If you work in tech, but live in NYC instead of SF Why? SF has: - highest density/caliber of devs/founders/optimism of any city - bigger apartments - beautiful and abundant nature - beautiful architecture - consistent weather
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This is a genuine question I’ve travelled and lived in 7 different major cities this past year I like SF the best, despite how much ppl talk about its flaws online
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@KotlinChad There are many beautiful people in SF and if you don’t know how to talk to them then it’s a skill issue
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@zack_overflow Better nightlife, far more walkable, and no tech monoculture. That monoculture is really hurting some founders in SF atm imo, especially in consumer. There’s like 10 ideas repeated a thousand times there right now because the information exchange is too tight and they don’t get
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@the_carlosdp Agree that probably monoculture hurts consumer startups But for everything else it's a strength
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@zack_overflow I've lived in both. The nightlife is vastly better in NYC. If you want to be a code gnome then sure, SF is the place. If you want to actually live, NY is unbeatable. I will say if you have the option to be bi-coastal, so you can have NY food and nightlife and also have access
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@ikristoph I wouldn't consider optimizing for nightlife as "living". That sounds more like escapism from an unfulfilling life
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@zack_overflow I feel at home here in a way I never did in SF. A lot of that is about family and friends. I also found my SF experience to be too much of a monoculture. In NY most of my friends don't work in tech and the city/culture isn't dominated by it, and I really prefer that.
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@zack_overflow in NYC you don’t see nearly as many corpses on the sidewalk if you want to see some, wait until 10pm, walk out of your office, turn left and walk to Mission, turn right, and keep walking until you hit 6th St
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@zack_overflow NYC wins IMO because 1. No tech monoculture 2. Closer to Europe for vacations 3. Nightlife 4. Public transit 5. You can walk around at night and not be scared 6. Coffee and restaurants 7. Vibes But TBH living in upstate NYC or in Sonoma is the real win
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@zack_overflow - no need for cars - good public transportation - diverse population - interesting non tech focused communities full of non tech people - downtown doesn’t look like a ghost town that may or may not kill you - less crime
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@zack_overflow Why live in NYC vs SF if you're in tech? - energy here is unique and insane - way safer - culture is rich and diverse - lots of nature (beautiful parks, ~hour on train to upstate) - last 3 months: sunny and 75 - @fractaltechnyc is closing the gap on talent and network density
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@zack_overflow @evanjconrad nyc has ambitious people across all industries, not just tech. it’s bigger, has more museums, a legit arts scene, a stronger sense of community and you’ll meet far more interesting people here stop optimizing for comfort, you’ll get bored there’s more to life than just “tech”
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@zack_overflow sf has the highest density and caliber of tech talent in the world but every time I consider moving back the cost/benefit I'm doing is "is that one factor enough to force me to suffer that on literally every single other metric it's vastly inferior to any other city I'd live in"
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@zack_overflow I lived in both. SF is beautiful during the day but dead at night. NY is a magical creature at night.
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@zack_overflow When I lived in NYC: - Unmatched cultural scene, for dating, eating, socializing, partying, enriching yourself with arts, and the place never stops, amazing single life for me - better international flight options, 3 intl. airports - time zone convenience w/fam in latam and
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@zack_overflow Because New York is a better city if you have interests and friends outside of tech.
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@zack_overflow nyc has a bunch of different types of people and lot of family and friends nearby. the real reason tbh is the abundance of this type of girl
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@zack_overflow NYC is the place for web3, consumer AI, creativity and arts, finance, you can have conversation about anything.. bonus if your car breaks in SF people will stop and say "oh I'm so sorry, and drive away" in NY they will stop to insult you and then help you.
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@zack_overflow I wouldn’t choose either but would choose SF last because it’s in California. Give me a nice suburb in the Midwest any day over a big city
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@zack_overflow - closer to my friends and family - better energy, I feel less constrained here - cheaper in many ways, especially food - I like feeling like an oddball, so SF felt smothering since everyone was weird in the same way as me
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@zack_overflow Density, Jewish community, culture, walkability, seasons, diversity, public transit, bigger social scene
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@zack_overflow SF will be a great city when some general competency comes back to the gov. steps were taken toward that in the local elections last week. risky to live there now but potentially a good place to buy property.
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@zack_overflow people move to nyc because living in the city is their dream people move to sf because their work mandates them very different cultures as a result imo
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@zack_overflow Big agree - just most ppl don't optimize for the points. if you're optimizing for 'lifestyle' which includes vibrant social life (outside of just techies) NYC becomes the clear winner (btw i love sf and would personally hate living in nyc)
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