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Comment by kevstev | Hacker News Reader

I mostly agree, though the whole Cambridge bit was a bit overdone IMHO. NYC seems to be slowly changing though, finance and money seem to be losing prestige a bit in favor of tech. Ten years ago there was "a" NY Tech Meetup. Now there are many dozens if not hundreds, it certainly feels you could attend one every day. I feel I walk around and see a lot more people these days whom I say to myself "they are definitely in tech" whereas 10 years ago or so that would rarely happen.

I started spending some time in Chicago, and I guess I am still trying to figure out what its trying to say- so far all I have is "a less intense NYC."

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NYC always had a strong tech environment.

> finance and money seem to be losing prestige a bit in favor of tech.

Money will never lose its prestige in NYC. Tech is now where the money is going so I guess the prestige will naturally increase.

> I feel I walk around and see a lot more people these days whom I say to myself "they are definitely in tech" whereas 10 years ago or so that would rarely happen.

What? I worked all throughout the 2000s in tech in NYC. We've always been here.

The second largest tech industry in the world is in NYC after silicon valley. And it's been that way for a long time.

Did you work in tech, or at a bank, or some other firm where tech was subservient to the business? I am not saying tech was never there- I worked in the 2000s in NYC as well- but now go around the flatiron area, you see all these people in jeans and a digital ocean (or whatever) t-shirt and glasses, and they just scream "I just left my startup's office." It was harder to pick them out when they were forced to wear a button down tucked into slacks.

It was definitely more prestigious to say you worked at GS vs Google 10 years ago, I am not so sure that's the case anymore. Everyone's experience is different I guess.

I think you have a point here with Chicago. It may because no single industry dominates the economy like in Silicon Valley (tech), NYC (finance), LA (entertainment) or Cambridge (education). To me, the caricatures described in the post are largely extensions of these industries and those who are drawn to them.

As a 16 year New Yorker, I'm sitting in the Fulton Market right now, considering a move to Chicago and wondering exactly this.

Is "a less intense NYC" a bad thing?

Oh no I didn't mean to imply that in a negative way at all. Its like NY, but way cheaper. My friend bought a nice 2BR condo in a building with a doorman and a pool and balcony on the 30th something floor for 300k. A different friend of mine is spending every other week there for work (we both moved to the same company HQ'ed there), considered buying a crashpad 800 sqft 1BR in "the loop" aka right downtown for a bit over 200k. These are prime locations where you can walk or bike to work. A few stops out on the red line to the north and you can get a lakefront (with a view) 1000sq ft 1BR for <200k as per my trulia search a moment ago.

Salaries are lower than NYC, but not that much. A dev on hacker news should be able to comfortably afford not only to live on his own but to own a place on a single income.

It still has good parks, museums and restaurants, but they are in my experience far less pretentious, and with a few exceptions (ahem Alinea), much easier to get into. There are clubs, there is art, but its all just a bit more muted.

A lot of people love NY for the extremes and the "OMG only in NYC" stuff but I find Chicago to be a cleaner toned down version that doesn't take itself too seriously like NYC often does.

Lol. “Omg only in NYC” is the trap that has kept me there this long.

I suppose my network is pretty strong at this point, so finding work as a freelance dev has been quite nice as a result. Though my network led me to Chicago, so i shouldn’t think my ability to find work isn’t constrained to nyc only.

Yep, Chicago’s discount over cities of similar stature is pretty staggering. And if you want to live the same frugal lifestyle you would in SF (roommates + hour commute on public transit) you could spend $600 on housing and potentially burn less than $15k/year. That would be some incredible progress towards savings goals or financial independence at a Chicago tech worker’s salary.

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