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Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

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Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#711

Post by throwaway2037 »

dheera wrote: post #688
curiousllama wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cities' attractiveness feels u-shaped Young adults love it bc they have the time to go to bars/restaurants/clubs Middle aged folks hate it because they're so busy - they can't take advantage, and other people get in their way (some) Older folks like it again bc they have the time to go to restaurants/theater

I'm young, like cities, but dislike SF. The main reasons are - crime -- SF isn't like Asian cities where I can walk around safely at night - lack of public transit AND lack of parking (either convenient parking OR good transit would be fine, but SF has neither) - rents are unaffordably high and I need a lot of space for projects - not clean - Asian food is mediocre compared to suburbs like Cupertino and Fremont I lov…

In SF, the northeast quadrant has most of the good public transit. Does that not fit your needs? And, I disagree that Taipei and Chengdu are significantly cleaner than SF -- about the same level of grime in my experience.

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#712

Post by dehrmann »

drewda wrote: post #149
bcx wrote: post #130

It’s been a while since we had sf offices, but back when we did sf had a pretty aggressive additional payroll tax and gross receipts taxes. I’d imagine this is likely a factor in the decision. I know for a while they were waiving some of these taxes for companies who set up offices in certain parts of the city. E.g. zendesk got a big tax break for its market street location near the tenderloin. As for commutes, I’d b…

That SF's payroll tax exemption was specifically created for Twitter: https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/twitter-will-get-pa... Here's one summary of it as of last year: > The infamous "Twitter tax break" provided by former Mayor Ed Lee to lure companies, including Twitter, to mid-Market by exempting them from a portion of their payroll taxes, had its sunset in 2019. Many argued that it did little to revitalize…

I worked in mid-market/the TL from 2014 until 2017. The tech companies sort of helped. A handful of hip restaurants and bars sprung up, but the city never really dealt with the homeless. There are a lot of non-profits serving the homeless in the TL, and there wasn't really anywhere for them to go as an alternative.

>> $10 million a year in lost revenue

That's 1.5% of the homeless budget.

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#713

Post by gmadsen »

silisili wrote: post #590
curiousllama wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cities' attractiveness feels u-shaped Young adults love it bc they have the time to go to bars/restaurants/clubs Middle aged folks hate it because they're so busy - they can't take advantage, and other people get in their way (some) Older folks like it again bc they have the time to go to restaurants/theater

Don't forget access to doctors and hospitals. I browse city-data at times out of boredom, and it's a major concern for retired people considering relocating anywhere.

Palo Alto is suburbs. It is also home to the best medical care in the world...

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#714

Post by throwaway2037 »

hintymad wrote: post #495
danielhep wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, a lot of older people don't want big houses, and having easy access to amenities and socialization is more important than having extra empty bedrooms.

Very true. At least to me, a modest condo will be more than enough, as I've learned long before that tidiness brings more pleasure than large space.

I will get downvoted for this comment: Size of living area does seem to be highly influenced by gender. I hear many more men say they would be happy living in a smaller place. I never once heard that from a woman under 50. (After the kids are gone, they may wish to downsize.)

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#715

Post by StressedDev »

aqme28 wrote: post #346
anotherhue wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

during one visit to those Zendesk offices an urgent slack message (verily) was sent out advising everyone to get away from the windows, as there was shooting outside. About 10 minutes later also via Slack the CEO announced not to worry it was simply one drug dealer shooting another drug dealer in the back. Everyone could return to their desks. I never understood why the company would put its employees in danger until…

My first week working in a finance firm in midtown Manhattan there was a significant shooting. These things happen everywhere (edit: in the US) unfortunately. I'm not convinced that a more suburban location that forces people to drive would actually be any safer.

This is not typical in the US. I have never heard or seen a gun shot fired while someone committed a crime.

