7 ms·
Having lived in Long Island, NY and Boca Raton, FL I gotta say... I don't think I could leave the Bay Area. The weather, the geological features, the schools,
by shawndumas 10y ago
Having lived in Long Island, NY and Boca Raton, FL I gotta say... I don't think I could leave the Bay Area.
The weather, the geological features, the schools, the meetups, the job opportunities... all factors.
But the biggest is that the people are truly interested in intellectual matters in a way that was not extant in the other places I've lived. My son is a programmer and nobody had a clue what he was talking about--which is fine--but they also couldn't care less to even try to understand.
And also, there is a lot of prejudice that I am glad my kids will not grow up in the milieu of.
- mc32 10y agoJobs and day trips yes. Schools, no. Public schools are among the worst funded and least achieving. Good schools, go to Mass (with also good day trips, but harsh winters).
- shawndumas 10y agoSouth FL has some truly awful schools; that was my comparison.
- yardie 10y agoI just moved back here. I can confirm. Now looking for an exit strategy.
- edc117 10y agoLooking to get out as well, Broward/Miami area is overcrowded and pricey, not to mention poorly educated. Lucky enough to work for a company that will allow me to go remote - can anyone recommend a place on the east coast? (preferably warm climate)
- efnx 10y agoBlacksburg Virginia?
- yardie 10y agoI loved Blacksburg. But due to my rebellious, student nature I told the Montgomery county sheriff I'd never come back to that place. I'd hate to have to break a promise.
- ececconi 10y agoLots of my friends are moving to the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill in North Carolina. They seem to like it a lot. I visit the area about 3-4 times a year and love it.
- toomuchtodo 10y agoIsn't the CoL already rocketing up in that area of NC?
- ececconi 10y agoI'm sure it's gone up, but I think it's still pretty decent. Drinks/food are pretty reasonable. You don't need to live downtown since it's pretty car centric out there. Chapel Hill has that upbeat college feel I love.
- bokglobule 10y agoNorthern VA, DC area. Some of the best schools in the country.
- tropo 10y agoGo just a bit north. The line you must cross is between Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach. Stay south of Cocoa Beach. Ideally you'd be near Melbourne, preferably closer to the beach. Suitable towns: Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Satellite Beach
- ececconi 10y agoYou can do magnet programs there though. I went to school in Tampa. In general the public schools were awesome, but the magnet programs were absolutely incredible.
- irrational 10y agoBut South FL also has some truly great schools. I graduated High School from one of them. Many of my classmates ended up in ivy league schools. Everywhere, in my experience, has some good and bad schools.
- ArkyBeagle 10y agoThis is mid-Fla, but when we moved from a good school system in a Dallas suburb to Brevard County, my daughter went from top 20% of her class to top 5%. This was unplanned but it set the table for her to have a full ride undergrad scholarship leading to a graduate program with also an assistantship. After leaving school ( she stopped at a Master's ) she left anything related to academia behind but she's still roughly able to exploit the degree as a credential . But South Fl is a completely different thing. I once declined a job offer there simply because more than half of the rental property on offer appeared to be phone-drop scams.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- superswordfish 10y agoLong Island and Boca Raton aren't exactly stiff competition in the "life of the mind" department. Also I disagree, IT is huge out there but other disciplines get short shrift.
- shawndumas 10y agoLOL for sure. And I agree about other industries but I happen to be in tech.
- toephu2 10y agoIT != software development
- ericabiz 10y ago> But the biggest is that the people are truly interested in intellectual matters in a way that was not extant in the other places I've lived. That seems like it used to be true more than it is now. I live in Austin, and you can't go to a downtown coffee shop without hearing a spirited discussion about programming languages, frameworks or even conversion rates (I heard that last one standing in line at a taco place the other day.) It's partially, I think, because programming and computers are more ingrained in the culture at large, and mostly because SF got too expensive and so places like Austin, Seattle, and Portland have a significant number of tech startups now.
