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Out of all the companies that I've worked in the midwest, I've ever had a co-worker that was a black software engineer.

The only black software engineer I’ve worked with (as in, on my team and writes code) since moving was the guy I hired. And I live in Seattle and I’ve worked at Microsoft. It’s a big shock moving from Indiana, where I’d had several black coworkers over the years. So I’ll see your Midwestern Rednecks anecdote, and raise you a Coastal Snobs Shocked That Midwest Has Internet.

i've had more arguments in the midwest with people that think tesla is a POS company for not following the rules.

Buncha rubes, not going gaga over an unprofitable company getting Federal subsidies so that rich people can buy new toys. So you’re saying you absolutley lack the ability to fathom why someone might not share your enthusiasm?

Why'd you move out of Indiana my friend?

|So you’re saying you absolutley lack the ability to fathom why someone might not share your enthusiasm?

Also I can empathize why people are against Tesla, it's just the general mindset in the midwest when it comes to new technologies. There's no wrong or right it's just the way life is out there.

One -27F January day, I looked at my wife and said, “this is America, and we don’t have to live like this.” So we moved to North Carolina, then eventually got a gig with Microsoft. Haven’t worked at Microsoft in twelve years, but Seattle area suits us so we never left.

Also I can empathize why people are against Tesla, it's just the general mindset in the midwest when it comes to new technologies.

More than just the politics are conservative. :-)

They also tend to ignore that Tesla payed back their subsidies with interest.

Not the $7500/car tax credit, they didn't.

Chicago politics are not conservative; it is one of the country's most stalwart Democratic bastions. (Politics here are problematic for other reasons).

Chicago politics are dominated by Democrats, but it's far more conservative than some of the crazy granola stuff on the West Coast. Rahm Emanuel would be considered a right wing demagogue in San Francisco.

Rahm Emanuel is considered a right wing demagogue by a pretty sizable chunk of Chicagoans.

When it is -27F outside, what do you do? Do you go to work? Do you crank up the furnace and huddle under an electric blanket and wait for it to get above 0F again?

You do the midwest thing: just go about your business and pretend everything is fine.

You warm up your car 20 minutes before leaving. You throw on your layers that are reserved for the negative double digits (flannel jeans, extra thick wool socks, fur hats, massive scarf, thick mittens), check that the emergency kit and blankets are still in the back seat, and head out into the world and go about your day. In the city it isn't all that big of a deal, but it could mean danger if you get stranded in the countryside.

One of my favorite things about the super cold is how warm the house parties and social gatherings can get. It's so cold that you can't be outside for more than a few minutes at a time, so it really feels like an accomplishment when you make it to a friends house or a blizzard happy hour (that is, if it isnt too cold for snow).

Also the blue skies are amazing. The sundogs can be downright surreal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog

At the time I got on the internet and gave this new website called monster.com (stupid name for a job board, it’ll never last) a shot, narrowing my search parameters to “charlotte, nc”. True story.

But seriously, you stay inside if at all possible. Cars often don’t start, and as a consequence businesses don’t open. If you must go somewhere in the car, dress like you’ll be walking. If you don’t, and your breaks, you can die. OTOH, that’s Indiana. Whitehorse, Yukon, they probably shrug their shoulders with a “feels like it might be warming up, eh?” And sub-zero F temps didn’t stop from playing outside as kids. We just didn’t stay out long. Cover every exposed body part, layer on the insulation, won’t kill you right away. Hell, I’ve gone on a nice, brisk training run when it’s -10F. Again, don’t skimp on the clothing, file a flight plan with the spouse/SO/roommate (these days I just carry a phone), tell your friends later about your epic run this morning.

Though extreme cold can probably kill you faster than extreme heat, like anything else if you just use some sense and respect the fact that you can die in such conditions, you’ll be fine.

> That Midwest Has Internet.

I'm pretty sure Hacker News has a rule about lying.

> i've had more arguments in the midwest with people that think tesla is a POS company for not following the rules. there's a lot of people averse to change.

That is, in contrast, what I love about the Midwest. The other day, I was snaking around the line barriers at the airport security, even though it was empty. At the end, there was a man and his young son waiting for me. He explained somewhat embarrassed that his son had wanted to walk under the guide ropes, which they did, but then they waited because he didn’t want to cut me in line. Being from DC, where people treat trying to merge as a personal insult, that made my day.

