax, and housing for half of the price!

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

#40

Post by jpatokal »

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…

Contrarian thought: if/when the tech bubble bursts, there's suddenly going to be 1000s of companies laying off software engineers in Silicon Valley, who will all be furiously competing for what jobs remain. By comparison, working in IT at a non-SV/not-pure-tech company, in a town with lots of other non-tech companies, would be much better insurance.
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