- superswordfish 10y agoThe conversations are on a different level though. In a secondary tech market you'll hear CoffeeScript vs. JavaScript, Laravel vs Rails or whatever. In the Bay Area, and also in Cambridge, the discussion might be about compiler architecture or reverse engineering.
- rubiquity 10y agoThat's some serious next level snobbery. Let me guess where you live.
- superswordfish 10y agoIn neither of those places. It's something I've observed living and working in both, however, and it's one of the main things I miss.
- xigency 10y agoI would place those three or four conversations on the same level, to be frank. Also, living somewhere that isn't a tech capital, I'm actually annoyed to hear programming language discussion on the bus in the city, but maybe that's because I'm trying to get home from my job, not stay at my desk.
- 10y ago
- hanklazard 10y ago>But the biggest is that the people are truly interested in intellectual matters in a way that was not extant in the other places I've lived. This is the way I feel in Boston. The cost of living (mainly housing prices) gets more ridiculous every year, but the intellectual and cultural environment make me want to stay. Most of my friends back home (deep South) are easily able to afford to buy decent homes, while I'm stuck renting a tiny apt. Still, this feels like a worthwhile material sacrifice given the culture of this city. Then again, if I had kids, I might feel differently ...
- eropple 10y agoAgreed - I like where I am, but I'm paying for it. Then again, in another year or so I should be able to buy a place near a T stop.
- Roritharr 10y agoI have a child on the way, live in Frankfurt Germany and feel exactly this lack of cultural environment, as most topics in intellectual circles here can be either categorized into "how to make more money/keep up with the joneses?" or "how to be really politically and environmentally friendly while having a good quality of life?" I'm really unsure if this environment is so great for children as i'd rather be able to get them in an environment where big ideas are discussed. I've been doing my best for the past few years by organizing meetups/events or supporting others who do likewise, but at this point I question if that is enough compared to just moving to a place where these things are just the norm.
- gautamnarula 10y agoBoston is an amazing city in terms of intellectual capital, no doubt due to its rich history and many universities in the area. The brutal winter and steep cost of living are what make it difficult for me to see myself living there long term; unlike NYC or SF where tech salaries tend to be at least somewhat adjusted for the cost of living, I noticed Boston tech salaries were only marginally higher than Atlanta's, while Boston has the third highest CoL after SF and NYC.
- arethuza 10y agoWhat geological features of the Bay Area do you regard as a plus point? NB Not being snarky - I live in Edinburgh which is overflowing with geological features [hence arguably being the birthplace of geology as a science] and I love that factor but the main geological feature of the Bay Area would appear to be a major disadvantage rather than a feature?
- jmharvey 10y agoI assume you're thinking about the earthquake risk. We haven't had a major quake here in a generation, and people have short memories. The San Andreas fault exists day-to-day as a pretty chain of lakes. I'd also count being in a place where the mountains meet the ocean as a plus, as well as the golden gate (the waterway, not the bridge, though the bridge ain't half bad, either). And a few hours away you've got Big Sur and Yosemite.
- irrational 10y agoYou should move to Portland. We have all of that and more. No wait, the Californians are already ruining Portland. Please, do not move here.
- npsimons 10y agoYou can keep Portland: no fourteeners and too much bloody rain. I'll take my SoCal where I can climb 365 days of the year.
- rconti 10y agoI guess parent meant geographical. Ocean, bay, mountains, forests, near-deserts, all in close proximity.
- WalterBright 10y agoSeattle has much the same, with the plus of waterskiing in the middle of the city on Lake Washington. Of course, the boom in prices is affecting Seattle, too.
- ArkyBeagle 10y agoPerhaps it's a character defect, but I consider "the life of the mind" to be more about books than something involving other people directly, face to face. The philosopher kings of SiVa are as much the Medici as they are intellectuals. "All mankind's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room." - Blaise Pascal.
- sn9 10y agoThere's value in face-to-face interactions and conversations like meetups and hacker spaces or math circles for kids.
- ArkyBeagle 10y agoAbsolutely, but it all really comes down to homework. Guidance can help, tools can help, but it's not like those will replace just doing the work.