4 ms·

As someone that lives in the south, this trend is extremely frustrating. A few weeks ago I visited SF for an interview, and it seems like every tech company on

As someone that lives in the south, this trend is extremely frustrating. A few weeks ago I visited SF for an interview, and it seems like every tech company on earth is in that one spot. The whole city feels 20 years ahead of where I presently live. But all of my family is in the south, so I’m stuck with the unfortunate tradeoff of choosing to focus on my career or living near family. Because it sure doesn’t look like the tech companies are moving where I am any time soon (with the hopeful exception of Amazon HQ2).

dnomad 9y ago
I always wonder why nobody asks why this sort is happening. There's a kind of willful ignorance at work here. Are the highly educated and the knowledge economy moving to cities because they like the beach? Or is there something else attracting them? What's even stranger is the blame. Somehow it's the tech company's fault. Somehow it's the fault of the rich. I've even heard illegal immigrants blamed. Nobody ever seems to think there might be something going on in the south that is driving away the best and the brightest.
- crowbahr 9y ago
  I moved away from the south because: 1. Few job prospects 2. Terrible transit 3. Disagreeable politics 4. Hot In that order. I moved to Seattle (which didn't really fix #2) and much preferred it. Born and raised in Atlanta but no desire to stay. Off to NYC in a few months to see what I think!
  - umanwizard 9y ago
    NYC has terrible transit but still better than anywhere else in the US. Welcome!
  - someguydave 9y ago
    Do you help reduce polarization by speaking well about the people of Georgia?
    - saosebastiao 9y ago
      I do, though I'm not from there. I went to Shaky Knees on a whim with a friend last year, and I loved the city and everybody I met. It makes me want to move there. I loved going to bars and actually talking to people I didn't know, something that feels foreign and improper in Seattle. I'm of the opinion that liberal western US cities hate southern politics so much that they quickly jump to the conclusion that everything in the south sucks. Terrible mistake.
      - someguydave 9y ago
        Good to hear this. I see many comments on HN where midwesterners or southerners living on the coasts are dumping on their friends and neighbors back home, and I think that behavior isn't helpful.
    - crowbahr 9y ago
      Absolutely. My experience with Georgia was that everyone was lovely and friendly my entire life. I didn't love the politics but I could see that people were for the most part coming from a good place in their beliefs on the matter. There will always be a part of my heart in Georgia.
- throwaway713 9y ago
  Personally, I think it’s cultural. Very few people who live near me have any ambition beyond going to work for the paycheck and watching football / drinking beer on the weekends. And there is nothing wrong with that lifestyle if that is what makes you happy, but you can hardly expect the most ambitious people in the world to want to move here. (I’ll note this culture also seems to be passed down from one generation to the next. Moving away for a better job is considered “not caring about family” around here).
  - SomewhatLikely 9y ago
    Those thoughts mirror mine in the role of culture in poverty and income/wealth disparity. Like you, I think it's pretty straightforward to conclude that your outcome in life is influenced by your culture and attitudes. And that the influence can be inter-generational. I just don't hear much talk of trying to improve economic equality via cultural and attitude changes. Probably because you'll be accused of "blaming the victim" as though you were stating this was the only or primary factor. It's easy to become dismissive of positions that make you uncomfortable by whittling away the subtleties until all you're left with is an enraging straw man whom attacking brings you back a degree of comfort. I also feel like consensus around diagnoses and remedies of social ailments suffer from snowballing effects. That is, a heard mentality. For instance, if rational assessments gave Cause A 60% probability of being the true cause, and Cause B a 40% probability, then over time, even with no additional insights, the population will not fall into this same proportion. Probably something like 90% will passionately believe Cause A to be the one true cause, with the other 10% equally convinced it's Cause B, especially if it is more comforting to them and their beliefs/self narrative. Apologies, this became a steam of thought.
- lotsofpulp 9y ago
  Because it’s obvious. Successful people like to be around other successful people (even if you aren’t successful, at least your kids might intermingle with theirs), and people like mountains, beaches, and temperate climates with low humidity. Not much more to it than that. Also, the political views of the southeast US aren’t as frequently shared with academics and those working in technology.
- dominotw 9y ago
  tech companies fault that people are moving away from south? I am curious what their explanation behind this is.

