Comment by lordCarbonFiber | Hacker News Reader

Comment by lordCarbonFiber | Hacker News Reader

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lordCarbonFiber

While there's certainly some true to that statement, I think you're being overly cynical. People congregate in cities to be near _people_. For sure with a good internet connection I could do all my work from small town america living in a mcmansion at a quarter of my rent; instead I live in nyc. Access to artistic communities, robust public transit, diverse food and culture, and a fluid job market makes the value add for me a no brainer. Im sure for different people the economics don't work out so cleanly, but online I feel like discussions on rent and technology tend to gloss over the things you're actually paying for.

A successful startup isn't going to be in the cities you mentioned because you have to convince people that they find the non-work related amenities they've gone to SF, Seattle, NYC, etc to find. Or go full remote, which has its own set of challenges (though I'd posit a full remote company really isn't in any one city so it doesn't really matter where the founders live).

And that's just the employee point of view. Access to capital, to useful investors, to founder networks and to decision makers of your prospects are all important factors in where to set up shop.

We're located in Cebu, Philippines, the 2nd biggest city in the country, and our CEO spends a good deal of time in Manila, the capital, because decision makers want to meet someone. Starting there, would have been easier for many of the above mentioned aspects.

> Access to artistic communities, robust public transit, diverse food and culture, and a fluid job market makes the value add for me a no brainer.

Other than the public transit, all of the above are available in any number of towns and cities in the U.S.

A half a century ago maybe you had to go to NYC to hear great live music and eat Cambodian food, find specialty ingredients, or get access to off-beat books. But that's not the case any longer. I just googled and apparently there are Cambodian restaurants in Des Moines, Iowa. The internet can get you all the ingredients, music, and books you'll want.

Honestly, I think the coastal cities just have better marketing and more hipster appeal.

I've lived in NYC and Buffalo, a reasonably large city 8 hours north of NYC. The two experiences are not at all comparable, particularly with food and diversity in culture. Although a large Chinese population exists as international students in Buffalo, you can't get anywhere near the close-as-authentic-as-you-get-in-the-states Chinese food in Buffalo that is available in spades in NYC area(particularly Flushing,Queens). this applies equally to Indian, Ethiopian, etc. cuisine. Many particular specialties that I enjoy aren't available in Buffalo at all.

Fair enough. But I just ate arugula at a Panera. Fifty years ago Italian was considered "ethnic" food in the American Midwest. It's also worth pointing out that Flushing isn't just down the street for most new Yorkers. Commutes within NYC can be well over an hour and/or two expensive can rides away.

I'm just saying the "no culture in the flyover states" meme is long overdue for an update.

By some measures Queens is one of the most diverse places on Earth, so that's not really a fair comparison.

Not every Cambodian restaurant is the same. I promise you the best Cambodian restaurant in Des Moines is nowhere nearly as good as any half-decent Cambodian restaurant in New York. Same goes with Italian and Japanese and Spanish and Thai and Korean. Are you really equating the food scene in Des Moines with that of New York by the availability of cultural cuisines?

Not sure where to jump into this thread:

There are many good reasons the bay area is the hub of tech development. It all started with proximity to two very good computer science schools; Stanford and UC Berkeley. At this point, there are more tech-savvy investors here than anywhere else.

Ongoing development of technology is an iterative process and by necessity, must be a productive one to get to market more quickly. The VCs and the talent pool are here in the bay area. If a startup wants to get to market quickly, that startup will need money and talent, both of which are people issues.

Maybe it was related to the proximity to silicon valley which wasn't due to the computer science departments of Stanford and UC Berkeley, although Stanford did likely place a role.

I have to disagree strongly. I live in NYC for work. I actually hate living here and I don't like the people I'm around. I am desperately looking for a way out of this city but my family lives on Long Island, so it's hard to justify going to another city.

Why don't you move to Long Island and commute? If you don't like the city there are plenty of smaller towns nearby and it's cheaper too.

NYC doesn't have a monopoly on bad commutes, but isolating yourself even more with an even longer commute doesn't solve culture mismatch issues. Besides, it's not a great lifestyle anyway.

If I live near my family on Long Island it would be a 2.5 hour commute to my job each way. If I live halfway between them and my job then I'm neither close to them nor my job. So living near my job is the least bad option, and that seems to be the option most people take.

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