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There might be some folks interested in living in manufactured cities in "The Heartland," where the only thing that matters is having a huge, cheap house and a

There might be some folks interested in living in manufactured cities in "The Heartland," where the only thing that matters is having a huge, cheap house and a job. For the rest of us though, who appreciate mountains, good weather, and culture, we're going to stick to the existing cities in geologically and culturally diverse areas regardless of the cost.

thorwasdfasdf 7y ago
Not every place in the midwest is the same. There's plenty of places in the midwest that have diversity and culture in abundance: for example Houston and Chicago.
- seattle_spring 7y ago
  Those are both perfect examples of places that lack geologic diversity. I can't think of a worse form of torture than living 12 hours from real mountains.
tzs 7y ago
> For the rest of us though, who appreciate mountains, good weather, and culture, we're going to stick to the existing cities in geologically and culturally diverse areas regardless of the cost. Do you have time to actually take advantages of the cultural resources of a city or visit mountains during the work week? Or is that a weekend thing generally? I suspect that for most tech workers, it is a weekend thing. I'd like to see more companies optimize for that. For the Bay area that would mean putting tech offices away from San Francisco and SV in smaller cities, but close enough that driving in to SF for the weekend would not be too arduous a trip to do regularly. Modesto, for example, is a 2 hour drive from SF if you avoid rush hour on the SF end, has much cheaper housing than SF, and is a lot closer to the mountains.
- pb7 7y ago
  I appreciate good weather and culture every day. Interesting topography, while not directly interacted with every day, is also very pleasing and calming to see on a daily basis. I say this having grown up with endless smooth moss-like rolling hills in every direction as far as the eye can see. Rain on an annoying unpredictable day-to-day schedule ruining plans got old very quickly. Clear skies and beautiful mountainous skyline haven't gotten old so far for me. In fact, weather is the very first thing I'm reminded of when I travel anywhere else.

thorwasdfasdf 7y ago

Not every place in the midwest is the same. There's plenty of places in the midwest that have diversity and culture in abundance: for example Houston and Chicago.

seattle_spring 7y ago
Those are both perfect examples of places that lack geologic diversity. I can't think of a worse form of torture than living 12 hours from real mountains.

tzs 7y ago

> For the rest of us though, who appreciate mountains, good weather, and culture, we're going to stick to the existing cities in geologically and culturally diverse areas regardless of the cost. Do you have time to actually take advantages of the cultural resources of a city or visit mountains during the work week? Or is that a weekend thing generally? I suspect that for most tech workers, it is a weekend thing. I'd like to see more companies optimize for that. For the Bay area that would mean putting tech offices away from San Francisco and SV in smaller cities, but close enough that driving in to SF for the weekend would not be too arduous a trip to do regularly. Modesto, for example, is a 2 hour drive from SF if you avoid rush hour on the SF end, has much cheaper housing than SF, and is a lot closer to the mountains.

pb7 7y ago
I appreciate good weather and culture every day. Interesting topography, while not directly interacted with every day, is also very pleasing and calming to see on a daily basis. I say this having grown up with endless smooth moss-like rolling hills in every direction as far as the eye can see. Rain on an annoying unpredictable day-to-day schedule ruining plans got old very quickly. Clear skies and beautiful mountainous skyline haven't gotten old so far for me. In fact, weather is the very first thing I'm reminded of when I travel anywhere else.