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The Valley Is Fucked

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Re: The Valley Is Fucked

#11

Post by dredmorbius »

maaku wrote: post #3

This will sound patronizing if you've actually lived here but... you do know that San Francisco is not "the valley", right? The "valley" is Santa Clara Valley , which is a full 45 miles away and a very diverse set of neighborhoods. "There are no slums. There are no marginal areas." I've lived in "the valley" my whole damn life. My family has ties going back to the gold rush days. I have no idea where it is that you l…

"The Valley" is more a metaphor than a specific geographic location. Yes, its origins and core are in Santa Clara County, but there's been a significant shift toward the urban mecca of San Francisco, and by broader definitions it can be said to stretch as much as 100 miles (O'Reilly & Associate's Sebastapol headquarters have been included in the term, though that's a bit of a stretch).

As for slums and marginal areas -- yes, they exist, but even there the costs of living can be high, and in terms of livable low-cost areas, such as you might find in Chicago, or Detroit, or Berlin, not so much. Land-use planning, growth limitations (California is ultimately water-constrained), NIMBYISM, and real-estate inflation have and are taking their toll on the area.

Re: The Valley Is Fucked

#12

Post by nhangen »

ladzoppelin wrote: post #9

"SF has no place for you to fall. (Really, the same can be said of America if you don't have a family support network.) " While I agree with you that the safety net in the USA need to be completely reworked, what country gives poor non citizens a chance to "make it" that you feel is acceptable?

I think what she's saying is that the mindhive in the valley creates a culture where it's acceptable (and desired) to fail and fail fast. Iterate, build, ship, and if you fail, bounce back and try again.

The problem is the bouncing back part. It's easier said than done.

Re: The Valley Is Fucked

#13

Post by num3ric »

Go to Berlin. Bring your startup there. Hang out at Sankt Oberholz. Visit Soundcloud & Google. Attend CCC/C-Base events. Attend LEAP events and teach artists/designers to code at hackathons. Enjoy the fantastic & relatively cheap living environment. Techno. I miss Berlin.

Re: The Valley Is Fucked

#14

Post by zw123456 »

Homelessness, mentally ill, chronically unemployed, etc. these are serious issues that are obviously not unique to "the valley" or SF or any number of other places that border on affluent areas. I think the gist of the rant is that there is a lot of wealth in "the valley" but for some reason it does not "trickle down" to those with problems. Unfortunately, this is an issue that is much harder to solve than writing then next cool app or whatever. There seems to be a pervasive idea that just because tech people can solve complicated tech problems that means somehow they can use the same magic to solve social problems. I wish I knew how to solve some of these problems but I do not and I am guessing a lot of tech people feel the same way.

Re: The Valley Is Fucked

#16

Post by nhangen »

zw123456 wrote: post #14

Homelessness, mentally ill, chronically unemployed, etc. these are serious issues that are obviously not unique to "the valley" or SF or any number of other places that border on affluent areas. I think the gist of the rant is that there is a lot of wealth in "the valley" but for some reason it does not "trickle down" to those with problems. Unfortunately, this is an issue that is much harder to solve than writing th…

In SF the homelessness is much more 'in your face' than anywhere else I've visited. I think what she's saying is that in SF, it's OK to not give a fuck, and the homelessness is symbolic of that.

Re: The Valley Is Fucked

#18

Post by jusben1369 »

maaku wrote: post #3

This will sound patronizing if you've actually lived here but... you do know that San Francisco is not "the valley", right? The "valley" is Santa Clara Valley , which is a full 45 miles away and a very diverse set of neighborhoods. "There are no slums. There are no marginal areas." I've lived in "the valley" my whole damn life. My family has ties going back to the gold rush days. I have no idea where it is that you l…

The City became part of "the Valley" when meaningful startups took up residency there starting 5 - 7 years ago. The "Bay Area" is probably the most accurate term if you want to talk about the region but few use that. Yet calling it the Valley is fine as everyone knows you're talking about the Bay Area and startups. Secondly, Richmond isn't the Valley and probably never will be.

Re: The Valley Is Fucked

#19

Post by nighthawk24 »

rfnslyr wrote: post #5

To other HNers. I'm looking to move to a different country for good. I'm thinking Germany. It's beautiful. Music, art, amazing women, startups, history, Europe. Where should I go? I have all the money in the world and I'm looking to settle elsewhere besides North America. Suggestions? OP: I like the way you rant.

You may find some help here http://www.reddit.com/r/iwantout

Re: The Valley Is Fucked

#20

Post by jusben1369 »

ladzoppelin wrote: post #9

"SF has no place for you to fall. (Really, the same can be said of America if you don't have a family support network.) " While I agree with you that the safety net in the USA need to be completely reworked, what country gives poor non citizens a chance to "make it" that you feel is acceptable?

Where did you get "non citizens" from?
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