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What do you think about Seattle, Austin, Boulder? I lived in New York for 7 years. It's a really hard place to live. It gives a lot, and the benefits are immen
by michaelochurch 12y ago
What do you think about Seattle, Austin, Boulder?
I lived in New York for 7 years. It's a really hard place to live. It gives a lot, and the benefits are immense, but the cramped living spaces, crowds, and fast pace are difficult. (For some, the climate's also hard. I got "Building SAD" when I lived downtown, but other than that, the climate wasn't an issue.) Of course, no one can predict how you'll react to it. My guess is that you'll probably find NYC challenging but enjoy what it has to offer (much more than SF; it's a real fucking city, not some colony for East Coast banking/consulting rejects turned VCs and the 25-year-old nerds they boss around). It's worth trying out, for sure. But I wouldn't expect it to be an easy place to live.
- steveklabnik 12y agoI have never visited Seattle. I've spent probably a few weeks total in Austin and a month or two in Boulder, and I like Austin, but it's damn hot. One of the reasons I quit my _last_ job is that I would have had to live in Denver, and I didn't want to. I don't think Denver/Boulder is bad, I just don't think it's great either. I wouldn't complain about living there, but given the choice, would pick other places. I've spent a lot of time in NYC, so I know what I'm getting into. It's fun to watch all these people make assumptions about my opinions and what they're based on.
- Serow225 12y agoWhat about Boston?
- steveklabnik 12y agoI've only been there two or three times and it was fine. Didn't hate it, didn't love it. That was three or four years back, though.
- michaelochurch 12y agoBoston is a beautiful town and has a really nice climate (summers 5 degrees colder than New York, possibly the best fall foliage in the world). Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of progressivism in Boston companies. The people I like, and the brainpower in that city is immense. On the other hand, I've interviewed with 4 or 5 Boston companies in my life, known people who work there, and the set of people who've made it into management or founding roles and making decisions seems... stodgy, conservative, prone to create regimented, closed-allocation, uninspiring companies. New England is unbeatable, though, except possibly in comparison to the Pacific Northwest.
- rdl 12y agoI went to school in Boston and would basically hate being in Boston if not directly attached to a university. NY has big positives and big negatives; nowhere else in New England has super strong positives, but a lot of them have less serious negatives. People obviously have vastly different preferences and weightings even for factors where they agree directionally.
- Serow225 12y agoWhat were the negatives for you?