Ask HN: Where in Bay Area should a solo founder move to? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Where in Bay Area should a solo founder move to?

1 pointlispybanana10 comments

Suppose you’re a solo technical founder and work out of coffeeshops a lot. You want to move to the Bay Area to have chance encounters with other startup people. Where do you go?

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The bay is over. It’s a better place to have chance encounters with a thief than anything else.

Why choose the bay area? There are several other parts of the US where you'd have an equally good chance to run into founders. Seattle is an obvious one, but also Tampa, Miami, New York City, Austin, and others.

Appreciate the suggestions but looking for recommendations in BA.

Milpitas/Fremont, relatively cheap and safe

Respectfully, terrible places to meet ‘startup people’. Great place to meet H1Bs though. Valuable perspectives too.

‘Startup people’ tend to congregate in very dangerous, played out, empty neighborhoods like SoMa, FiDi, and lower Market. Great place to get jumped by the way. You’ll find software people all up and down the peninsula, sure, but those aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Those are comfortable salarymen. You want a ‘startup person’ - someone crazy enough to start a business in this market, and naive enough to be the obvious mark at Peet’s near the ferry building with his new MacBook falling out of his backpack.

Edit: punctuation

I don't know if these have the density and walkability I'm looking for. I am thinking more Palo Alto, Berkeley, perhaps parts of SF.

About 20 years ago would be a good location in the bay area.

My guess is people said much the same in 2003!

Right after the dotcom crash? Probably not.

Sure was safer back then, though. Don't come crying to us when you get robbed.

Yes, I understand that theft and property crime is an issue. I appreciate the heads-up. I will keep it in mind.

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