5 ms·

I'm particularly biased as I went to school at GaTech but Atlanta has greatly improved over the last decade or so. It obviously has a completely different soci

by agentgt 11y ago

I'm particularly biased as I went to school at GaTech but Atlanta has greatly improved over the last decade or so. It obviously has a completely different social, ethnic and economic diversity than SF does as well as being far far more cost effective. It also has real BBQ as well as being not that far from Miami (my favorite city but not good to live/work in). I would recommend Boston (where I currently live) except that it has brutal weather, fairly caustic hospitality to new comers and is not that much cheaper. Its great for college kids but no so much for early 30 somethings hoping to own something some day. If your are going to live in or near Boston I highly recommend Waltham, MA where I currently live. Waltham is not as cool as parts of Boston or Cambridge but its a hell of lot cheaper. Waltham has so many things to do. I can fish on the Charles in the afternoon, walk down the river and watch a movie in the local theater and then hit up the massive bar and restaurant scene all in the same city with out hopping on the T or car.

dpeck 11y ago
Atlanta has a lot of good stuff going for it, midtown area and the tech village up in Buckhead have some promising startups. Few other south eastern cities to add to OPs list: Charlotte isn't bad either and has a similar if less developed vibe, lot of financial business around there. People seem split on whether they like it or Raleigh more, seems like a toss up. For a smaller city Chatanooga has a lot going for it.
- bliti 11y ago
  Chatanooga is very nice, and the tech scene healthy. Plan to visit soon!
- bwha 11y ago
  Second on Chattanooga. I help run a weekly lunchtime talk series. We've been having pretty good turn outs. For our size we have a very active community. Anywhere from 50 to 80 software professionals have been showing up every week. OpenTable has offices here. There are a few startups and a decent number of consultancies. Come visit!
  - wprapido 11y ago
    will be visiting chattanooga soon. can you mail me more info at info [a] wprapido [dot] com please
- simple10 11y ago
  I've been really interested in Chattanooga ever since they installed citywide fiber and announced their tech incubator. One of the lowest costs of living and great outdoor activities. Just not too sure about the cultural infrastructure. Looking forward to visiting soon. I'm kinda obsessed with the idea of incubating a remote company in another city and then moving/expanding back to the Bay.
  - dpeck 11y ago
    honestly I don't know why you'd ever do a move or expansion to SF. The rise in expenses would kill you. Starting things there certainly has a lot of benefits, but moving anything more that a handful of founders after you get going would be a very rough transition. With the cost and ease of flights to SF you can get a lot of the benefit of your business being there if your founders and fundraisers are ready to fly out and hustle.
- brudgers 11y ago
  If Chattanooga is on the radar, I'd consider Huntsville. With Redstone Arsenal and the long association with the US Space Program, it has a very strong technical and engineering culture. It's not a small town, but not trying to be a big city, and it's very welcoming to new comers and diversity [for a southern city] owing to the flux of space industry.
afontaine 11y ago
"Miami (my favorite city but not good to live/work in)" How come you consider Miami not a good city to live/work in? I live here and I'm genuinely curious.
- tehwebguy 11y ago
  Cost of living, humidity, unbelievable corruption, traffic, lack of tech, deadly and destructive hurricanes and probably the worst internet access in a major city. On the other hand, it does have Chicken Kitchen and Samurai, effectively canceling out all of those other items IMO.
placeybordeaux 11y ago
I love Atlanta. I hope to move back some day. The highway system and white flight tore the city apart when they happened, but there are strong efforts to reconnect the city. Large sections are becoming walkable due to the BeltLine and public transit usage is increasing by the year. Not to mention the food scene is amazing especially for the price. Don't write Atlanta off because of misconceptions about what it is like living in the south.
jtemplin 11y ago
Keep an eye on Providence. As Boston gets hotter and hotter (read more expensive), there's likely to be spillover to Providence. Providence is a truly cool little city in the BOS metro, and costing a small fraction of the few equally cool places in BOS proper.

by agentgt 11y ago

dpeck 11y ago

Atlanta has a lot of good stuff going for it, midtown area and the tech village up in Buckhead have some promising startups. Few other south eastern cities to add to OPs list: Charlotte isn't bad either and has a similar if less developed vibe, lot of financial business around there. People seem split on whether they like it or Raleigh more, seems like a toss up. For a smaller city Chatanooga has a lot going for it.

bliti 11y ago
Chatanooga is very nice, and the tech scene healthy. Plan to visit soon!
bwha 11y ago
Second on Chattanooga. I help run a weekly lunchtime talk series. We've been having pretty good turn outs. For our size we have a very active community. Anywhere from 50 to 80 software professionals have been showing up every week. OpenTable has offices here. There are a few startups and a decent number of consultancies. Come visit!
- wprapido 11y ago
  will be visiting chattanooga soon. can you mail me more info at info [a] wprapido [dot] com please
simple10 11y ago
I've been really interested in Chattanooga ever since they installed citywide fiber and announced their tech incubator. One of the lowest costs of living and great outdoor activities. Just not too sure about the cultural infrastructure. Looking forward to visiting soon. I'm kinda obsessed with the idea of incubating a remote company in another city and then moving/expanding back to the Bay.
- dpeck 11y ago
  honestly I don't know why you'd ever do a move or expansion to SF. The rise in expenses would kill you. Starting things there certainly has a lot of benefits, but moving anything more that a handful of founders after you get going would be a very rough transition. With the cost and ease of flights to SF you can get a lot of the benefit of your business being there if your founders and fundraisers are ready to fly out and hustle.
brudgers 11y ago
If Chattanooga is on the radar, I'd consider Huntsville. With Redstone Arsenal and the long association with the US Space Program, it has a very strong technical and engineering culture. It's not a small town, but not trying to be a big city, and it's very welcoming to new comers and diversity [for a southern city] owing to the flux of space industry.

afontaine 11y ago

"Miami (my favorite city but not good to live/work in)" How come you consider Miami not a good city to live/work in? I live here and I'm genuinely curious.

tehwebguy 11y ago
Cost of living, humidity, unbelievable corruption, traffic, lack of tech, deadly and destructive hurricanes and probably the worst internet access in a major city. On the other hand, it does have Chicken Kitchen and Samurai, effectively canceling out all of those other items IMO.

placeybordeaux 11y ago

I love Atlanta. I hope to move back some day. The highway system and white flight tore the city apart when they happened, but there are strong efforts to reconnect the city. Large sections are becoming walkable due to the BeltLine and public transit usage is increasing by the year. Not to mention the food scene is amazing especially for the price. Don't write Atlanta off because of misconceptions about what it is like living in the south.

jtemplin 11y ago

Keep an eye on Providence. As Boston gets hotter and hotter (read more expensive), there's likely to be spillover to Providence. Providence is a truly cool little city in the BOS metro, and costing a small fraction of the few equally cool places in BOS proper.