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Comment by codingdave | Hacker News Reader

I've lived in numerous locations outside SV. They all have talent, they all have recruiters bombarding you, and when you take a new job, is would be still wherever you live. I'm not denying that SV has a strong presence in this industry -- to do so would be silly. But denying that other places also have talent and jobs is equally silly.

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I have lived in LA, New York, and Tokyo. They all have talents. However, it isn't created equal. The companies outside silicon valley aren't using the best technologies, don't have the best processes, don't use the best softwares, which in turn affects the talents. The talents aren't attending the latest tech meetups in SV, aren't using the best tools, aren't doing the best coding practices, using the best frameworks, etc.

IMO, there's a 10X difference currently between tech startups in SF and tech startups in LA or New York; I've worked with teams inside and outside silicon valley. The calibur of talent/progress difference is just insane.

And Google uses Java and Facebook uses PHP. The idea that SF startups are so much more advanced from a tech standpoint than other cities is just ridiculous

It's not ridiculous at all. I've worked outside the Bay Area and in it the last several years. There is a huge difference in culture and approach to solving problems. Lots of startups are boring CRUD trying to look more advanced, but plenty are actually trying new things and exploring tech in ways that most other places just can't or won't support.

There is a difference between trying to do new things and needing to use the latest and hottest webscale technology to try said new things...

Most likely some bias on both ends here

I've worked outside the valley more than I have in it.

I think you would find the way they use both to be orders of magnitude more interesting than how they are normally used.

Facebook isnt a user facing CRUD app with business analytics for advertisers?

In the same way that your browser and "hello, world!" are both just some compiled code.

And yet, at the end of the day, it's not just the technical principle but how the business models work are the same.

Given what comes out of the majority of those startups, SV ones included, it's not a very compelling argument that the people that brought us such glorious advanced technologies as Theranos, Juicero, or MongoDB are somehow better at technology than people who get stuff done somewhere in the middle of the Corn Belt.

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