5 ms·
While there may be more jobs in the Bay Area, it's always a battle of compromises when you compare it to another place. For example, somewhere like Boston may h
by yladiz 10y ago
While there may be more jobs in the Bay Area, it's always a battle of compromises when you compare it to another place. For example, somewhere like Boston may have less jobs, but the rent/cost of living isn't as extremely high as it is in somewhere like San Francisco or a lot of places in the Bay Area, which means you can save more money for things like retirement, vacation, etc., and it has easy access to somewhere like NYC, meaning it may be a better fit for the people they interviewed. Friends can always be found where you go, and meet ups can be found in varying degrees, so the main appeal to staying in the Bay Area is mostly going to be job opportunities and networking, both of which are available in other cities like Boston, NYC, and Austin.
- titanoceanus 10y agoI know you were only using it as an example, but does Boston have a thriving startup community on par to SF/Austin/NYC?
- yladiz 10y agoI'm not sure; I would guess it's on similar levels to somewhere like Austin or NYC since it's in the same grouping as it in the article, but I don't know first hand.
- Xcelerate 10y agoOver the last year, I've seen Austin go from being mentioned as "second tier" startup city, to now being mentioned alongside SF and NYC. Has it really grown that much in such a short time? As someone just about to finish grad school, I may consider checking it out some more.
- natrius 10y agoDepends on what you're looking for. I live in Austin and I love it. There are plenty of interesting companies to work for, and you'll live in a better home in a better neighborhood for your budget. Austinites are generally fantastic, welcoming people. It's probably a good place for you. Here are the exceptions: 1. Read https://breakoutlist.com/ https://breakoutlist.com/. If that argument matches your motivations, go to San Francisco. 2. Do you have a (relatively) niche interest, like VR/AR, machine learning, or blockchains? Go where those companies are: San Francisco and New York. 3. Do you want to experience a city where everything happens? Go to New York. Otherwise, pick Austin. Maybe Seattle depending on weather preferences and distance from friends and family.
- titanoceanus 10y agoI'd chose Austin over Seattle any day, mainly because people really are just so nice in Austin.
- muzz 10y agoIt's hard to consider Austin as even a second tier startup city-- first tier would be SF/Silcon Valley and second would be NYC and Seattle. I would be hard-pressed to come up with names of 3 successful startups from Austin, and I think most people would be too.
- ef4 10y agoIn venture dollar terms, Boston is 3x bigger than Austin: http://www.inc.com/associated-press/top-20-cities-for-tech-startup-funding.html http://www.inc.com/associated-press/top-20-cities-for-tech-s... That list excludes biotech, and Boston is one of the top biotech hubs, so I suspect that would boost it even higher.
- titanoceanus 10y agoInteresting, didn't expect DC to be bigger than Austin as well.
- arjie 10y agoMost of the time it's usually worth living in a higher cost-of-living area for better pay. If you make $100k and spend $20k on rent and expenses, you have $80k left over. If you make $150k (50% more) but double your expenses, you have $110k left over. Your savings/retirement grow more rapidly. Personally, I love the geography in the Bay, but the money argument works out too. Especially when it comes to things that are practically fixed cost relative to where you live, like flying (often cheaper from big cities) or travelling, or many consumer goods.
- dyarosla 10y ago"80k left over". Someone's forgetting about taxes
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- jkestner 10y agoAnother plus to Texas. No income tax. The property tax is considerably higher, but it's more than offset by home prices.
- muzz 10y agoWhich is dwarfed by home price appreciation in the Bay Area. I guess that is the elephant in the room
- arjie 10y agoPost-tax income. Income tax varies from 0 in WA to considerably more in CA. It's large enough to be worth taking into account when ballparking.
- seanp2k2 10y agoThis is how I always explain it to people. I pay 4x rent but make 5.5x as much as my previous living + working situation in a different state from 4 years ago. There is a LOT more left over.