Ask HN: How to take advantage of living in the Bay? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to take advantage of living in the Bay?

19 pointsnewtothebay11 comments

Before moving to the Bay, I had hoped that the Bay to America would be like America to the rest of the world.

I grew up in a developing country with an authoritarian government. Moving from there to an American liberal arts college, I learned a lot more about how the world works: politics, economy, technology, history, arts--the whole gamut. But a lot of that learning didn't happen just because I was in America. It happened also because I reached out the right people and was open the right opportunities.

Now I'm in the Bay area working in data science for one of FAANG. My daily life so far has been 9-5 at the company, 3 meals at the company, conversions with people at the company. The work is interesting, but certainly not mind-blowing (given that I'm quite similar to my teammates--we're all hired by the same standards after all.)

How to take advantage of being in the Bay to grow intellectually? Like when I moved to the States, I want to make a conscious effort to grow. Should I reach out more to people doing great work at my big corp? Do I need to go out (then where?) Where are the ideas that challenge my beliefs and work that forces me to learn?

You should keep an eye on the events calendars - and not just tech meetups. Get outside of the tech bubble.

Here are some things I've enjoyed:

Live Jazz at Club Deluxe, Madrone Art Bar, Revolution Cafe, Amnesia, Mr. Tipples, SFJAZZ

First Fridays in Oakland - check out some local art

Get a museum membership and visit all of the museums, attend events, or check out some street art.

Extension courses at Berkeley Extension or City College of San Francisco, GIS Education Center, etc. Take something random like a foreign language or art class.

Free city walking tours to learn about the history of different SF neighborhoods:

http://www.sfcityguides.org/current_schedule.html

Wander around to different views of the city like Corona Heights, Tank Hill, Buena Vista Park, tiled steps, etc. There are some meetups that do this kinda stuff together also.

Rent a bike and ride through Golden Gate Park to Cliff House.

Return of the Cypher live freestyles and often breakdancing at the Boom Boom Room.

Volunteer your time and skill for educational orgs like ScriptEd or TEALS or social/political purposes like GeoCorps SkillShare or Code For America.

Eat at places besides your company. The Bay Area has so many different cuisines from around the world.

Go to one of the Nerd Nite / science events at a place like Rickshaw Stop or meet some other types of people at bar trivia.

Join an intramural league or go to a board game night.

This is a great list. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you! This is fantastic.

If you want to get away from the computer and do something with your hands I'd thoroughly recommend The Crucible [https://thecrucible.org/].

They offer lessons in all kinds of crafts including blacksmithing and glass working and there are loads of interesting artists with studios in the building.

What andypea said ^^^ Crucible is awesome. How could you not want a chance to work with molten metal? And the wide range of people == wide range of perspectives. Lots of kind, creative, and smart people

Don’t forget to enjoy some of the best hiking in the world. Go to mt tam and Muir beach. Enjoy the redwoods.

You can grow intellectually in only one single domain in the Bay Area, which is Tech. That's what it's known for, that's also why high figures like Thiel, Ferriss, etc. left the Bay. It is good for a short period of time, but if you're above average in terms of curiosity as a whole, you need to move out to grow intellectually. You'll get stuck in the Bay otherwise.

You can grow intellectually anywhere.

You’d 10x your intellectual growth in a diverse environment.

Why does this have to be with the available info and communication possibilities of the internet? Mixed with a bit of travel for events/conferences?

This is a very simple version of learning you’re discribing :) the Internet and conferences... the world outside of the Valley doesn't work this way.

Here are some answers from a broad perspective, couldn't find the Elon Musk answer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_NhYV63K5E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkawh2kiAYQ

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