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> The best and the brightest talent head straight to silicon valley I know a lot of really good developers who left because of the toxic culture. > so if you

> The best and the brightest talent head straight to silicon valley I know a lot of really good developers who left because of the toxic culture. > so if you want to be exposed to new technology then Silicon Valley sits a head and shoulders above the next place. This is not true. > Peter Thiel made the statement that they are not opening Venture Capital offices in any other city because they didn't think there was enough value, meaning that the big ideas come to Silicon Valley - so venture capital will wait for it there. All this means is Peter Thiel is providing VC exclusively in SV. > There is no EASY way to simulate the same network from afar. We have IRC, Github and tons of other social networking options that have been more than enough for me, and surely for many others. Plus the SV isn't the only place to network. > In summary : if you care about working with great developers, learning new technology, building a company/raising capital, or building a professional network then Silicon Valley is a smart choice. If you care about having work life balance, being near family, or saving earned income then the bay area maybe a big mistake. This is probably the only part I agree with here. The Silicon Valley isn't objectively the best place to build your career. If you don't give a shit about work/life balance then it probably is a top choice, but if work/life balance matters to you then it's probably one of the worst choices. You won't fit in with the people in the valley, and you might end up getting depressed or burnt out.

eruditely 11y ago
What is this 'toxic culture' I keep hearing about? You have to name the particulars.
- pikachu_is_cool 11y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9581546 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9581546
gamechangr 11y ago
I am curious to get a little more information about your opinion. What do you mean by "toxic culture". You said you grew up in the bay area...what part? I said... "so if you want to be exposed to new technology then Silicon Valley sits a head and shoulders above the next place". You said, "This is not true." WHICH CITIES ARE YOU THINKING OF as better than Silicon Valley for exposure to new technologies? I would love to find the best place possible and if there is a better place... that would be exciting to me. >The Silicon Valley isn't objectively the best place to build your career .. WHERE DO YOU SUGGEST? >if work/life balance matters to you then it's probably one of the worst choices... I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU 100%.
- pikachu_is_cool 11y ago
  > You said you grew up in the bay area...what part? Sunnyvale. I went to Homestead High School. It was 3 blocks away from Apple HQ. Steve Wozniac went to one of our football games after Steve Jobs died... presumably to reminisce about his high school days. > What do you mean by "toxic culture". I'd say that 1/20 people I've ran into fit into this personality type of "I'm better/smarter than you" in a passive aggressive sort of way. Their opinion is an objective truth, and anyone who disagrees with them is stupid. They tend to look down on everyone who isn't as smart or successful as them. And when you talk to them, all they give a shit about is how successful you are and what your accomplishments are, and if you aren't as successful as they hoped you to be then they give you the cold shoulder and think of you as a plebeian or something similar. It's kind of like what you'd imagine an asshole New Yorker to be, but they don't say anything to your face. I was definitely guilty of this while growing up there... I'm trying to unlearn all of that shit. And again this is about 1/20 people. You might not end up running into these people but my high school and my first internship had quite a few of these characters. It left a sour taste in my mouth. > WHICH CITIES ARE YOU THINKING OF Dunno. Depends on the technology. I was mostly just disagreeing. To say that SV is best for exposure to new technology would have made sense back in the 80's with all that hardware, but 99% of the shit there now is just web and mobile, which can be found anywhere as long as you have an internet connection (and programmer friends to suggest you new stuff). Like, if you want to build your career, all you really need to do is move to where there's a lot of people. There will be tech people there if the city is big enough, and you'll probably make more meaningful and substantial connections if you actually like and connect with the city you move to, instead of just blindly moving to SV because that's what everyone else is doing. > WHERE DO YOU SUGGEST? It literally depends on who you are. What might be the best place to build your career for one person might not be for another. For example, on paper, SV would be the the best place to go because I have shittons of connections there. But I know I would get depressed. I'd long for a better life if I lived there. And I'd hate myself if I got exposed to that 1/20, and felt myself becoming like that again. I'm going to try my luck in NYC, and possibly abroad in Germany if that doesn't work out (unlikely).
  - gamechangr 11y ago

eruditely 11y ago

What is this 'toxic culture' I keep hearing about? You have to name the particulars.

pikachu_is_cool 11y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9581546 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9581546

gamechangr 11y ago

I am curious to get a little more information about your opinion. What do you mean by "toxic culture". You said you grew up in the bay area...what part? I said... "so if you want to be exposed to new technology then Silicon Valley sits a head and shoulders above the next place". You said, "This is not true." WHICH CITIES ARE YOU THINKING OF as better than Silicon Valley for exposure to new technologies? I would love to find the best place possible and if there is a better place... that would be exciting to me. >The Silicon Valley isn't objectively the best place to build your career .. WHERE DO YOU SUGGEST? >if work/life balance matters to you then it's probably one of the worst choices... I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU 100%.

pikachu_is_cool 11y ago
> You said you grew up in the bay area...what part? Sunnyvale. I went to Homestead High School. It was 3 blocks away from Apple HQ. Steve Wozniac went to one of our football games after Steve Jobs died... presumably to reminisce about his high school days. > What do you mean by "toxic culture". I'd say that 1/20 people I've ran into fit into this personality type of "I'm better/smarter than you" in a passive aggressive sort of way. Their opinion is an objective truth, and anyone who disagrees with them is stupid. They tend to look down on everyone who isn't as smart or successful as them. And when you talk to them, all they give a shit about is how successful you are and what your accomplishments are, and if you aren't as successful as they hoped you to be then they give you the cold shoulder and think of you as a plebeian or something similar. It's kind of like what you'd imagine an asshole New Yorker to be, but they don't say anything to your face. I was definitely guilty of this while growing up there... I'm trying to unlearn all of that shit. And again this is about 1/20 people. You might not end up running into these people but my high school and my first internship had quite a few of these characters. It left a sour taste in my mouth. > WHICH CITIES ARE YOU THINKING OF Dunno. Depends on the technology. I was mostly just disagreeing. To say that SV is best for exposure to new technology would have made sense back in the 80's with all that hardware, but 99% of the shit there now is just web and mobile, which can be found anywhere as long as you have an internet connection (and programmer friends to suggest you new stuff). Like, if you want to build your career, all you really need to do is move to where there's a lot of people. There will be tech people there if the city is big enough, and you'll probably make more meaningful and substantial connections if you actually like and connect with the city you move to, instead of just blindly moving to SV because that's what everyone else is doing. > WHERE DO YOU SUGGEST? It literally depends on who you are. What might be the best place to build your career for one person might not be for another. For example, on paper, SV would be the the best place to go because I have shittons of connections there. But I know I would get depressed. I'd long for a better life if I lived there. And I'd hate myself if I got exposed to that 1/20, and felt myself becoming like that again. I'm going to try my luck in NYC, and possibly abroad in Germany if that doesn't work out (unlikely).
- gamechangr 11y ago