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Leaving Google

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Re: Leaving Google

#131

Post by dmunoz »

typicalrunt wrote: post #100
ChuckMcM wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting that the median price for a detached single family home in Vancouver is now $929,700 [1] and in Santa Clara county (which is San Jose and the cities around it) is "only" $754,400 [2], of course a house in San Francisco is like over a million dollars. [1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/house-prices-still-rising-in... [2] http://www.zillow.com/santa-clara-county-ca/home-values/

$929,000 in Vancouver means the east side, which is traditionally the lower priced and income area of Vancouver. If you want anything close to downtown or the West side, it is well over $1.5M. A lot of detached homes in Vancouver at the $900k price range look like they are in bad condition and reflect the land value. So while it is expensive to purchase at $900k+, consider the renovations that will be needed to bring…

> A lot of detached homes in Vancouver at the $900k price range look like they are in bad condition and reflect the land value.

So much so, that a game has been made about this, Crack Shack or Mansion [0].

[0] http://www.crackshackormansion.com/index.html

Re: Leaving Google

#132

Post by jpollock »

philangist wrote: post #105
jpollock wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never realized what Scalzi was talking about when he said that being white male was "Easy Mode" until I moved here. Being white is a superpower around here.

Can you expound on this? Is there really that much overt racism in SV?

Sure, here's some off the top of my head.

1) Everyone calls me "Sir", but they don't use that term with others.

2) I have a jacket that sets off store alarms. I never get questioned, but others do.

3) I've seen apartment staff be rude to other residents (and prospective residents), but they're all smiles and sunshine when I walk in.

4) My wife was talking about how she wasn't able to work because of her visa. The other person then said she wouldn't have that problem if she was Mexican (working illegally).

It really is "easy mode". I don't have to argue for anything, and people give me the benefit of the doubt - even when they shouldn't.

Re: Leaving Google

#133

Post by mryingster »

ulfw wrote: post #93
haberman wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Vancouver is a real city. That's not very nice. > Seattle is provincial, passive-aggressive, unfriendly to outsiders, and segregated. A hick town with skyscrapers as I've often called it. Sorry you didn't enjoy it here. Every city has its ups and downs, but a lot of people (myself included) love it. It's beautiful, we are surrounded by nature, we have the best summers of anywhere I've ever been, I find the people f…

I must say I had a wonderful time in Seattle. I found the people a ton more friendly, approachable and varied than in the Bay Area, where everyone is just interested in 'networking' with you rather than befriending you. Plus Seattle has absolutely stunning nature. I didn't stay because of the grey skis. Couldn't take it.

Then buy skis that are a different color ;)

Just kidding. But I understand your sentiment. The grey skies wouldn't bother me at all, but my wife would not be able to stand it. We live in a sunny climate, and every day that is overcast she tells me how depressed it makes her feel... Some people just need sunshine!

Re: Leaving Google

#134

Post by eevilspock »

ulfw wrote: post #93
haberman wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Vancouver is a real city. That's not very nice. > Seattle is provincial, passive-aggressive, unfriendly to outsiders, and segregated. A hick town with skyscrapers as I've often called it. Sorry you didn't enjoy it here. Every city has its ups and downs, but a lot of people (myself included) love it. It's beautiful, we are surrounded by nature, we have the best summers of anywhere I've ever been, I find the people f…

I must say I had a wonderful time in Seattle. I found the people a ton more friendly, approachable and varied than in the Bay Area, where everyone is just interested in 'networking' with you rather than befriending you. Plus Seattle has absolutely stunning nature. I didn't stay because of the grey skis. Couldn't take it.

I've been away from the Bay Area a long time. I don't doubt it is now how you describe it, but it wasn't that way before hi-tech startup culture started taking over. Seattle is slowly getting more friendly and less provincial. Maybe one day it will be better than the Bay Area, but unlikely because the same forces that are messing with the Bay Area are messing with Seattle (and New York) too.

