4 ms·

As a grad student doing entirely computational work, it's quite nice living in Tennessee (I'm in Knoxville). Eventually I want to live in SF for a few years ju

As a grad student doing entirely computational work, it's quite nice living in Tennessee (I'm in Knoxville). Eventually I want to live in SF for a few years just to experience it, but the relaxed pace here is enjoyable. Any kind of outdoor activity is nearby (Smoky Mountains), and I like the fact that we actually have trees here compared to the west coast. I'd like to live in a variety of places throughout my life, but when I finally pick a more permanent place of residence, it will probably be something like Chattanooga. The low cost of living is one advantage over the bigger cities. While Oak Ridge is very cutting-edge in terms of science, the south isn't near the forefront of technology like California is, so it would be nice to see at least one city around here make a push in that direction, and it seems like Chattanooga is certainly working towards it. I suppose Atlanta is working on it as well, but both have a ways to go.

hayksaakian 12y ago
RE: trees That applies exclusively to California. Oregon and Washington are abundant with trees.
- vidarh 12y ago
  There's plenty of trees in Northern California as well. Certainly you don't need to travel that long out of SF to be able to get nice leafy areas. And a little bit further and you have big forest areas. I used to work for a guy that lived in a house in the middle of the forest near Santa Cruz, surrounded by redwood. And the Santa Cruz mountains have large portions that are classified as temperate rain forest.
  - justizin 12y ago
    "Certainly you don't need to travel that long out of SF to be able to get nice leafy areas." You don't. Under an hour on bicycle or bus will do it. SF also leads the nation in greenspaces, park area per capita, and has the largest urban park in the US, if not the world. Get out of SOMA once in a while, people. EDIT: BTW, this is an example of why SFians are terrified of the onslaught of tech folks. People new to SF tend to have a very narrow view of things, taking over a year to really get even a basic feel for the city, while typically financially supporting the sort of businesses that dilute what the draw is in the first place. Anyway go on enjoying TN and come visit sometime. Book a few days extra before or after a conference and see the redwoods, they are the largest and oldest living organisms on earth.
    - Xcelerate 12y ago
      I've been to SF. The trees thing was kind of a joke... I didn't realize it would get so much commentary.
    - smutticus 12y ago
      I'm not sure how you measure which park in the USA is "the largest urban park". I immediately thought of Forest Park in Portland Oregon, which is larger than anything in SF. I found this list of largest city parks: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0933260.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0933260.html I'm not sure what counts as 'urban' in your definition. Also, redwoods might be the largest trees on earth, but not the largest organisms. And they're not the oldest trees on earth either.
notduncansmith 12y ago
We in Birmingham, AL are also pushing for more tech. We have a few open-source meetup groups and we're trying to get Uber (though the city is making it difficult) - gotta start somewhere!
waterfowl 12y ago
you at ORNL? I spent a couple summers getting to play with the big rigs there(which is so cool) but knoxvegas/farragut/oak ridge aren't exactly magnets for young professional tech types. Also I grew up in Chattanooga, whenever I go home to my parents house it blows my mind that they have gigabit to the house(and they don't live downtown) for something like $70/mo. I pay that for 50mbit in DC and my understanding is that I am getting a pretty good deal compared to others. It's a great town with some cool tech initiatives going on(and awesome outdoorsy stuff if you climb or kayak or camp or hangglide or whatever) but the core of the city is still a shockingly violent place. I miss it terribly though. Everyone is so nice, and it's really a beautiful town.
nervousvarun 12y ago
Unless something's changed Huntsville, Al was always a fairly high-tech southern city.
haney 12y ago
We're looking for developers in Chattanooga (I'm a UT alum who moved to Chattanooga to start a company). I'd love to talk to you more about the developer community in Chattanooga, and the growth I've seen over the last 3 years. Hit me up @adamhaney or firstname dot lastname at getbellhops.com. We're not the valley here in Chattanooga but you definitely don't have to go west to find cool companies working on cutting edge tech.

hayksaakian 12y ago

RE: trees That applies exclusively to California. Oregon and Washington are abundant with trees.

vidarh 12y ago
There's plenty of trees in Northern California as well. Certainly you don't need to travel that long out of SF to be able to get nice leafy areas. And a little bit further and you have big forest areas. I used to work for a guy that lived in a house in the middle of the forest near Santa Cruz, surrounded by redwood. And the Santa Cruz mountains have large portions that are classified as temperate rain forest.
- justizin 12y ago
  "Certainly you don't need to travel that long out of SF to be able to get nice leafy areas." You don't. Under an hour on bicycle or bus will do it. SF also leads the nation in greenspaces, park area per capita, and has the largest urban park in the US, if not the world. Get out of SOMA once in a while, people. EDIT: BTW, this is an example of why SFians are terrified of the onslaught of tech folks. People new to SF tend to have a very narrow view of things, taking over a year to really get even a basic feel for the city, while typically financially supporting the sort of businesses that dilute what the draw is in the first place. Anyway go on enjoying TN and come visit sometime. Book a few days extra before or after a conference and see the redwoods, they are the largest and oldest living organisms on earth.
  - Xcelerate 12y ago
    I've been to SF. The trees thing was kind of a joke... I didn't realize it would get so much commentary.
  - smutticus 12y ago
    I'm not sure how you measure which park in the USA is "the largest urban park". I immediately thought of Forest Park in Portland Oregon, which is larger than anything in SF. I found this list of largest city parks: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0933260.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0933260.html I'm not sure what counts as 'urban' in your definition. Also, redwoods might be the largest trees on earth, but not the largest organisms. And they're not the oldest trees on earth either.

notduncansmith 12y ago

We in Birmingham, AL are also pushing for more tech. We have a few open-source meetup groups and we're trying to get Uber (though the city is making it difficult) - gotta start somewhere!

waterfowl 12y ago

you at ORNL? I spent a couple summers getting to play with the big rigs there(which is so cool) but knoxvegas/farragut/oak ridge aren't exactly magnets for young professional tech types. Also I grew up in Chattanooga, whenever I go home to my parents house it blows my mind that they have gigabit to the house(and they don't live downtown) for something like $70/mo. I pay that for 50mbit in DC and my understanding is that I am getting a pretty good deal compared to others. It's a great town with some cool tech initiatives going on(and awesome outdoorsy stuff if you climb or kayak or camp or hangglide or whatever) but the core of the city is still a shockingly violent place. I miss it terribly though. Everyone is so nice, and it's really a beautiful town.

nervousvarun 12y ago

Unless something's changed Huntsville, Al was always a fairly high-tech southern city.

haney 12y ago

We're looking for developers in Chattanooga (I'm a UT alum who moved to Chattanooga to start a company). I'd love to talk to you more about the developer community in Chattanooga, and the growth I've seen over the last 3 years. Hit me up @adamhaney or firstname dot lastname at getbellhops.com. We're not the valley here in Chattanooga but you definitely don't have to go west to find cool companies working on cutting edge tech.