5 ms·

Ask HN: Any theories on why cities like Miami are devoid of programmers?

8 points by aorshan 15y ago

I live in Miami and I find it almost impossible to find real tech people. I was just wondering if anyone had a theory on why certain cities have so many coders and techies while others are barren.

raghav305 15y ago
you are looking at the wrong side of the country..
- johnny22 15y ago
  for? developers? the MD/NOVA/DC area has tons... they just tend to work for the government or some of other big companies out there.
andrewstuart 15y ago
People feel guilty if they are inside peering into a computer "wasting a lovely day". Look to cooler climates where there is a reason to be inside.
cd34 15y ago
http://www.meetup.com/south-florida-hack-and-tell/ http://www.meetup.com/south-florida-hack-and-tell/ - run by Mike Greenberg http://refreshsofla.org/ http://refreshsofla.org/ - run by Brian Breslin http://miamitechevents.com/ http://miamitechevents.com/ - run by Brian Breslin http://agustinaprigoshin.com/oec http://agustinaprigoshin.com/oec - run by Agustina Prigoshin But, what I've found... in most cities, programmers get off work and like to talk. South Florida? 5pm... out to SoBe or any of the other spots - office/work isn't thought of until 9:30 Monday morning.
true_religion 15y ago
I and 3 of my best friends are moving to Florida at the end of this month. So don't say its devoid of programmers just yet. Whilst not as premier as Silicon Valley, Florida has great things going for it as a hacker: 1. It's cheap living in warm weather 2. It has concentrations of paying customers in clear demographics and dilineated geographic areas (i.e. state-wide suburbia and ethnic enclaves). 3. It's a nice place to find angel investors if you have the right product---the next facebook might not find investment here, but something that makes the lives of baby boomers easier will.
- cd34 15y ago
  You must not be moving to Southeast Florida. SFL has been described as a lot of things, cheap is not a word I've ever heard. Most angel investors live here Jan-Apr/May and go back to NY or the Med for the summer. Otherwise, if you have a list of angel investors, there is a startup community in SFL that would be extremely eager to talk with them. Most of the startups down here struggle for funding, or go to NY/SF to get funding. Even angel.co lists a handful of investors in Florida, and most are in other areas watching Florida. As for #2, I would like to congratulate the webmaster that wrote that. Clear demographics? what does that mean for a business? Are you using racial profiling to pick your customer base? Delineated geographic areas? We have county and city boundaries, but I don't believe that is unique to Florida. State-wide suburbia? I can drive five minutes to the west and it is swamp for roughly two hours until I reach the other side of the state. While Florida is a large state, the population has decided that living in swamps/marshes isn't nearly as nice as living on the edges of the state near the ocean. Once you get to Central Florida you're in a different environment, but, it might as well be a different country. SFL is certainly a unique ecosystem. incubatemiami.com is a local equivalent to YC, but, while they have the mentor track figured out, once you get out of mentorship, it is a struggle to find funding. SFL doesn't even have any positions dedicated to helping startups. UM Launchpad in Miami is a good start and there are some other college affiliated programs, but, for a startup community, SFL is quite difficult. If you're moving and didn't have something lined up, and you're looking for startup activity, I don't really think SFL would be my choice. But, once you get here, take a look at some of those URLs and get involved. There are a lot of smart people in SFL that are anxious to talk with other people - your connections with Angel funding will make you very popular.
  - true_religion 15y ago
    Oh, you're right---we're moving into Northeast, Florida. But compared to DC/NYC/Silicon Valley, Florida is cheaper no matter where you live. Thanks for the succint description of Florida. It's given me a lot to think about. I only have to point out now that Incubate Miami is definitively not the local equivalent of YC if you struggle to find funding after you leave it. I know that my team doesn't have a dearth of experience in running a business, so the only use of a traditional incubator/accelerator is the connections it leads you to. I'd consider something like Start-up Chile to be a good incubator: it's government backed, and its stamp of approval may open doors in the government sector. YC is also good because its a proven money maker, and the press is only too happy to cover the companies that it graduates.
kls 15y ago
One of the problems with the rest of Florida is that Orlando seems to attract all of the talent in the area. So it leaves the other areas such as Miami, Jacksonville and to a lesser extent Tampa at a loss for talent (not saying there are not talented people, just that many head for other areas) due to the fact that many developers that stay in Florida eventually wind up in Orlando and to a lesser extent Tampa. On a personal level, I had the choice of going to Miami or Orlando when I started my career. I opted for Orlando due to less crime and a generally friendlier community. Miami has been voted the worst city to drive in for several years for a reason. Given the option of Orlando or Tampa if one wants to be on the water, many opt to forgo Miami. I did, and I know many others that do for the same reasons.
tobylane 15y ago
Tech people are young, like the presence of others their type/age, cool enviroment, etc. Based on CSI Miami (seriously, how else am I meant to know :P) it's none of those things. Pretty high murder rate, I doubt there's many tech people in Vegas either.

