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Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

nytimes.com

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Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#271

Post by eropple »

marssaxman wrote: post #212
Zach_the_Lizard wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your job can imply your socioeconomic status. When it's the first thing you ask, it can come across as deciding whether you're worthwhile or not. Maybe you're not worth the connection because you're a fry cook at McDonalds, but the doctor over there in the corner is. Learning what someone does for a living is, to me anyways, far less important than learning what they like to do, what interests they have, etc. I can b…

I realize that it can be interpreted as rude, I just don't understand why . It's not a question about socioeconomic status, it's a question about "what [you] like to do, what interests [you] have, etc.," as those characteristics are expressed in the activity you've chosen to spend at least half your waking hours on.

You're replying to someone who explained to you that that question is, in many quarters, a question about socioeconomic status, and your reply is "I don't understand why it's rude, it's not a question about socioeconomic status." Yes, it is about socioeconomic status. You may not think it should be, you may not like that it is, but it is, otherwise people would not take it as such. The reasons are historical and cultural, and if you study the (American, though not exclusively) relationship between work and sociological sense of self of the 20th century you are surely more than capable of divining the details, but it exists, and your further confusion about rudeness will probably continue until you accept that the measuring tools of rudeness are not yours to calibrate.

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#272

Post by dang »

JesperRavn wrote: post #246
eastbayjake wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The #1 dating horror story among women I've dated in SF is the introverted engineer who could only talk about work, engineering, or video games and otherwise required Charlie Rose levels of questioning to engage on other topics. I'm wondering if I can get funding for a Personality-as-a-Service startup in SF.

Yet another way that privileged White males from the tech industry oppress women.

Please don't do this here.

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#273

Post by dang »

eropple wrote: post #127
devindotcom wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's really, really not what I said.

It's not, and you're completely right and I agree with you, but the schtick of ignoring all context that doesn't help out privileged folks is alive and well and highly encouraged on HN. Please try to keep up. =(

That seems both unfair and uncharitable.

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#274

Post by geebee »

cageface wrote: post #253
geebee wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hard to believe this given the current state of the tech industry, but until fairly recently, San Francisco was a second tier city. What I mean by this is that San Francisco wasn't the "alpha" city for any particular career path. If you wanted to pursue law, finance, publishing, entertainment, and so forth, the alpha cities were New York, Los Angeles, and maybe Chicago. Even tech was mainly a south bay thing, an…

I lived in SF for most of the years between 1992 and 2010, so I saw that a lot of that change first hand. When I first moved there it was a funky, artsy town with a lot of interesting people doing creative things. I was there earlier this year and it now feels like a yuppie playground. I don't see this trend reversing any time soon though so instead of lamenting this change I'll just live somewhere else if I decide t…

One of the sad things here is that tech was one of those interesting, creative things people in SF were doing. It fit right in with the funky, artsy town you're describing. Ironically, tech was actually one of the early casualties of the tech boom. It's still out there, though, here and there.

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#275

Post by CamperBob2 »

devindotcom wrote: post #155
vectorpush wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quintessential hipster bullshit. His community doesn't have any special rights to dictate the culture of the region and if he doesn't like the newcomers he can leave. It's also absurd to presume that just because someone has a high paying job they cannot qualify as a legitimate part of the community. Your petty and insular mindset is gross.

We might have to fuck off because the rent is too high, but it doesn't mean we have to do it quietly. The people coming in should know how much they are resented by the people they are displacing. The mechanics terraformed capitol hill, the current community colonized it, and now the next wave is buying it. No one here is dictating culture - they are asserting their preference to a community that was built over decad…

Guy from Tulalip tribe on line 2. He sounds miffed.

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#276

Post by brobinson »

cageface wrote: post #251
brobinson wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you written any blog posts/comments about your remote working situation and what led up to it? I'd be interested in hearing your perspective as I've recently faced a lot of difficulty getting companies to even reply to my applications. I'm curious if there's any tips or advice you have. I really, really do not want to move back to SF to get a good job.

I think it's like a normal job search really. Be persistent, network, build up your portfolio, and don't be too picky about the gigs you take in the beginning. It took me a few years to get going but now I have more incoming work than I can handle.

Thanks for the response!

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#277

Post by CamperBob2 »

OrwellianChild wrote: post #227
devindotcom wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "terrible hypocrite" is a major overstatement. The guy is a gay artist who moved to an area built and populated largely by the gay and creative community, only to find it in the process of being colonized by moneyed interests and neighborhood tourists. He identified with the original neighborhood profile strongly and strongly rejects the new one, as I do — though unlike me, he's making his distaste known. I f…

Not sure why the downvotes - you're being articulate about your position, and folks are allowed to prefer what came before to what is coming... I get the sense that folks are threatened by the labels Criscitello throws around because they resemble them and are challenging his right to them in reaction. Thanks for providing cultural context to the anti-tech backlash in Cap Hill.

What he's expressing is the worst kind of conservatism. Ask any African-American family that dared to move into a white neighborhood in the 1960s.

No, it's not OK "when we do it."

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#278

Post by cdcarter »

crabasa wrote: post #2

I have lived in Seattle since 2009, first working at Microsoft and now working remotely for a Bay Area company. For people who aren't familiar with the Seattle area, it is cleaved into 2 parts: 1) The city of Seattle or the "west side". This area is increasingly dominated by Amazon, local startups and engineering offices for Bay Area companies like Facebook and Google. 2) The cities to the east of Lake Washington (Re…

The alarming concern is that by creating 70k new jobs in the South Lake Union, that's roughly 70k units of housing near SLU that are going to primarily higher earning white tech workers. This is raising rent in all of the central city (including many historically considered neighborhoods of color) and pushing lower-earners further and further away from their jobs, their churches, and their communities. Yes, eventually the latter two will move with them, but to separate these communities is painful and their labor is still needed in the inner city.

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#279

Post by cdcarter »

alain94040 wrote: post #16
geebee wrote: post #7

It's fascinating and sad to read these articles, about some cities struggling with the effects of tech wealth while other cities would see it as an almost unqualified boon. We constantly hear about a desperate shortage of software engineers from tech companies, as well as talk of "six figure" salaries. But the median price for housing in SF is well over a million now, and if you're hoping to have kids and raise a fam…

housing in SF is well over a million now, and if you're hoping to have kids and raise a family Why isn't a nice condo in Mountain View for $700K good enough? 1,300 sq.ft is plenty of space to live. For instance http://www.mlslistings.com/property/ml81517677/1945-mount-ve...

Plus a $500 monthly HOA fee...
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