Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
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Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#2> If you’re trying to bootstrap, being based in San Francisco is awful.
Especially if you have a family. I rented a four bedroom house in a great neighborhood in Sacramento that was a bike ride from Midtown for $2900/mo. We ended up buying a bigger house in the same neighborhood for even less per month. No commute, food is cheap, etc. The cost savings are enormous, and I'm sure it's more expensive than St. Louis...
Yep:
http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/sacramento-ca/st.-l...
The trick outside the Bay Area, if you are consult-strapping, is keeping the contracts coming in. Probably better in areas like St. Louis than in Sac.
Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#3I was in St. Louis for Strange Loop 2013, and I was pretty astonished at how nice (and uncrowded) the downtown was. I asked about it at http://www.reddit.com/r/StLouis/comments/1mlum2/whats_wrong_... and got some interesting responses. The "what's wrong with..." was in the sense of "surely it can't be as great as it seems here?", by the way.
Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#4I was in St. Louis for Strange Loop 2013, and I was pretty astonished at how nice (and uncrowded) the downtown was. I asked about it at http://www.reddit.com/r/StLouis/comments/1mlum2/whats_wrong_... and got some interesting responses. The "what's wrong with..." was in the sense of "surely it can't be as great as it seems here?", by the way.
Most midwestern cities have no pedestrian traffic downtown. That is perfectly normal across much of America.
In a typical midwestern city, anyone who can afford it commutes to the central business district by car. They live, shop, and eat in the suburbs. They use their cars for all of these activities.
The C.B.D. ends up deserted at night when the office workers leave. Any successful night-time businesses have parking, in order to attract suburban customers. There is little reason for anyone to be on foot.
The reddit thread mentions very specific districts where you find pedestrians. I imagine those areas have excellent central parking, and deliberately-created "walkable" areas for browsing. A great development pattern to bring life back to deserted downtowns.
Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#5St. Louis is cheap, but it's cheap for a reason. If you think 6th and Market is bad, take a stroll through East St. Louis. It has the 3rd highest murder rate in the country. Violent crime is on the rise. [1] Basically, it's one of the most dangerous cities in the country.
If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, then you'd probably be better off just moving your startup to Oakland and maintaining a connection to the Bay Area startup network. Or, if it does, move to a more modern, safer city in the South that still has a low cost of living without many of the economic problems of the rust belt cities (and better weather to boot!).
[1] http://www.nbcnews.com/business/most-dangerous-cities-americ...
Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#6Right now it is noon in St. Louis and 19 degrees.
Right now it is 10:00 in SF and 53 degrees.
I think weather plays a large part in why people like to live in the Bay Area. Many refer to the high cost of living here as the "sun tax." As I sit in my office wearing shorts and a t-shirt, I can't even fathom living in St. Louis.
Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#7[deleted]
Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#8St. Louis is cheap, but it's cheap for a reason. If you think 6th and Market is bad, take a stroll through East St. Louis. It has the 3rd highest murder rate in the country. Violent crime is on the rise. [1] Basically, it's one of the most dangerous cities in the country. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, then you'd probably be better off just moving your startup to Oakland and maintaining a connection to the…
Have you lived in St. Louis? East St. Louis is not St. Louis. I lived in St. Louis for the better part of 27 years (Tower Grove South, St. Louis County, Central West End, and Boulevard Heights) and never had any problems. St. Louis is a city of neighborhoods, just like many other places. Some areas have higher crime than others, but to categorically call the whole town dangerous isn't fair.
Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#9> If you’re trying to bootstrap, being based in San Francisco is awful. Especially if you have a family. I rented a four bedroom house in a great neighborhood in Sacramento that was a bike ride from Midtown for $2900/mo. We ended up buying a bigger house in the same neighborhood for even less per month. No commute, food is cheap, etc. The cost savings are enormous, and I'm sure it's more expensive than St. Louis... Y…
I live in the Midwest. My monthly expenses are roughly half of your monthly rent.
(And I have fiber coming into my house and can get 1 Gbps.)
Re: Why I'm Moving My Business From San Francisco To St. Louis
#10St. Louis is cheap, but it's cheap for a reason. If you think 6th and Market is bad, take a stroll through East St. Louis. It has the 3rd highest murder rate in the country. Violent crime is on the rise. [1] Basically, it's one of the most dangerous cities in the country. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, then you'd probably be better off just moving your startup to Oakland and maintaining a connection to the…
East St Louis is not in St Louis. It's (1) in Illinois and (2) across the Mississippi river, and there is a 0% chance of accidentally wandering there.