3 ms·

Scandinavian here. Had a very brief attempt at Silicon Valley and SFO, 2012. It seemed like a Disneyland of tech. In the end all I got was some very great parti

Scandinavian here. Had a very brief attempt at Silicon Valley and SFO, 2012. It seemed like a Disneyland of tech. In the end all I got was some very great parties, friendly and inviting people whom I didnt realize were just shmoozing me. Most of that was outright lying. 0% of the connections and the "leads" got anywhere I threw a bunch of sand in the air and it came crashing down to the ground fast. I would have loved to stay and lived the millionaire tech dream I thought was achievable. Loved the scenery, Marina to Sausalito was a great run.

jmspring 3y ago
It's been years (still connected with a few) but working for multiple Norden companies and living in Finland for a time. I found technical discussions and connections initiated there were generally quite genuine and consider a few Finns and Swedes friends and we take semiregularly. Born and raised in the Bay Area, for honest and useful tech discussions, especially early in career, maker spaces, super happy dev house, and some other events (I won't mention since I'm not sure they still go on) were better than YC meetups, etc. in terms of what you mention - honesty, etc.
_nalply 3y ago
Seemed a cultural mismatch between Sweden and California. I think many Germans working in Switzerland would also call the Swiss "outright lying", but that's because the Swiss are consensus-oriented. Perhaps you were like a German in Switzerland (thumbs up).
bhu1st 3y ago
I was in Bay Area from 2015-2018 and because of the connections I build there I occasionally get to work on projects that pay 10x higher than what I get paid for in my home country. To OP, I recommend to network with open mind and enjoy the tech savvy diversity. In addition to meetup I recommend cold emailing companies and asking founders in your area of interest directly for picking up a brain. The ecosystem is very welcoming.

jmspring 3y ago

It's been years (still connected with a few) but working for multiple Norden companies and living in Finland for a time. I found technical discussions and connections initiated there were generally quite genuine and consider a few Finns and Swedes friends and we take semiregularly. Born and raised in the Bay Area, for honest and useful tech discussions, especially early in career, maker spaces, super happy dev house, and some other events (I won't mention since I'm not sure they still go on) were better than YC meetups, etc. in terms of what you mention - honesty, etc.

_nalply 3y ago

Seemed a cultural mismatch between Sweden and California. I think many Germans working in Switzerland would also call the Swiss "outright lying", but that's because the Swiss are consensus-oriented. Perhaps you were like a German in Switzerland (thumbs up).

bhu1st 3y ago

I was in Bay Area from 2015-2018 and because of the connections I build there I occasionally get to work on projects that pay 10x higher than what I get paid for in my home country. To OP, I recommend to network with open mind and enjoy the tech savvy diversity. In addition to meetup I recommend cold emailing companies and asking founders in your area of interest directly for picking up a brain. The ecosystem is very welcoming.