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#716

Post by throwaway2037 »

nostrademons wrote: post #524
groby_b wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fwiw, hiring senior talent in SF works just fine. If you pay at the right pricing tier. SF is a decent city. It could definitely do better, it has issues, but if we all could stop pretending it's a post apocalyptic hellscape, that'd be nice. Yes, you pay an SF premium. You pay a premium for most major cities, and the worse housing is, the higher the premium. But I'd bet moving to the South Bay isn't happening for tha…

South Bay & Peninsula housing is actually more expensive than SF, though you do get a bit more for your money. Compensation is often marginally higher as well, though most companies with offices in both have them in the same salary band.

    > South Bay & Peninsula housing is actually more expensive than SF
Per square foot/meter? I find this hard to believe.

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#717

Post by hylaride »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #711
dheera wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm young, like cities, but dislike SF. The main reasons are - crime -- SF isn't like Asian cities where I can walk around safely at night - lack of public transit AND lack of parking (either convenient parking OR good transit would be fine, but SF has neither) - rents are unaffordably high and I need a lot of space for projects - not clean - Asian food is mediocre compared to suburbs like Cupertino and Fremont I lov…

In SF, the northeast quadrant has most of the good public transit. Does that not fit your needs? And, I disagree that Taipei and Chengdu are significantly cleaner than SF -- about the same level of grime in my experience.

There’s different meanings to “cleanliness”. A bit of grime is fine. Drug paraphernalia, human feces, and tons of homelessness is another matter.

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#718

Post by dheera »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #711
dheera wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm young, like cities, but dislike SF. The main reasons are - crime -- SF isn't like Asian cities where I can walk around safely at night - lack of public transit AND lack of parking (either convenient parking OR good transit would be fine, but SF has neither) - rents are unaffordably high and I need a lot of space for projects - not clean - Asian food is mediocre compared to suburbs like Cupertino and Fremont I lov…

In SF, the northeast quadrant has most of the good public transit. Does that not fit your needs? And, I disagree that Taipei and Chengdu are significantly cleaner than SF -- about the same level of grime in my experience.

No. The public transit there hardly goes anywhere in reasonable time. It takes a good 40 minutes just to get across it. Many times I've walked faster to my destination than the public transit estimates. The Muni trolleys get stuck at intersections and red lights and don't move faster than cars. The BART only goes down 1 smelly street. I'd spend 2 hours round trip (1 hour each way) just to buy a vegetable from the nearest Ranch 99. That's not city life.

Most Asian public transit systems blaze past all the cars on the surface. They actually save time from driving.

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#719

Post by throwaway2037 »

rapatel0 wrote: post #681
choppaface wrote: post #624

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telegraph Hill is one of the most touristy parts of the city, hence lots of crime (especially at night). It might be pretty but you just chose poorly / naively if safety was a priority. Raising a kid in SF is definitely tough, but places in the Sunset have yards, and there are some top-notch schools e.g. Lowell High School, UHS, Lick, etc. A lot of tech people come from out of town and don’t take any time to adjust t…

Actually due to a confluence of events the place we chose was the best deal we found. The decision was based on cost (not trendiness) Regarding schools, school catchment is based on an esoteric lottery system loosely related to the area you place you live. If you have money, there are ways to game the system but otherwise it’s a low probability roll of the dice that you get a good school. Also, I didn’t have money Al…

    > It’s interesting you feel you can judge the type of person I am almost no information. The internet makes everyone overfit their priors.
This is pretty common on HN when lifestyle is the debate.

Re: Twitter kills its San Francisco headquarters, will relocate to South Bay

#720

Post by zappb »

poisonarena wrote: post #699
janalsncm wrote: post #371

Had a recruiter call with Twitter a few months ago. Mandatory in office 5 days per week. Among other things, an hour commute both ways to work was not acceptable. Maybe they will have better luck in Santa Clara. I don’t buy any of the flamebait reasons for leaving SF. Reason 1 is money and reason 2 is talent pool.

reading this as a mariner who works 2-4 months straight, on a ship, in deep sea, 12 hour work day, and no days off (working saturday and sunday).. lol you dont know how bad it really is..

Sounds like a prison work camp!
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