New York has closed itself off to the young and the struggling. But there are other cities. Detroit. Poughkeepsie. New York City has been taken away from you. So my advice is: Find a new city. – Patti Smith on whether New York is still good for artists.

Re: Leaving Google

#135

Post by potatolicious »

tptacek wrote: post #120
potatolicious wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grew up in Vancouver, lived in Seattle for two years, and agree with all the digs about passive-aggression and the such. And while Vancouver's tech scene is rising, you should really stop by Seattle some time and see how wide the gap really is, and how far Vancouver has to go to even be within the same league as Seattle when it comes to tech employment. > "Amazon? In Vancouver now. Microsoft? In Vancouver now. Face…

The tech industry gets better the further south you go along the west coast To a point.

Fair point. Hard to argue San Diego has a superior tech scene than San Jose...

Re: Leaving Google

#136

Post by jsnk »

tobyjsullivan wrote: post #92
hashberry wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

C'mon troll, Seattle is where people go to make money. Seattle's tech industry beats Vancouver any day.

Times are changing my friend. Who would I go work for in Seattle to "make money" (if that were actually my primary goal)? Amazon? In Vancouver now. Microsoft? In Vancouver now. Facebook? In Vancouver now. Startups? Vancouver has our share. Personally, if I were going to leave the country for a better tech industry, I'd fly right past Seattle and head further south. Sorry, but Seattle just doesn't make sense if you're…

I moved from Toronto to Seattle after finishing school, and it would have be a hell of job elsewhere to make me move else where. I don't know about Vancouver, but software industry in Toronto is in a sorry state right now. Toronto's living cost is well near the most expensive parts of US like NYC and SF. And yet, they pay like you live in Wyoming. And the federal, provincial, and municipal taxes you pay on top of little you make is simply untenable. I encourage Canadian developers to gtfo of Canada while you are young and mobile because it'll get harder when you are older.

As for SF, I think Seattle has its own perks as well. Slightly lower sales tax, lower cost of living in rent and other goods, 0 state income tax in Washington, amazing mountains and interesting beaches. Raw number in your paycheck wise, Seattle is probably lower than SF, but in SF, you pay shitload more on rent and tax.

Re: Leaving Google

#137

Post by voidlogic »

rackoons44 wrote: post #122

It's interesting to see how he states that his remote work arrangement would not have been as productive as him moving.

I found this interesting too, maybe it is due to his role as a developer advocate?

I find when I am not working remote, I have to put in 4 more hrs/day to get the same amount of work done...

Re: Leaving Google

#138

Post by fidotron »

aridiculous wrote: post #106

I visited Seattle and Vancouver for the first time recently. I was surprised at how similar they were. I was expecting Vancouver to be a lot different than it was. Vancouver was even more high-rise, glass-everything, gated-community than Seattle. I spoke with the locals who informed me that was Vancouver's MO, and if I wanted a culturally interesting Canadian city, I should head over to Toronto.

[Insert obligatory Montrealer condescension regarding culture in the rest of Canada here - it's about all we've got]

I love aspects of Vancouver, especially the Indian food, but damn it gets boring fast. (Not the Indian food, the place).

Re: Leaving Google

#139

Post by eevilspock »

BlackDeath3 wrote: post #118
eevilspock wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vancouver is a real city. Seattle is provincial, passive-aggressive, unfriendly to outsiders, and segregated. A hick town with skyscrapers as I've often called it. Californians who've moved there almost unanimously agree with my first sentence, and crack up at the latter. (Sadly, I lived in Seattle for 17 years. The Bay Area before that, and New York now.)

>A hick town with skyscrapers as I've often called it. Something tells me that you've never met "hick".

I grew up in a farm town.

Re: Leaving Google

#140

Post by BlackDeath3 »

eevilspock wrote: post #139
BlackDeath3 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>A hick town with skyscrapers as I've often called it. Something tells me that you've never met "hick".

I grew up in a farm town.

You'll forgive me if I have trouble believing that, given that you consider Seattle to be "hick".
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