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Ask HN: Advice on Southern tech cities

1 points by sputknick ↗ HN
I'm looking for advice on Southern cities for tech jobs. How accurate is my assessment of the below cities, and are there any good Southern tech cities I missed? I would ideally like to be in an area where I can work on emerging technologies: blockchain, AI, cloud architecture. Other considerations: commute time, number of available jobs. I'm currently a Product Manager at a software company in Seattle. My wife is unhappy here, so I'm looking to move to the South and we are considering a few cities: Austin Tx: Currently #1 on our list, strong tech scene, good quality of life. Houses are a little pricey. Raleigh NC: Currently #2 on our list, strong tech scene, good quality of life, tech companies seem to be more spread out than Austin, making it harder to buy a house and guarantee a short commute. Houston Tx: Cheaper houses, more jobs, but it seems more "corporate" than Austin. Also longer commutes. Atlanta GA: Similar to Houston, corporate jobs, long commutes.

3 comments

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CuriouslyC
The Raleigh/Durham area heavily research oriented, so it's better than Austin for data-science work IMO. There isn't really a big web company scene here, there are lots of developer shops and B2B IT service companies though.

If you get a house in south Durham, your commute will be between 5-30 minutes, averaging about 20 minutes. Public transit is not really an option and nothing is walkable, but parking is plentiful (except at the universities).

The area is pleasantly low-density, with lots of parks, hiking, boating, rafting and similar outdoor activities.

Cost of living is lower than Austin for a similar commute and quality level.

sputknick
That's really helpful, thank you! I've been to Raleigh a few times, like it.