Ask HN: Am I missing out by not being in sillicon valley?

I work in the eye of Silicon Valley and sometimes I wonder if I might be happier with more distance between me and the madness. They pay well to keep me here but it's just human nature to wonder what's on the other side of the fence, I think.

There are a lot of compelling reasons to be in Silicon Valley, but there are (IMO) many more for staying away. You've hit on most of them: the laid back lifestyle and the cost of living being the big ones.

There are a lot of companies that want you to be in Silicon Valley to work for them, but there are quite a few who embrace remote employees (Etsy and 37Signals come to mind). Does it limit your job options? Probably somewhat. Can you still do really interesting work but live in a place that isn't insanely expensive? Absolutely.

If you're happy where you are, stay there and find companies that embrace that. They're likely to be better companies to work for anyway.

Ultimately it's up to you to slam dunk your business.

I moved out of Toronto a year ago to a city (Hamilton) about an hour away where houses were affordable and the city was seeing renewal. My mortgage is much cheaper than a 2 bedroom rental in Toronto and I feel because I have such low overhead, it makes me a much better entrepreneur. I'm willing to take many more risks because I can make my mortgage pretty easily.

So - my quality of life is very high outside a major tech hub and because we work on the internet, I'm still very involved.

I recommend you watch this video about Chris Coyier / CSS Tricks. He runs one of the biggest web development websites around, two podcasts and CodePen from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRmbVOI6oIM

I've been told by many friends in the Bay Area that day-to-day, it doesn't feel to them like there's enormous networking because everyone is in their own routines. They advised me that a huge percentage of networking can be accomplished by telling people you're "visiting for two weeks".

However, living there long-term and having your personal network double as your professional network is a different order of magnitude benefits. My perception is, from the outside and from visiting, the reason specific companies get bought or partnered with is often because they were more closely socially connected and geographically nearby (more likely to hear about one another, have friends in common, etc.)

I believe it's not something that happens overnight, but over time as an investment in the community and being there long-term.

I've recently made a conscious decision to put other priorities in life (where I really want to live, and my life outside tech) on equal or greater footing. For those for whom that's no conflict, I'm sure it's fantastic to live there.

So, knowing nothing about you, I'd generically say that, yes, a few years in a tech hub can be a lifelong benefit.

If your goal is primarily to save money so that you can retire or don't have to work or can choose when/where/how to work, you're already on the right path. Economically, demand for housing in the bay area is strong enough right now that rents are rising to whatever level people can afford to pay. That means you're basically assured of having little or no surplus unless one of your ventures is wildly successful.

If your goal is to develop a bigger network of people in your industry, you're probably missing out, although your client network will be very valuable to you as well. Also, not all of the people you're missing out on are people you want in your network anyway...

The culture in "silicon valley" is toxic. People are obnoxious and narcissistic; many are pathological liars and self-promoters. Plenty has been written about this, both serious and satirical. There are certainly people who enjoy it, but it sounds like you're fairly happy where you are, so you probably aren't one of them.

If you're tired of bootstrapping and want to get funded, you'll probably have a better chance in the bay area or some other large city. Otherwise this is moot for you.

Also, remember that most of "silicon valley" isn't involved in technology any more. It's become mostly a media/advertising center. There are still technology companies around, but the focus has definitely shifted.

You might want to ask yourself not "am I missing out?" but rather "what would I like to change about my present circumstances?" and go from there.

Striking a balance -- it's also good to attend workshops, meet-ups, and conferences in other markets.

SV has more opportunities for engineers/entrepreneurs, but then you're up against people who have done a lot more of that, plus the outrageous housing costs in the area. Oh, and the crazy traffic.

I was living in a 'burb and moved back to the city for quality of life. Being able to walk to things (grocery store, restaurants, bars) was more important to me than having a bunch of land. Also, my commute is now 5-10 minutes instead of 30-90. The cost of it was a smaller house on a much smaller plot of land, but we decided that's a sacrifice we're willing to make.

I will say that the weather is nice in much of the bay, SF has (I think) one of the highest young single populations in the world which can make for an interesting time, and there are many events that take place that could help your business but a plane ticket can rectify that.

Besides the networking you just feel pressure (and inspiration?) to work faster and harder. Not just because your savings are being eaten alive, but also because many are majorly ambitious.

On a list of top five things that will make or break your company, I don't think Silicon Valley would make the list. But if you live and breathe your startup and want nothing else in the world, it's worth a look.

It depends on what you want. If you can travel, if you can get out to 3-5 conferences per year, and if you get out to Meetups (or organize a few) in the nearest major city, then you're probably learning just as much as you would if you were in the Valley. You might be learning more, because you're more relaxed.

That said, if you want to work for one of the giant tech companies, the main office usually gets the most interesting projects. If you decide to work for Google, try to get them to relocate you to Mountain View. The imperial culture is strong in Bay Area tech giants and in venture capital.

In general, though, the Valley sucks (unless you're trying to raise money). Under 30, you suffer a bad dating scene if you're a heterosexual male (and I've heard that it's unpleasant more generally). After 30, you're too old for the nonsense and, if you're thinking about having a family, forget it. San Francisco is half-decent and has a lot of natural beauty, but it's dysfunctional and shockingly expensive (worse than New York, and you get a lot less!) There are a lot of great jobs in the Valley that I'd say you should take if you're a typical person, but you'd take them in spite of their location, not because of it.

  -> the culture here is more optimistic and open-minded; people are more willing to take risks and try hard things
  -> the weather is more moderate
  -> the scenery is more interesting and varied
  -> there are vastly more (good) job opportunities for software engineers.
  -> Bay Area/NYC software engineers get paid more than engineers elsewhere *on average*. But they are also much more skilled on average. If you're skilled enough to be hired in the bay area, then you probably will be paid less than what you could demand where your skill is rare.
  -> cost of living is totally unreasonable in the bay area, and the stats understate this because many people here have massive effective subsidies from rent control and fixed property taxes.

It is likely that while you won't grow a billion-dollar social media site that way that you can find yourself an underserved niche, or a niche dominated by somebody still peddling software from the 80s, or something like that. This turns the "problem" of not being in SV into a foundation of your career, which, if that is what you are looking for, can be a good deal.

That said, I don't think I would live in Silicon Valley proper, rather SF where you can actually run into other human beings, which is the point. And actually I personally wouldn't live in SF either due to the lack of any meaningful cultural industries (art, music, etc.)

You work remotely right? Split some time here. about 3 months here will let you know for certain if you are or not.

There are alot of hostels and hacker houses (just google "hacker house sf" or "hacker house silicon valley")

Also remember its really interesting how the layout of companies in the valley follows the OSI model

https://engineering.linkedin.com/endorsements/geographic-tre...

So make sure to spend time not only in San Francisco but also in Palo alto, Mountain View, and maybe even San Jose.

That way you can experience the whole of whats out here and decide for yourself.

Myself personally I found out I very much was. The level of talent and the caliber of the average person in tech here is rarely paralleled.

Not to mention most other markets don't create the caliber of consumer tech compaines I'm most passionate about and are more focused on B2B.

I learn alot through osmosis so I would be short changing myself to be anywhere else if I want to be among the best in the field.

There are certainly snakes and sociopaths around but any place there is money to be made or power to be had you will find those people.

SF and SV do the best job they can to still only reward those with the talent to make big things happen.