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Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

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Re: Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

#21

Post by iancmceachern »

smt88 wrote: post #17
iancmceachern wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in SF, and am from Denver and couldn't disagree more. The tech culture here is second to none, people still come from all over the world to work and study here. Myndvice to OP is to come to SF, get plugged into the tech and startup culture while your still young and can leverage that community and the empowerment that comes with it for the rest of their lives.

You can do those things in other cities too. You don't need to pay $6,000/mo in rent and step over human shit every day to succeed in tech. My net worth is higher than my peers in SF even though I've earned less than them, and it's because the cost of living is out of control. It's not worth the marginal career benefit.

I pay $3200 for rent in a great location, a very nice loft.

Your right, you don't. You also don't need to go to MiT to succeed in tech - but it really helps.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

#23

Post by smt88 »

iancmceachern wrote: post #21
smt88 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can do those things in other cities too. You don't need to pay $6,000/mo in rent and step over human shit every day to succeed in tech. My net worth is higher than my peers in SF even though I've earned less than them, and it's because the cost of living is out of control. It's not worth the marginal career benefit.

I pay $3200 for rent in a great location, a very nice loft. Your right, you don't. You also don't need to go to MiT to succeed in tech - but it really helps.

I pay $2,800 for a 3,200 sqft house in a safe, walkable, quiet neighborhood near downtown with better weather than SF.

I'm not saying you can't have a good life in SF, but it's much more common to have a terrible life, and the (small) career opportunities aren't worth.

I also think SF has particularly bad startup culture because of the particular VCs there, but that's a matter of preference. I'd rather work on "boring" startups with gray-haired industry veterans than a moonshot with arrogant, unproven 28 year olds who went to Stanford.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

#24

Post by iancmceachern »

smt88 wrote: post #23
iancmceachern wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay $3200 for rent in a great location, a very nice loft. Your right, you don't. You also don't need to go to MiT to succeed in tech - but it really helps.

I pay $2,800 for a 3,200 sqft house in a safe, walkable, quiet neighborhood near downtown with better weather than SF. I'm not saying you can't have a good life in SF, but it's much more common to have a terrible life, and the (small) career opportunities aren't worth. I also think SF has particularly bad startup culture because of the particular VCs there, but that's a matter of preference. I'd rather work on "borin…

It really sounds like you have a chip, or a few, on your shoulder.

My wife and I were born and educated in the Denver area. We owned a home in the area with a mortgage way less than thr rents were talking about here. We tried to live in the area while progressing my career but there are real limitations. Once we moved to the bay area my career totally blossomed. It was indeed a lifestyle change.

Back to the topic at hand, giving OP advice. He didn't post asking for advice on better cost of living, etc. He asked for advice on moving to SF. There is no substitute for your career than spending your younger years in a crucible like the bay area. It's good advice for them to move there while they're young and can take advantage of the connections made and knowledge learned for a lifetime.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

#25

Post by smt88 »

iancmceachern wrote: post #24
smt88 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay $2,800 for a 3,200 sqft house in a safe, walkable, quiet neighborhood near downtown with better weather than SF. I'm not saying you can't have a good life in SF, but it's much more common to have a terrible life, and the (small) career opportunities aren't worth. I also think SF has particularly bad startup culture because of the particular VCs there, but that's a matter of preference. I'd rather work on "borin…

It really sounds like you have a chip, or a few, on your shoulder. My wife and I were born and educated in the Denver area. We owned a home in the area with a mortgage way less than thr rents were talking about here. We tried to live in the area while progressing my career but there are real limitations. Once we moved to the bay area my career totally blossomed. It was indeed a lifestyle change. Back to the topic at…

You can say I have a chip on my shoulder because I think SF isn't worth it, but then so do a huge number of people who currently live there [1].

OP asked for advice about moving to SF based on misconceptions he has about career opportunities, so I feel good about telling him to reconsider (as most other people in the thread have).

1. https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/3654062-thes...

Re: Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

#26

Post by kleer001 »

0xy wrote: post #20
kleer001 wrote: post #12

25 eh? I envy you. You're frontal lobes have just come online. You can finally make good long term decisions. Sadly the time to move to the SF bay was in the early 1990's. So, don't chase someone else's dreams. Your goals can be met easily by going to university. Actually, best met. Go. You're not done learning, you've only just begin. Don't feel weird that you'll be 5-7 years older than everyone else. Just be cool.…

Ah yes, take on $200,000 in debt for a worthless degree instead of just starting your career. This advice is predatory, considering the rapidly diminishing value of degrees in the tech industry. Universities prey on the young in order to bankroll the burgeoning university administrative class.

There's plenty of universities in the world with nominal fees.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

#27

Post by gnatman »

kleer001 wrote: post #12

25 eh? I envy you. You're frontal lobes have just come online. You can finally make good long term decisions. Sadly the time to move to the SF bay was in the early 1990's. So, don't chase someone else's dreams. Your goals can be met easily by going to university. Actually, best met. Go. You're not done learning, you've only just begin. Don't feel weird that you'll be 5-7 years older than everyone else. Just be cool.…

Sounds like you're telling OP not to chase "someone else's dreams" and instead to chase YOUR dream.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

#28

Post by uptownfunk »

iancmceachern wrote: post #24
smt88 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay $2,800 for a 3,200 sqft house in a safe, walkable, quiet neighborhood near downtown with better weather than SF. I'm not saying you can't have a good life in SF, but it's much more common to have a terrible life, and the (small) career opportunities aren't worth. I also think SF has particularly bad startup culture because of the particular VCs there, but that's a matter of preference. I'd rather work on "borin…

It really sounds like you have a chip, or a few, on your shoulder. My wife and I were born and educated in the Denver area. We owned a home in the area with a mortgage way less than thr rents were talking about here. We tried to live in the area while progressing my career but there are real limitations. Once we moved to the bay area my career totally blossomed. It was indeed a lifestyle change. Back to the topic at…

No he doesn’t, it has completely devolved from the great city it once was. It’s painful to think about, I had / have so much love for that place, but it has become mismanaged to a complete s*ithole. Forget about ever raising a family there and trying to work in tech / startup world.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for a 25 yr old moving to SF?

#30

Post by kleer001 »

gnatman wrote: post #27
kleer001 wrote: post #12

25 eh? I envy you. You're frontal lobes have just come online. You can finally make good long term decisions. Sadly the time to move to the SF bay was in the early 1990's. So, don't chase someone else's dreams. Your goals can be met easily by going to university. Actually, best met. Go. You're not done learning, you've only just begin. Don't feel weird that you'll be 5-7 years older than everyone else. Just be cool.…

Sounds like you're telling OP not to chase "someone else's dreams" and instead to chase YOUR dream.

That's the very definition of advice, an opinon. Esp considering their 4 points.
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