4 ms·
I can think of a counter-argument to all this. I live in New York, but I have worked briefly in London. I could make a case for London that would go like this:
by lkrubner 13y ago
I can think of a counter-argument to all this. I live in New York, but I have worked briefly in London. I could make a case for London that would go like this:
There are brilliant programmers in places like Italy and Poland and they feel stifled in their home countries, so they escape to London. Many of them would prefer to go to the USA but the USA's strict immigration policies keep them out. As EU citizens they have a right to move to London, so that is where they go. London is bigger than San Francisco and it is also bigger than New York. London is also much more international than just about anywhere: this place used to be the capital of an empire that held 25% of humanity. The phrase "The sun never sets on the British Empire" used to be literally true. London is nowadays the favored playground for Russian investors and Saudi princes and Brazilian entrepreneurs. The amount of money in the city, waiting to be invested, is beyond imagining. And also the amount of programming talent, drawn from all over Europe, is of the highest caliber imaginable. At some point these 2 things, the vast pool of investors and the vast pool of talent, must inevitably spark something, and when that happens the results will be great.
- robinwarren 13y agoSlight nitpick made better by an xkcd link http://what-if.xkcd.com/48/ http://what-if.xkcd.com/48/ Strangely the sun is yet to set on the Empire.
- mchaver 13y agoIt might not set on France either, but I am not sure. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Outre-mer_en_sans_Terre_Adelie.png http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Outre-mer...
- RafiqM 13y agoThat's fascinating, thanks! I also didn't know about Pitcairn Island and them being descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers.
- w1ntermute 13y ago> Many of them would prefer to go to the USA but the USA's strict immigration policies keep them out. Given the political untenability of the various other policy changes Obama could push through before the end of his second term (such as gun control or marijuana legalization), I think it's quite likely that he will focus on immigration reform. It's the least controversial, and big business will lobby the GOP to support it. A large part of the attraction of Europe for tech workers from other parts of the world is the relative ease of immigration. It will be interesting to see what happens to that if immigration reform is actually realized in America.
- justincormack 13y agoThe Russians and Saudis and so on generally (not exclusively) invest far more in football clubs and property than they do in software. When you make your money by the means they did maybe software is too intangible.
- donretag 13y agoLondon is not bigger than New York. According to the last estimates, NYC is slightly bigger. The number is so close, I would call them even. However, when it comes to the overall metro population, not just the population of the official cities, NYC is far bigger.
- CmonDev 13y agoFirst wise step would be matching (and exceeding) HFs and IBs offerings.