dnomad 9y ago

I always wonder why nobody asks why this sort is happening. There's a kind of willful ignorance at work here. Are the highly educated and the knowledge economy moving to cities because they like the beach? Or is there something else attracting them? What's even stranger is the blame. Somehow it's the tech company's fault. Somehow it's the fault of the rich. I've even heard illegal immigrants blamed. Nobody ever seems to think there might be something going on in the south that is driving away the best and the brightest.

crowbahr 9y ago
I moved away from the south because: 1. Few job prospects 2. Terrible transit 3. Disagreeable politics 4. Hot In that order. I moved to Seattle (which didn't really fix #2) and much preferred it. Born and raised in Atlanta but no desire to stay. Off to NYC in a few months to see what I think!
- umanwizard 9y ago
  NYC has terrible transit but still better than anywhere else in the US. Welcome!
- someguydave 9y ago
  Do you help reduce polarization by speaking well about the people of Georgia?
  - saosebastiao 9y ago
    I do, though I'm not from there. I went to Shaky Knees on a whim with a friend last year, and I loved the city and everybody I met. It makes me want to move there. I loved going to bars and actually talking to people I didn't know, something that feels foreign and improper in Seattle. I'm of the opinion that liberal western US cities hate southern politics so much that they quickly jump to the conclusion that everything in the south sucks. Terrible mistake.
    - someguydave 9y ago
      Good to hear this. I see many comments on HN where midwesterners or southerners living on the coasts are dumping on their friends and neighbors back home, and I think that behavior isn't helpful.
  - crowbahr 9y ago
    Absolutely. My experience with Georgia was that everyone was lovely and friendly my entire life. I didn't love the politics but I could see that people were for the most part coming from a good place in their beliefs on the matter. There will always be a part of my heart in Georgia.
throwaway713 9y ago
Personally, I think it’s cultural. Very few people who live near me have any ambition beyond going to work for the paycheck and watching football / drinking beer on the weekends. And there is nothing wrong with that lifestyle if that is what makes you happy, but you can hardly expect the most ambitious people in the world to want to move here. (I’ll note this culture also seems to be passed down from one generation to the next. Moving away for a better job is considered “not caring about family” around here).
- SomewhatLikely 9y ago
  Those thoughts mirror mine in the role of culture in poverty and income/wealth disparity. Like you, I think it's pretty straightforward to conclude that your outcome in life is influenced by your culture and attitudes. And that the influence can be inter-generational. I just don't hear much talk of trying to improve economic equality via cultural and attitude changes. Probably because you'll be accused of "blaming the victim" as though you were stating this was the only or primary factor. It's easy to become dismissive of positions that make you uncomfortable by whittling away the subtleties until all you're left with is an enraging straw man whom attacking brings you back a degree of comfort. I also feel like consensus around diagnoses and remedies of social ailments suffer from snowballing effects. That is, a heard mentality. For instance, if rational assessments gave Cause A 60% probability of being the true cause, and Cause B a 40% probability, then over time, even with no additional insights, the population will not fall into this same proportion. Probably something like 90% will passionately believe Cause A to be the one true cause, with the other 10% equally convinced it's Cause B, especially if it is more comforting to them and their beliefs/self narrative. Apologies, this became a steam of thought.
lotsofpulp 9y ago
Because it’s obvious. Successful people like to be around other successful people (even if you aren’t successful, at least your kids might intermingle with theirs), and people like mountains, beaches, and temperate climates with low humidity. Not much more to it than that. Also, the political views of the southeast US aren’t as frequently shared with academics and those working in technology.
dominotw 9y ago
tech companies fault that people are moving away from south? I am curious what their explanation behind this is.