Comment by blackhaz | Hacker News Reader

Comment by blackhaz | Hacker News Reader

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I'm thinking about moving to either Bay Area or Los Angeles with a family, from Prague. I have a 7 years old kid. I am not sure if that's the right thing. We're doing it for the climate. It's really difficult to find a warm English-speaking country where you won't be culturally isolated from the rest of the world. I can work pretty much from anywhere, however I am not a magnate. Things definitely to be missed:

- Prague's ultra-affordability (avg. salary is about $1,000/mo, so if you're selling to global market you can live with luxury) - travel opportunities--I'm in the middle of everything - proximity to relatives - great British school--very liberal, easy international atmosphere, we're lucky - overall "easygoingness" - full decriminalization (no problem in CA) - economically uniform society, although sometimes it's a double-edged sword - no requirement for pretending being a patriot

Things I will not miss: - very short summer, always feeling cold, gloomy skies - crappy food, although it's improving fast lately.

Am I crazy? Where would you move if you'd want a good weather? I enjoy Berlin immensely, but it's too cold. I'd move to London, but it's cold. I hate being cold.

There are some other American cities with "good enough" climates and tech hubs if you're not looking to be in the Valley specifically. Austin and Atlanta are two that would be southern enough that it probably meet the rest of your criteria. It may not be as nice as the Valley per se, but still perhaps nicer than what you're used to. If you're not particularly worried about being in a tech hub because you work remotely and intend to continue to do so, a whole lot of other areas of interest open up too, both in and out of the US.

Yes, they're both on to-explore list. :-)

I'm an American who grew up on the East Coast, went to USC (Los Angeles) for university (left in 1990), later worked for a San Fran company and have been living in Prague for 15 years so I may have some perspective for you. Long story short, LA and San Fran are fantastic for single people or married working couples w/out kids. Once kids enter the equation, your perspective changes. You are not going to find cheap, good schools in those cities. And unlike Prague, will not want your 7 year old to ride the buses/metro alone. LA weather is fantastic, no doubt. Its the thing I miss most. The thing I don't miss is the traffic. Literally bumper to bumper crawling along at a snail's pace will drive you crazy after a while. Farther south in Orange County is an option, but housing is pretty expensive and the traffic is not a whole lot better. San Fran is even more expensive to live plus the weather is not as good as LA. I understand opinions will vary, but as someone with direct experience with all 3 cities you mentioned, there is a reason that I'm still in Prague :)

Glad to see fellow Prague expat here! Thanks a lot for the insight. What made you to move to Prague? We go to PBS here, and I've found private schools in LA to be less expensive. So, I guess, this part of the equation is solved, assuming I maintain the income (argh!) although I expect my overall expenses to double in LA with all the taxes, etc. I visited both LA and SF once and found traffic to be manageable in both (stayed in WeHo). We avoided peak hours, though, however, yes, I hear people complain on traffic when they have to drive to work. I've looked at Orange but couldn't find a walkable place. I'd really want to live without a car, so it's all down to walkable parts of LA + relying on Uber (Los Feliz, Venice, etc) or SF/Oakland for us. How is Oakland weather compared to Prague? I'm comparing numerically but always end up with different conclusions depending on what mood I am in.

My kids to go Meridian, which so far has been a fantastic school and is about 1/3 the price of a private school in the U.S. (I see that PBS is almost as expensive as ISP, which is very high). What is your citizenship? Any issues with moving to the U.S.? My advice would be to go for 3 months and try it out (maybe in the summer when the kids are out of school). All I can say is that I loved living in LA, but I would never do it with a family (unless I was a lot more wealthy than I am now). Good luck!

Thanks. We're Ukrainians. Getting a long-term U.S. visa is a complete quantum chromodynamics for us, a once in a lifetime decision, perhaps. We're going to go for 3 weeks, probably this summer, to try it out (planning 2 weeks in Oakland, then 1 week in Ocean Park/Venice area.)

Wouldn't you be able to maintain a home in Prague PLUS another home in southern Europe somewhere for less money than it would take to maintain one home in the Bay Area? Of course, that depends on you being able to work in a location-independent way...

With a kid in school, no, not really.

Portugal has a lot to recommend it.

everyone wants to be in california because the climate is never brutal on either ends. although it has gotten hotter and hotter in most recent years.

but if you are considering living anywhere in california, and want nice warm weather, you should also consider orange county (~30-40 minute drive from LA depending), san diego (~3 hours south of LA) and santa barbara (~2 hours? west of LA, nice but maybe a little more expensive and also prob fewer tech jobs). the sf bay area gets colder than southern california but nothing extreme, it doesn't really snow and rain is infrequent (both a good/bad thing for california).

I'd look into San Diego if you're doing it for the climate. It has by far the best climate in the United States, and is a beautiful, manageable city right on the ocean.

I am yet to visit SD. I forgot some additional components in my "best place to live" formula. The place has to offer freedom and opportunities for artists. I am not sure if you can call it liberal or bohemian atmosphere, or that's too cliche. A person should be able to afford to live and be free to pursue "artistic exploration" in his life, or whatever it can be called. Prague and Berlin must be good in this regard, although I've heard Berlin is getting more expensive lately. SF has a good element of what I'm looking for, but I hear housing prices are driving people away. Is SD as active as SF or LA in terms of art exhibitions, museums, clubs, people gatherings?

The schools in Los Angeles are terrible unless you live in an insanely expensive part of town or send your kids to an insanely expensive private school.

There are quite a few wonderful magnet schools for smart kids.

Sydney, Australia.

Never been there, but photographs of Sydney and Melbourne I see are absolutely incredible. I wish it wasn't that far away though. It's funny to see a list of destinations and all the familiar places are ~ 20 hours flight.

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