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Comment by mjfl | Hacker News Reader

A (feeble) plug for my hometown, Manchester NH (where Dean Kamen is currently located): I just visited the Millyards and they have apartments there that would cost $3500/month in Boston (more in SF) for $1400/month, Dean just pledged $300 million to biotech startups right there. Not much nightlife but not many distractions either, and they've put these beautiful restaurants in the old mills. It's about the same distance to Boston as Palo Alto is to SF. So if you want to drop off the grid for a while to focus on developing a product it's a great place to get started. Yeah.

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So if you want to drop off the grid for a while

Is this just trash talking a hometown you were glad to leave for the glamor of a big city, or do people actually think like this?

I've lived in big cites, and rural Maine, so I understand the fear of missing out that comes with it. But it's possible to have a social life anywhere, and we work online. Is there some startup culture thing that I'm not exposed to where zero commute and physically rubbing elbows is paradoxically more important than in fields less conductive to remote work?

I think that's just me projecting my worries about what people think about where I'm from. There is evidence that people do think that way. See the responder who said he would not want to live there because there are too many white people.

It seems not Biotech in general, but growing human organs in particular:

http://www.unionleader.com/business/kamen-to-lead-294m-effor...

It'd be very difficult to live in a place that is 85% white though, which unfortunately is diverse for New Hampshire.

I think Jobs was right, you'd have a tough time convincing great talent to locate themselves there. Cost of living certainly is a factor, but it's only one of many.

Yeah, one could live in the middle of Texas for $400/month in a place with low crime...and nothing to do, no infrastructure, and no jobs. Jobs won't come there any time soon, because people don't want to be there, hence the low CoL.

I've never understood this argument.

Probably the best thing about being a cutting-edge dev is the ability to work from anywhere. Heck, I've only worked onsite for a handful of my clients. Some of them (including my current client) I've never even met.

Why this need to co-locate everyone - in the most expensive city we can find? Why the need to work so hard - just to transfer your hard-earned wealth to a landlord?

You say Texas has no infrastructure - well, we do have running water, paved roads, electricity, cheap homes, and internet - everything the modern IT professional needs to work and live. And we also have airports, for getting the f__k out of Texas, which is easy and fun with all the rent money you'll save :)

Oh you certainly can have a good career working remote, I've largely worked remote my entire career, but I choose to live in one of the top 3 most expensive cities in the US. The networking and proximity to other very talented people is important to me, both for personal and professional growth. My social circles are filled with supremely talented people from a diversity of backgrounds, which keeps me challenged and inspired.

If that's not for you that's totally fine, but I don't think I would have been able to level up my career and life anywhere else as rapidly.

It's because people of diverse backgrounds need diversity in their community/social life as well. In Texas you have two kinds of diversity: white and Hispanic.

> In Texas you have two kinds of diversity: white and Hispanic

uffi... where to start?

Maybe you exhibit prejudice and ignorance of your own?

Did you know that, for example, Dallas has one of the largest gay communities in the USA?

I'm sure Texas could use more diversity, and I won't try to convince you otherwise since your mind appears quite made up, but your comment adds negative value to the conversation.

OK, I probably spoke too loosely. It's not that Texas doesn't have diversity; for example I've heard Austin has a cool 'artsy' scene. Rather, it's that to outsiders, Texas gives the perception of being very homogeneous. We don't get to see the diverse side of Texas because in media, literature, and other popular culture, Texas is often represented in a certain way. Whose fault is that? Definitely not of the minorities and the rational-minded people of Texas; but it is what it is and it does keep people away.

I spend a fair amount of time outside the USA. Your comments are representative of how most Europeans see the entire USA.

So I guess everything is just a matter of perspective once you start overgeneralizing.

Also, what's the problem with Hispanics? Wrong kind of heterogeneity? Honest question.

I think if you look at the demographics of Los Angeles and Dallas you'll find them shockingly similar:

% Hispanic: LA 47% DA 42%

% Non-Hispanic White: LA 29% DA 29%

% foreign-born: LA 39% DA 25%

% Black: LA 10% DA 25%

% Poverty: LA 19% DA 18%

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