15 ms·

I agree with you that SV isn't going anywhere. The money people and best talent is entrenched there through their networks and simple things like home ownership

I agree with you that SV isn't going anywhere. The money people and best talent is entrenched there through their networks and simple things like home ownership. The other question is where else? Texas? Maybe but not exactly welcoming to the liberal elitist attitudes. Europe? And you thought California is unfriendly to business... Canada? Australia? New Zealand? Like it or not, the West is still relies on the US for technical dominance. And until there is an alternative, we should hope it stays that way a bit longer.

chrisco255 6y ago
The general argument is that Remote is the new Silicon Valley, and therefore it doesn't matter as much where you live. I would say the collective talent of software developers distributed around the world rivals, if not exceeds, Silicon Valley talent. The question remaining is, can remote-first companies out-maneuver the centralized Silicon Valley entities?
dcolkitt 6y ago
I'll shill for Florida here. I think a lot of tech companies looking for an alternative to SV would do well to put it on the shortlist. It has an extremely business friendly environment, a pro-immigrant attitude, no state income tax, one of the top educational systems in the country, a fairly blue-state ish culture, and (given the exodus from NJ/NY) a high concentration of skilled professionals. Similar to Silicon Valley, there's very little prejudice towards old money or pre-conceived notions of what elites "should look like". Unlike Silicon Valley, there's hardly any aversion to growth or gentrification. Job and wealth creators are celebrated. Living costs are pretty cheap, especially for idyllic locations. The housing stock is newer and more modern. One can easily afford to live in walking distance of world-class beaches on a FAANG salary. The biggest downside is the humid summers, flat landscape, and mosquitoes. On the other hand, the air pollution is markedly better than California or the Northeast. There's more hours of sunshine per year. Also, unlike San Francisco, human defecation on the street is virtually unheard of.
- mxuribe 6y ago
  > ...one of the top educational systems in the country, a fairly blue-state ish culture... Not knocking on your statement, but i had not been aware of these as descriptive of Florida. I was under the impression that Florida was more of a red state, and while not at the bottom education-wise, didn't think they were near the top either. Again, not knocking your state, i just never heard of that.
  - dcolkitt 6y ago
    This[1] has a breakdown of state performance in primary education with detailed statistical adjustments for confounders outside the educational system. The results are that Florida performs fourth best in the country (behind Mass, Texas, and NJ). [1] https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9617514/test-scores-naep-2013 https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9617514/test-scores-naep-2013
    - mxuribe 6y ago
      Thanks for sharing; TIL!

chrisco255 6y ago

The general argument is that Remote is the new Silicon Valley, and therefore it doesn't matter as much where you live. I would say the collective talent of software developers distributed around the world rivals, if not exceeds, Silicon Valley talent. The question remaining is, can remote-first companies out-maneuver the centralized Silicon Valley entities?

dcolkitt 6y ago

I'll shill for Florida here. I think a lot of tech companies looking for an alternative to SV would do well to put it on the shortlist. It has an extremely business friendly environment, a pro-immigrant attitude, no state income tax, one of the top educational systems in the country, a fairly blue-state ish culture, and (given the exodus from NJ/NY) a high concentration of skilled professionals. Similar to Silicon Valley, there's very little prejudice towards old money or pre-conceived notions of what elites "should look like". Unlike Silicon Valley, there's hardly any aversion to growth or gentrification. Job and wealth creators are celebrated. Living costs are pretty cheap, especially for idyllic locations. The housing stock is newer and more modern. One can easily afford to live in walking distance of world-class beaches on a FAANG salary. The biggest downside is the humid summers, flat landscape, and mosquitoes. On the other hand, the air pollution is markedly better than California or the Northeast. There's more hours of sunshine per year. Also, unlike San Francisco, human defecation on the street is virtually unheard of.

mxuribe 6y ago
> ...one of the top educational systems in the country, a fairly blue-state ish culture... Not knocking on your statement, but i had not been aware of these as descriptive of Florida. I was under the impression that Florida was more of a red state, and while not at the bottom education-wise, didn't think they were near the top either. Again, not knocking your state, i just never heard of that.
- dcolkitt 6y ago
  This[1] has a breakdown of state performance in primary education with detailed statistical adjustments for confounders outside the educational system. The results are that Florida performs fourth best in the country (behind Mass, Texas, and NJ). [1] https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9617514/test-scores-naep-2013 https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9617514/test-scores-naep-2013
  - mxuribe 6y ago
    Thanks for sharing; TIL!