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I work at a Drive portfolio startup. This is neither Drive's nor my employer's opinions on this topic. There are pros for living here (lower cost of living etc.

I work at a Drive portfolio startup. This is neither Drive's nor my employer's opinions on this topic. There are pros for living here (lower cost of living etc.), but I genuinely hate the weather here. I find every opportunity to be out in SF during the winters. Oh and there aren't many meetups/conferences here, which is a HUGE problem if you're looking to grow/network with people as an engineer. People are generally skeptical and uninviting for newer ideas. Hiring is difficult too. If given the chance, I'd choose Seattle or SF.

csixty4 9y ago
I don't know where to start because all of this is true. I miss my mortgage that was less than my rent here in Boston. The weather in Boston is pretty much the same as Chicago, so I'm incredibly jealous of my co-workers on the west coast. There were some good meetups in the Chicago metro area though. I think what got me the most was a dearth of jobs outside finance & Content Management Systems.
aantix 9y ago
The lack of network reveals itself in subtle ways. I'm at a tailgate, a curious friend of mine reveals that he was trying to learn Ruby. I ask a couple very _basic_ questions, and I get looks of "not here". Anything too technical comes across as exclusionary. The nice thing about SF is that every third person you run into is an engineer, so you never have that social problem. In fact, you have the opposite problem of always defaulting to "talking shop" with someone new.
- cylinder 9y ago
  I really admire how engineers like to be around other engineers and share ideas/knowledge rather than view them as competition.
Hasz 9y ago
Come to Denver. Better weather than SF and Seattle, and lower (relatively) cost of living.
- rconti 9y ago
  Better than SF proper, I suppose, but unless you're only counting days of sunshine you're gonna get left behind by most of the valley, starting with temperature.
rconti 9y ago
And Columbus has extremely mild winters compared to other areas in the midwest! I worked out of Columbus for a week and REALLY loved it, but getting up before sunrise to get in a morning run while it was 'only' 75f and 127% humidity was a real downer. I think I could stomach the winters more than the summers.

csixty4 9y ago

I don't know where to start because all of this is true. I miss my mortgage that was less than my rent here in Boston. The weather in Boston is pretty much the same as Chicago, so I'm incredibly jealous of my co-workers on the west coast. There were some good meetups in the Chicago metro area though. I think what got me the most was a dearth of jobs outside finance & Content Management Systems.

aantix 9y ago

The lack of network reveals itself in subtle ways. I'm at a tailgate, a curious friend of mine reveals that he was trying to learn Ruby. I ask a couple very _basic_ questions, and I get looks of "not here". Anything too technical comes across as exclusionary. The nice thing about SF is that every third person you run into is an engineer, so you never have that social problem. In fact, you have the opposite problem of always defaulting to "talking shop" with someone new.

cylinder 9y ago
I really admire how engineers like to be around other engineers and share ideas/knowledge rather than view them as competition.

Hasz 9y ago

Come to Denver. Better weather than SF and Seattle, and lower (relatively) cost of living.

rconti 9y ago
Better than SF proper, I suppose, but unless you're only counting days of sunshine you're gonna get left behind by most of the valley, starting with temperature.

rconti 9y ago

And Columbus has extremely mild winters compared to other areas in the midwest! I worked out of Columbus for a week and REALLY loved it, but getting up before sunrise to get in a morning run while it was 'only' 75f and 127% humidity was a real downer. I think I could stomach the winters more than the summers.