To be more precise:
1. Something feels off if you contact the local startups
I approached a few to see if they needed help. I do full stack, I love learning new technologies, and I love challenges. From R to networking, there are not many things I haven't played with. I know a few different ways to get things done, each with they pros and cons.
Because interviews go both ways, I tried to discuss with them the problem they are facing and their choice of technology, mostly to see what I might be getting in. I noticed a lot of cargo-cult and a lack of deep understanding. It is hard to explain briefly. My spider sense just told me something was off.
Also, my lack of diploma was apparently a black mark - even if I have tens of years of experience. Maybe it is elitism? I don't know. It feels weird.
And god forbid you say something that they later realize was right. They seem to really resent that. A month ago, when quizzed on the crypto market, I explained that person I was seriously bullish on Dogecoin for technical reasons, because I just had had the same discussion on HN. It was not a heated conversion - just a regular technical arguments. Since then, DOGE doubled. We were supposed to grab a coffee this week. I haven't heard from them. I suppose I won't. That feels even weirder.
2. When you try to deliver services, you notice the local ecosystem is too grounded
Most startups there seem to have little ambition, and are not willing to move fast or break things - or to even take that risk. Instead, they take the buzzword technology of the day, apply it to a simple problem, see if that can somehow be profitable.
I run my own consulting business. I have delivered crazy things to my clients crazy requests- and to their satisfaction. In NYC, I see huge opportunities to do things differently. I would even be willing to take the fully risk, and to be paid on the percentage of improvement - or zero if I can't improve things. But they always seem to err on the ultra safe side, and they seem to be very stuck in their ways.
3. Because I know consider NYC mostly as a base to offshore my services
Maybe the NYC ecosystem will get its act together at some point in the future. Maybe I will find some company that values getting things done?
I have clients in Europe and the East coast. NYC is perfectly as a home: there are many good restaurants, EWR has good direct flights to many places, and the subway system mostly does it job.
Maybe I am bad cultural fit for the North East? But I'm no longer bullish on the NYC scene.