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Why is it San Diego never makes these lists? Proximity to LA? Oakland's on there, and it's a lot closer to SF. Doesn't have a thriving tech scene like all of th

by ld00d 9y ago

Why is it San Diego never makes these lists? Proximity to LA? Oakland's on there, and it's a lot closer to SF. Doesn't have a thriving tech scene like all of the others? Like Miami?

bsder 9y ago
Poorer salaries relative to cost of living. San Diego has what we refer to as the "sunshine tax" so employers feel that they can get away with paying less. The startup scene is pretty much moribund for the 20-something: The dynamic people left Qualcomm years ago--it currently resembles DEC or IBM of old. Med/biotech is long term--if you're a 20-something who wants to get rich that isn't a great path. (Side note; biotech salaries seem to suck--it's part of the reasons why we have so many microbreweries--if you're going to be underpaid doing microbiology anyway, you might as well brew beer. LOL.) Culturally San Diego is kind of a suburban wasteland--that means very little "Social Network Foo Yahooglezonsoft(tm) Buyout Bait". The "cool kids" are going to want to be in NYC, SF, or Austin with possibilities in LA or Chicago.
- JBlue42 9y ago
  Kind of sad given that it's a pretty nice, clean place with some fun stuff to do downtown. Maybe it's a lack of vision given that it's a bit more, as stated, on the conservative, suburban side. The company I work for is helping redesign some office space just outside of town. The "branding" efforts are trying to tout it as a tech-friendly building with stereotypical signposts - yoga, cycling, etc. At the end of the day, it's a suburban office campus, with little to no good access to public transit, and not near anything walkable when you want to get outside the buildings. I don't know if anyone has studied the benefits of this but I have to say it's so nice to just be able to walk out the door of the office at lunch and wander around, sit on a bench, etc. Escape for 45 min - 1 hr and be refreshed. I think that's the appeal in more 'happening' city areas, even if we don't acknowledge or necessarily know it consciously.

by ld00d 9y ago

Why is it San Diego never makes these lists? Proximity to LA? Oakland's on there, and it's a lot closer to SF. Doesn't have a thriving tech scene like all of the others? Like Miami?

bsder 9y ago

Poorer salaries relative to cost of living. San Diego has what we refer to as the "sunshine tax" so employers feel that they can get away with paying less. The startup scene is pretty much moribund for the 20-something: The dynamic people left Qualcomm years ago--it currently resembles DEC or IBM of old. Med/biotech is long term--if you're a 20-something who wants to get rich that isn't a great path. (Side note; biotech salaries seem to suck--it's part of the reasons why we have so many microbreweries--if you're going to be underpaid doing microbiology anyway, you might as well brew beer. LOL.) Culturally San Diego is kind of a suburban wasteland--that means very little "Social Network Foo Yahooglezonsoft(tm) Buyout Bait". The "cool kids" are going to want to be in NYC, SF, or Austin with possibilities in LA or Chicago.

JBlue42 9y ago
Kind of sad given that it's a pretty nice, clean place with some fun stuff to do downtown. Maybe it's a lack of vision given that it's a bit more, as stated, on the conservative, suburban side. The company I work for is helping redesign some office space just outside of town. The "branding" efforts are trying to tout it as a tech-friendly building with stereotypical signposts - yoga, cycling, etc. At the end of the day, it's a suburban office campus, with little to no good access to public transit, and not near anything walkable when you want to get outside the buildings. I don't know if anyone has studied the benefits of this but I have to say it's so nice to just be able to walk out the door of the office at lunch and wander around, sit on a bench, etc. Escape for 45 min - 1 hr and be refreshed. I think that's the appeal in more 'happening' city areas, even if we don't acknowledge or necessarily know it consciously.