From: "pauldacus@..." <pauldacus@...>
Date: 2005-09-23T22:41:40+09:00
Subject: Re: Places for a programmer to live?


Devin Mullins wrote:
> While we seem to be rife with OT threads, I thought I'd throw in an OT
> question that's been percolating in my mind for quite a while.
>
> Where do you recommend to live? Feel free to provide just a city name,
> or to go into detail. When I say "for a programmer," I'm mainly
> referring to the existence of programming jobs, but other aspects, such
> as the existence of ?UGs, proximity to nerdy attractions, etc. could
> play a part. Also feel free to just tell me some places to look for
> ideas, and then tell me to Get to Googlin'. :)
>
> Obviously, the usual places show up: Silicon Valley, Wash DC (where I am
> now), *insert big city here* -- any info you have about why you would or
> wouldn't recommend one of these would be appreciated. I'm also looking
> for places that are off-the-beaten path (but still accessible, so
> Fraser, B.C. is out of the question, sorry) -- Portland, OR and even
> Bend, OR seem to be attracting techies, for example. Why? Should I be
> interested, too? Why or why not? I have preference towards places in the
> US, but if you have hometown pride, you are of course welcome to give it
> shoutout. :)
>
> For the short term, I'm stuck here earning a living, and for the medium
> term, I'm probably going to go where my long-time friends are, in Calif.
> (SF? SB? LA? SD? not sure), but I'm trying to plan ahead a little more
> than I have in the past, so am hoping to build an arsenal of info. You
> guys are the best group I could think to ask.
>
> I'll provide a little about DC, in fairness to y'all, and maybe as a
> template.
> 1. The housing market here is ridiculously expensive. I think it might
> be going down a *little* soon, but yikes, it's high.
> 2. It's probably because high tech jobs are in high supply here. Gov't
> contracting is the name of the game, and while you probably won't be
> using Agile methodologies to build the Next Big Thing, you'll at least
> have a fairly well-paying and steady job.
> 3. Weather's not fantastic. Temperate climates. Warm for its latitude
> because of some sort of wind thing. Generally pretty cloudy during the
> Spring/Fall, though, due to its proximity to the water.
> 4. Traffic sucks. Combine that with the fact that you can only afford to
> live in the boonies and you've got a recipe for un-fun.
> 5. Entertainment is pretty decent, if you don't mind the traffic it
> takes to get there. We've got the Kennedy Center in DC, Nissan Pavillion
> out west in Warrenton, VA, all sorts of jazz, bars, etc. and DC is
> obviously a pretty popular place for artists to include as part of a
> national/regional tour. We've got fantastic museums and art galleries,
> many of which are free.
> 6. There's a very good variety of decent restaurants, and some very good
> ones. Of course, for any genre X of food, there's apparently some city Y
> that produces better X. Oh well. :)
> 7. It's a big, suburban region. You're not going to see any "sense of
> belonging" to the DC area, in people. You're not going to find that
> 'cept for probably way in the city (where it's urban), or way out (where
> it's rural, in which case you'll find the annual Nokesville festival, or
> whatever).
> 8. I may be full of it.
> 
> I shut up now.
> 
> Thanks,
> Devin