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This Is Silicon Valley

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Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#61

Post by crushcrashcrush »

pea wrote: post #55

I grew up and went to school in Silicon Valley ('02 - '08), and remember one of the most stark contrasts was the difference in sociodemographics when you crossed from Palo Alto to EPA. Crazy difference in school quality, poverty, etc; it was unimaginable that people could live so close to one another and have such a different experience. I don't remember the really extreme academic pressures in high school that OP me…

I pitched VICE media to do a story on the 101 Exit going North that has a split - Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. The redlining and pure racism that Palo Alto was founded on is astounding. The bulldozing of whiskey row/gultch to build the (hideous!) Four Seasons tower there.

Really terrible history around here.

Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#62

Post by asdffdsa »

crushcrashcrush wrote: post #43
conanbatt wrote: post #11

Its a rant but I'm also surprised at how she writes "people's perfect life". Whats perfect about San Francisco, that has such a low demographic representation of family, the city is super dirty, people live with 6 figure salaries live in terrible housing conditions. Maybe google gets to shelter their employees from a lot of the cruft of SF, but walk 2 blocks away from the google offices in SF and you'll get yelled at…

I also look at this as - individuals have so much wealth, along with these companies, yet no one is doing a single fucking thing to help the homeless. Facebook and Google could reverse their negative PR so quickly if they actually put some money meaningfully toward the problem, not into fake tax shelters for their founders.

define "meaningfully", keeping in mind the city spends hundreds of millions on homelessness already (kind of insulting and ignorant to say "no one is doing a single fucking thing")

Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#63

Post by nieksand »

crushcrashcrush wrote: post #43
conanbatt wrote: post #11

Its a rant but I'm also surprised at how she writes "people's perfect life". Whats perfect about San Francisco, that has such a low demographic representation of family, the city is super dirty, people live with 6 figure salaries live in terrible housing conditions. Maybe google gets to shelter their employees from a lot of the cruft of SF, but walk 2 blocks away from the google offices in SF and you'll get yelled at…

I also look at this as - individuals have so much wealth, along with these companies, yet no one is doing a single fucking thing to help the homeless. Facebook and Google could reverse their negative PR so quickly if they actually put some money meaningfully toward the problem, not into fake tax shelters for their founders.

Does SFO homelessness really have a shortage of money being thrown at the problem?

Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#64

Post by cknoxrun »

cabaalis wrote: post #36

> So, I’m leaving. But I do hope to come back someday. You've made what I think is a good choice. Don't turn it into a bad one by just going to some different urban center. You will learn that there are hard-working, good-natured, intelligent people all over the country living in very diverse neighborhoods. They understand math and engineering just as well as you do, yet they are constantly told they are flyover hick…

I live and co-founded my current company in a colder northern Canadian city. Often we get derided by larger urban centres in Canada, similar to being labeled "flyover" country. But what I've found is that there is a sweet spot in terms of city size (mine is about 1 million) where the community feels small enough that people seem to legitimately care about each other, and champion each other's successes, but the benefits of an urban lifestyle are still available. It's a good life, filled with diversity and genuine people, but the choice is still there to ride trains to work.

Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#65

Post by crushcrashcrush »

throwaway-1283 wrote: post #58
crushcrashcrush wrote: post #25

I'm gonna offer a slightly different perspective: SV isn't that nice, and it's not worth the price premium. There is a distinct lack of culture, of nightlife, of arts and humanities - even in San Francisco. We're a mediocre land of strip malls and suburbs masquerading as an international destination. Go to any other city and tell me that it's not MORE vibrant (Chicago, LA, NYC, Miami, Austin, Portland, Seattle, Houst…

The price premium you are paying, especially for housing, is really all about raising kids e.g. sending them to some of the best (albeit pressure-filled) public schools in the country all while keeping your high paying SV jobs. Basically assume that the quality of public SV schools are high enough that high earning parents are "OK" sending their kids to those schools rather than paying for private school. If you have…

100% Agree. I'm leaving in 6 months. Buying two pied-a-terres in cool cities for the cost of a down payment in SV. Can't wait!

Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#67

Post by nubbins »

nielsbot wrote: post #13
yalogin wrote: post #7

San Francisco definitely feels like that to me. Everyone and everything just seem like they are part of a cult and worshipping at altar of startups. I can't explain it.

It's an industry town now. I personally worry how sustainable it is to have a city that's just "high paid white startup workers and fancy restaurants." I think a more diverse and affordable San Francisco would benefit all its residents.

Whenever I visit, SF still feels more human scale, relaxed, less anonymous, and more friendly to me than the shrine to global commerce that is most of Manhattan. But I trust people who live there who say its getting worse and its a lot smaller so I guess its more at risk of being colonized by a tech monoculture.

Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#68

Post by xiphias2 »

crushcrashcrush wrote: post #30
crushcrashcrush wrote: post #25

I'm gonna offer a slightly different perspective: SV isn't that nice, and it's not worth the price premium. There is a distinct lack of culture, of nightlife, of arts and humanities - even in San Francisco. We're a mediocre land of strip malls and suburbs masquerading as an international destination. Go to any other city and tell me that it's not MORE vibrant (Chicago, LA, NYC, Miami, Austin, Portland, Seattle, Houst…

Also, I'd like to point out that if you have a family, and have settled into a sort of more standard family life, SV is great - if you can afford it. If you're a young(er) single person, my god literally anywhere else is better to live. For example - if you're on Tinder, use the "passport" feature to set your profile to NYC for two days. Let me know the number of matches you get.

I was living in Zurich and before Tinder I had no idea how much difference can my sexual value be between cities.

I really wish I knew that my dating life would have been so much easier if I move to NYC.

Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#69

Post by DoofusOfDeath »

It seems to me that the author is having a fairly common experience: a sense of disillusion as one enters early adulthood. The realization that some expectations of adulthood are not in fact true, and doubly so in the corporate working world. The suspicion that some of the striving done during adolescence was in vain, or towards goals whose ultimate value is limited.

I'm actually happy for the author, because she's realized these things early on, rather than having to look back at her 20's and 30's with a profound sense of regret. I hope she'll find a new path with which she can have long-term satisfaction.

Re: This Is Silicon Valley

#70

Post by eeeeeeeeeeeee »

erulabs wrote: post #5

Weird flex, but okay. But seriously, it’s hard to read “look how tough we have it” about getting a 6 figure job out of school. You didn’t get into Harvard. That’s not a life defining tragedy... hoping this is parody. The vast vast vast majority of the world works harder for less. We should be thankful, not weirdly bragging about how hard our childhoods were. Try Detroit or Bangladesh....

I would suggest you try to read the article again. That is not what the author is trying to say at all.

It’s about how all this “prosperity” is somewhat fake and doesn’t ultimately bring happiness. On top of that, it’s leaving a lot of people behind who cannot even obtain basic necessities (homeless). And she is coming to terms with her role in it, as more people in the Bay Area should be.

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