8 points by aorshan 15y ago

I live in Miami and I find it almost impossible to find real tech people. I was just wondering if anyone had a theory on why certain cities have so many coders and techies while others are barren.

raghav305 15y ago

you are looking at the wrong side of the country..

johnny22 15y ago
for? developers? the MD/NOVA/DC area has tons... they just tend to work for the government or some of other big companies out there.

andrewstuart 15y ago

People feel guilty if they are inside peering into a computer "wasting a lovely day". Look to cooler climates where there is a reason to be inside.

cd34 15y ago

http://www.meetup.com/south-florida-hack-and-tell/ http://www.meetup.com/south-florida-hack-and-tell/ - run by Mike Greenberg http://refreshsofla.org/ http://refreshsofla.org/ - run by Brian Breslin http://miamitechevents.com/ http://miamitechevents.com/ - run by Brian Breslin http://agustinaprigoshin.com/oec http://agustinaprigoshin.com/oec - run by Agustina Prigoshin But, what I've found... in most cities, programmers get off work and like to talk. South Florida? 5pm... out to SoBe or any of the other spots - office/work isn't thought of until 9:30 Monday morning.

true_religion 15y ago

I and 3 of my best friends are moving to Florida at the end of this month. So don't say its devoid of programmers just yet. Whilst not as premier as Silicon Valley, Florida has great things going for it as a hacker: 1. It's cheap living in warm weather 2. It has concentrations of paying customers in clear demographics and dilineated geographic areas (i.e. state-wide suburbia and ethnic enclaves). 3. It's a nice place to find angel investors if you have the right product---the next facebook might not find investment here, but something that makes the lives of baby boomers easier will.

cd34 15y ago
You must not be moving to Southeast Florida. SFL has been described as a lot of things, cheap is not a word I've ever heard. Most angel investors live here Jan-Apr/May and go back to NY or the Med for the summer. Otherwise, if you have a list of angel investors, there is a startup community in SFL that would be extremely eager to talk with them. Most of the startups down here struggle for funding, or go to NY/SF to get funding. Even angel.co lists a handful of investors in Florida, and most are in other areas watching Florida. As for #2, I would like to congratulate the webmaster that wrote that. Clear demographics? what does that mean for a business? Are you using racial profiling to pick your customer base? Delineated geographic areas? We have county and city boundaries, but I don't believe that is unique to Florida. State-wide suburbia? I can drive five minutes to the west and it is swamp for roughly two hours until I reach the other side of the state. While Florida is a large state, the population has decided that living in swamps/marshes isn't nearly as nice as living on the edges of the state near the ocean. Once you get to Central Florida you're in a different environment, but, it might as well be a different country. SFL is certainly a unique ecosystem. incubatemiami.com is a local equivalent to YC, but, while they have the mentor track figured out, once you get out of mentorship, it is a struggle to find funding. SFL doesn't even have any positions dedicated to helping startups. UM Launchpad in Miami is a good start and there are some other college affiliated programs, but, for a startup community, SFL is quite difficult. If you're moving and didn't have something lined up, and you're looking for startup activity, I don't really think SFL would be my choice. But, once you get here, take a look at some of those URLs and get involved. There are a lot of smart people in SFL that are anxious to talk with other people - your connections with Angel funding will make you very popular.
- true_religion 15y ago
  Oh, you're right---we're moving into Northeast, Florida. But compared to DC/NYC/Silicon Valley, Florida is cheaper no matter where you live. Thanks for the succint description of Florida. It's given me a lot to think about. I only have to point out now that Incubate Miami is definitively not the local equivalent of YC if you struggle to find funding after you leave it. I know that my team doesn't have a dearth of experience in running a business, so the only use of a traditional incubator/accelerator is the connections it leads you to. I'd consider something like Start-up Chile to be a good incubator: it's government backed, and its stamp of approval may open doors in the government sector. YC is also good because its a proven money maker, and the press is only too happy to cover the companies that it graduates.

kls 15y ago

One of the problems with the rest of Florida is that Orlando seems to attract all of the talent in the area. So it leaves the other areas such as Miami, Jacksonville and to a lesser extent Tampa at a loss for talent (not saying there are not talented people, just that many head for other areas) due to the fact that many developers that stay in Florida eventually wind up in Orlando and to a lesser extent Tampa. On a personal level, I had the choice of going to Miami or Orlando when I started my career. I opted for Orlando due to less crime and a generally friendlier community. Miami has been voted the worst city to drive in for several years for a reason. Given the option of Orlando or Tampa if one wants to be on the water, many opt to forgo Miami. I did, and I know many others that do for the same reasons.

tobylane 15y ago

Tech people are young, like the presence of others their type/age, cool enviroment, etc. Based on CSI Miami (seriously, how else am I meant to know :P) it's none of those things. Pretty high murder rate, I doubt there's many tech people in Vegas either.