>There's a reason why Chicago was the only major city to drop in population the last couple of years. There aren't that many interesting projects happening, it's not conducive to start-ups

I would say it has more to do with the Illinois rather than the city itself. People are leaving Illinois, not just Chicago. Also, the startup culture is different in Chicago but to say there there aren't that many interesting projects happening is entirely subjective. Also, startups aren't the only companies doing interesting work as well. There is a ton of interesting work in the finance sector. There are also a bunch of very interesting startups such as Uptake and Tempus.

>Pay is crap.. people have been clamoring that the midwest is going to be the next silicon alley.

Cost of living is also significantly lower as well.

> Cost of living is also significantly lower as well.

Especially outside of Chicago. Literally any midwest 'burb. Most of us have no problem driving 30 minutes to work. That vastly opens up the options, even working in a city.

|There is a ton of interesting work in the finance sector.

I agree.. and I'd probably recommend any friends who were planning on moving to Chicago to focus on that area as there are a ton of really good financial companies.

"i've had more arguments in the midwest with people that think tesla is a POS company for not following the rules. there's a lot of people averse to change."

People are averse to change that might negatively their impact livelihood, such as taxi drivers not being great Uber fans. Since most of the innovations in recent years have meant less jobs and worse condition for the area, it is understandable they might have such a position.

>I'll just say this, being a minority, I was shocked at how much contempt people had towards middle-easterners and black people. On numerous occasions people have said they've been "dirtying up the neighborhoods which is why they moved to another burb... they need to take better care of their lawns, etc". Out of all the companies that I've worked in the midwest, I've ever had a co-worker that was a black software engineer. People are put down in unfortunate ways. it's really fucking hard to climb up the corporate ladder than either coasts

Welcome to any "nice" suburb on the east coast for that matter.

Also it sounds like you moved to the Chicago area. Large metropolitan areas are generally their own culture bubbles (and resented by the rest of the state/region but that's a different discussion).

> Out of all the companies that I've worked in the midwest, I've ever had a co-worker that was a black software engineer.

I'm really sorry you had such a polarizing experience.

But just to give an anecdote of my own, in a much smaller midwest hub, over five years and two jobs I've worked with:

- A young woman from Russia

- An African American (29% of the population, a hair under Chicago's)

- An Indian (this isn't extremely uncommon, though)

- A Malaysian

- Multiple women over 50

All these people were/are great developers. Most of them worked above me.

Your experience was completely unlike my own. I'd hate for it to be so hastily packaged together as one.

I've worked in the Chicago area most of my career. I've had multiple Indian, Asian, Black, and Women developers on my teams. My current team has two Indian people, one woman, and one Asian guy, and we only have 7 people on our team right now.

I agree that the pay and number of opportunities aren't that amazing here, though. I've been fighting that for a long time.

> There's a reason why Chicago was the only major city to drop in population the last couple of years.

It's because it's a shithole. Expensive, but salaries are midwest-grade; weather sucks almost year-round; the government is as corrupt as a two headed snake; one of the most segregated cities in the world; and has a huge violent crime problem.

It's "expensive" relative to the rest of the midwest, but far less expensive than SFBA or NYC. It's a huge city with all of the features of a huge city where you can get a nice apartment in a trendy neighborhood for $1500.

It's not a place to live if you want SFBA weather patterns, that's true.

>and has a huge violent crime problem

I hope you're not comparing it to San Francisco where I'm 1.2x as likely to be jumped with a deadly weapon, 1.3x as likely to have my house broken into, 2.3x as likely to have my phone stolen and 2.2x as likely to have my car stolen.

And the best part is the worst neighborhoods in SFBA aren't even in San Francisco, and it's still scary as shit.

Let me know when they finish cleaning all the human shit out of the escalators on the train.

I watched with amusement at my own midwestern family who thought moving south was the same as practicing racism and then later became quite racist as their own neighborhoods became more diverse.

I watches with less amusement as the evangelical right wing stuff eventually made its way into their thinking and churches as well.

I thought Homegrown Democrat by Garrison Keillor was a nice exploration of the demise of the midwest "culture".