
Ask HN: Got laid off. Stay in NYC or move to SF? - somona
Got laid off yesterday and I have been given 2 months of time to get a new gig. If I don&#x27;t, then I have to get back to my home country.<p>I have 3 years of professional Java&#x2F;J2EE experience. I want to move into web development. I build all my side projects in PHP&#x2F;RoR&#x2F;JavaScript. But I am not a pro in web development.<p>I am a bit rusty with my DS and Algos. Need at-least 2 weeks to feel confident.<p>I always wanted to move to the Bay Area and work as a web developer there. Given the short time frame.  Is it a good idea to pack my bags and move there or is it better to stay in NYC and try to find a gig here and later on relocate to SF?
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lingua_franca
move 2 SF if u r a hardcore dev. NYC is for lawyers and finance guys...

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MichaelCrawford
You must not know much about NYC.

There are lots of hardcore dev jobs in New York. That's because all the
finance guys use Sun Workstations. Someone has to write that code.

I have first-hand knowledge that the very highest-paid software development
work to be found is writing quantitative investment code in C++ for Manhattan
investment banks. I used to do that - but for a hedge fund in the Bahamas. As
a result, Bloomberg, Solomon-Page and the like are all over me like a cheap
suit.

I don't do that kind of work anymore as I came to regard it as unethical. If I
do a good job, then my clients are taking money out of your retirement fund.

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lingua_franca
lol am writing C++ for trading in a big investment bank in Manhattan everyday.
many of my colleagues are not hardcore dev at all, neither can they make
similar amount of money as counterparts in CA.

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MichaelCrawford
Some guy was earning more than a million dollars per year working as a finance
programmer in Manhattan. Unfortunately when he left the firm, he was caught
making off with its source code.

I am dead certain that I am just as good a coder as he was.

I speculate - SPECULATE mind you - that I have a novel way to time the market.
Quite likely there are others who know what I do, but I've never heard anyone
mention it in any public way.

But before I invest any actual money, first I'll trade on historical data -
that is, I will develop a fixed formula for determining whether to trade, what
equity to trade as well as how much - then run my formula through historical
data, to determine whether it beats any of the existing funds.

If that turns out to work, I'll use "funny money" to try trading on the
current market.

If that turns out to work OK, I'll use real money to buy and sell real
equities.

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MichaelCrawford
You can start applying in SF right now, while still in New York.

I have a few San Francisco companies that I will be listing at
[http://www.warplife.com/jobs/computer/united-
states/californ...](http://www.warplife.com/jobs/computer/united-
states/california/san-francisco/san-francisco/)

(I haven't posted any online yet, but I have them in an OOo spreadsheet. I'll
post them today, I promise.)

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somona
thanks! will be counting on it.

>> _You can start applying in SF right now, while still in New York._

Won't they prefer local candidates?

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MichaelCrawford
Make it clear you intend to move there.

You can certainly get a local - area code 415 - phone number. If you want to
keep your current NYC number, you could get a second phone, or alternatively
use something like Google Voice for a 415 number.

Do you know anyone in San Francisco? Perhaps they would be willing to receive
mail for you. Alternatively you could get a post office box. After getting the
box, immediately file a USPS change of address form. It's good for I think 90
days.

However if someone wants you to interview without much advance notice, you'll
have to cop to the fact that you're in New York.

There are some companies that are willing to pay relocation. Careers 2.0 at
[http://careers.stackoverflow.com/](http://careers.stackoverflow.com/)
indicates that.

The job market in SF is very hot right now, so I expect lots of employers,
even if they cannot pay relocation, would be happy with non-local candidates.

