Comically bad analysis. Take a bunch of tiny denominators and stochastic numerators, cherry-pick one instant in time, and then declare Joplin and Tulsa the two hottest tech talent markets, despite the latter being so desperate for in-migrants that they will still pay you $10k to move there.
The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
51–60 of 195 posts
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
What a terrible take. You're the kind of NIMBY who creates the problems then blames them on new residents. How about you listen to their problems and solve some of them instead of blaming them for problems they did not create.
The problem in Seattle is that it's been flooded by highly paid tech workers. Our population has exploded in the past decade (over 21% increase). The city council has pushed through tons of rezoning and construction has been faster here than elsewhere in the country but it can't keep up with demand. So, it may not be polite to point it out, but it's not inaccurate to say that the problem is in fact people like the OP…
And the ridiculous concentration of wealth caused by tech companies able to hire those highly paid tech workers goes without blame? It's fairly inaccurate to present it in a way people like OP are the only issue here.
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#53I think eventually we will be back in the cities. Just not now. And by we I mean people in tech who are the only real group with this privilege.
I grew up in a really small town and all of the kids who wanted to get good jobs left the town when they finished high school. I have a feeling if this had been available to them at least some of them would have come home afterwards. It would have brought some of the money and some of the brain power back to the town and created a little bit of a virtuous cycle.
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't the SO pageview data skewed by the fact that most remote workers are on their company's VPN, hiding their true location?
Slightly maybe but split tunnel would avoid that. If it was full I'd expect to see an increase from popular cloud hosting regions (if it was a prod vpn) or if corporate VPN's their home offices (which would show as a net zero change)
AWS has a large data center near Portland... (And Washington DC for that matter)
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
The southern states are pretty great. ATL (hometown) is getting more expensive but has a pretty decent tech scene. Also the best airport in the US (direct flights everywhere). I've also been interested in North Carolina for a little while. Much more affordable (compared to PNW), and has some really nice areas (Asheville, Raleigh/Durham). But transportation is a bit more limited.
ATL averages about 33% more rain than Seattle Honestly unless OP goes to California, where the housing situation is much worse, or middle of nowhere like Nevada, they're going to be much wetter (albeit in the Summer and not Winter/Spring) in most of the south
Take it from people who have lived in Seattle, it’s not the amount of rainfall. In the winter months you can literally go weeks without seeing clear skies.
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#56I feel surprised that Miami or Fort Lauderdale or just South Florida in general didn't rate in any category. It's even more baffling to see Tampa, of all cities, used for the "Warmer Climes" category. I can't really overcome the gut feeling this data is cherry-picked.
I've been to all those Floridian cities quite recently, and went frequently yearly. There are a high number of out of state plates,and drivers are much much worse - in FL driving is absolute so it's a easy check to see who's from where - most people avoid changing the registration/title until the registration expires.
It makes me more considerate that there is a housing crisis, simply because Florida does not have enough diversity of industry - it's very hospitality, real estate, entertainment and military driven even though the state and people have tried to diversify into tech and manufacturing - but the pay is quite low when comparing to other cities.
Growing up in FL in the late 00's also had me see people buy condos that went one year fro 35k, then to 150k, then left empty and then sold for 25k in a period of 5 years. Houses, similar.
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#57It would be interesting to see what the trends are for "spreading" decentralization. I still live near enough to San Francisco / San Jose that I can go to the office if needed once every few weeks -- but far enough away that I have a much better quality of like (Santa Cruz). I can't help but think I am not alone in that.
I suspect the housing data would support this theory. While the 90's and early oughts marked an inflow of people and investment into the city cores, the last two/three years seems to have reversed that and sent people scurrying into the suburbs and exurbs. If your commute needs are sporadic at best, the quality of life is going to be (perceived to be) higher in single family houses, even if you're an hour or two from the "office".
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
ATL averages about 33% more rain than Seattle Honestly unless OP goes to California, where the housing situation is much worse, or middle of nowhere like Nevada, they're going to be much wetter (albeit in the Summer and not Winter/Spring) in most of the south
More rain yes, but that rain comes down in heavy storms instead of miserable perma-drizzle and mist. This means even days with a forecast for rain will often be sunny until the front rolls through.
Plus the storms are really awesome. When I lived in SF I really missed the massive thunderstorms in Georgia. I only saw lightning 1 or 2 times in SF.
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#59This year we finally moved to the US after 2 years of Covid-induced delays. We moved to Seattle because it's where my team is based. I'm far from impressed. The housing market is so inaccessible that we had to rent a house about 1 hour commute from the office. I have hardly visited the offices a handful of times since we moved, and every time there is maybe 1 or 2 people there. Also this spring seems to be one of the…
God only knows why we still have net immigration. I guess despite the way minorities and lower classes are "oppressed" we're still better than everywhere else somehow?
The word is exploited. The lower classes are exploited.
Re: The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
God only knows why we still have net immigration. I guess despite the way minorities and lower classes are "oppressed" we're still better than everywhere else somehow?
As an immigrant I often wonder if America’s economy works so well in spite of or because of its policies. But one thing is clear: Last year I saved more money than I made in my last year in Europe. And that’s while paying rent in downtown SF To give a more surprising comparison - my country’s entire GDP fits into Apple's quarterly profits . The pie is large here.
America’s economy doesn’t work well at all for most people. It only works well for the rich, i.e. those who directly benefit from a higher GDP.