Frankly I kind of bought it. I'm going to visit this summer.
The advantage partially comes from the fact that developers are paid significantly above average wages, i.e. the average salary for most people is low (like 400 to 600 euros a month pre tax) yet developers take home 1,500 / 2,000 / 4,000 euros per month.
Cost of living + taxes are low as well.
Go visit it anyway, that's, of course, just my impression, but even living in Stockholm (a place I consider a bit boring for my standards of big city life) I found Tallinn very very dull.
Having lived several years in London, and experienced plenty more cities including NYC and San Francisco I’m more than ready for boring. Indeed, this is why my current home town is Stockholm because I kind of agree with you – it’s a little bit boring and very safe, and I love it!
- don't know about schools, but kindergardens are a privilege you'll be fighting for
- it's fairly safe, obviously exercise common sense
- the metro is great, but it only covers part of the city, the rest of public transit ranges from ok to abysmal, but if you pay for a year, it's cheap as hell too. But I've certainly had no need for a car, so it's doable if inconvenient at times.
- cycling infrastructure is horrible, and there isn't enough of it, but it's there at least and I don't think it's stopped anyone who wants to cycle
- Parks are fine, plus there's a mountain here, so if you need green, you got it.
Other factors you might want to consider:
- air quality and traffic are horrible, especially in winter
- night life is fine
- you can find good food, and you can find cheap food, and if you look, you can find good cheap food.
- gov healthcare is bad, but if you're in tech, your employer might give you additional private insurance, so it's not something I've had to worry about.
- taxes are low
- alcohol is cheap and there are no ridiculous "no sale of alcohol on Sundays or after 10pm" rules some western countries seem to like :).
- tech scene is active so if you want to hang around with techies, you won't be bored
- cheap marginal space is very much available if you don't want/need a glossy hip office in a nice location.
Personally I love it and it's main advantage is that although it's much more expensive than the rest of the country, it's still cheap as hell. I don't make much but I save a lot, I could probably afford to work only every other year if I was frugal enough. I did consider moving for the north-west a while ago, but I did the math and...yeah, the up in purchasing power would be there, but not enough to justify leaving. I still might do it just for the novelty and experience at some point.
My point was however more targeted on the "go back home" guys. I (German) know several guys from Romania, Spain .. who don't plan to stay in Germany forever and just want to work here for a few years, earn good money (well compared to their country) and then return home.
This is however not possible if your home country has a higher cost of living.
You have better schools in the US if you live in the right neighborhood. Also, getting called "pig eater" is likely not tolerated in the US.
"safer cities" Europe is trying hard to catch up.
"better public transport" The only good thing. Yet, nothing beats public transport in NYC.
"more and better maintained parks" Not sure about this.
"better local produce" If you can afford to buy at Whole Paycheck, you get everything.
"There are a lot of potential reasons for a decision like that." The bottom line is: if you have money, life is better in the states. If you are poor, go to Germany.
I hope that whatever emerges in Europe is nothing but unattractive to Americans. The idea of Americans, particularly Bay Area techies who've already ruined a number of cities in that area, up and moving to Europe is utterly horrendous, as a European.
Doubt that any East European city will be close to a "European Silicon Valley" because of many reasons. Language. Xenophobia. Capital. Location. Culture.
Bucharest comes to mind but because of other reasons. Quite big and Romania has a higher GDP growth than China. But still. no.
Lisbon is a great place. I speak the language. Real Estate is already expensive as f.. if you want something decent. Great place to live or retire. But a new Silicon Valley? No.
People in Romania seem to be very friendly. GDP growth higher than China but not sure I see a basis for a silicon valley there. I don't know Bulgaria.
The condescending tone is uncalled for. As for the advice, I don't really need to travel as I've lived in Poland for my whole life (minus a few years spent abroad / in the UK). I've also been to several countries in the region, and yes I have indeed brought quite a few "foreign looking" friends with me, including an Italian girlfriend.
I'm sorry if something unpleasant happened to you on such a trip - assuming you're speaking from first-hand experience, rather than just propagating negative stereotypes - but it still wouldn't entitle such sweeping generalizations.
Try to bring an Indian one. Or Chinese.
"I'm sorry if something unpleasant happened to you"
It is less about me. I have been there three times and I can take a lot. On my last trip, I spare you my experiences, I stayed one day in the hotel to work on my computer and my GF came back crying and told me she wants to leave and never come back. On the Train to Budapest I met an American Lady. She said, she would not come back to Prague, people are "harsh".
"but it still wouldn't entitle such sweeping generalizations."
I saw once a statistic about foreigners (can't find it anymore). They were hated the most in the Czech republic, the most welcoming country was Uganda. BTW, I have lined up a trip to Uganda, there is a great music festival every summer.
Make you own experiences. It is not a terrible place, but why go to Prague if you can go to Budapest? Total different bunch already.
You should have said that from the start. This definitely rules out Prague as the next Silicon Valley.
They got ripped off after the cold war/ the wall fell - most of the countrys assets (land/buildings) beeing sold of to western investors for cheap.
Ironically that is what makes them so good at tech now- if all you got is your head and your skils and no investments to sit on, that blad will be sharp.
Having said that, there is reason to think that the region in question will become Europe's most dynamic and technologically powerful, in particular Poland, because of a number of coinciding factors, such as entrepreneurial spirit lacking in Germany and west of it, geopolitical necessity and historical precedent.
The geopolitical angle is quite interesting. Poland and the other countries sandwiched between Germany and Russia are situated on a geopolitical fault line that demands that these countries cooperate out of mutual interest. Economic strength becomes one pillar in maintaining not just a materially comfortable existence but a matter of existential importance and of independence. That's a pretty strong motivator given the history of the region. On top of that, the United States has a geopolitical interest in the region's strength. We know from analogous cases that American interest of this kind has usually contributed positively to regional and thus economic strength. And from recent developments vis-a-vis the Three Seas Initiative, we are witnessing a formal recognition of the necessity of regional strength by the countries in that region. In fact, the recent brouhaha in the European Commission over Poland is, when interpreted synoptically, a telltale sign of the country's rising importance.