
Tim Ferriss found Silicon Valley was too 'closed-minded' and moved to Austin - rmason
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-tim-ferriss-left-silicon-valley-for-austin-texas-2017-12
======
Cookingboy
I moved _from_ Austin to SV, tried to do a start up there and all.

In my experience the average startup scene (angels, VCs, tech talents, etc)
are pretty much all bush league when compared to Silicon Valley, despite some
of the glaring flaws of SV startup scene. There are exceptions to the rules,
but I was mostly unimpressed during my time there.

Austin Ventures was the biggest VC in town back then (probably still is), and
I've heard that the unwritten rule for the firm is that they do not invest in
first time founders.

That tells you how risk-averse and "open minded" Austin tech scene is.

But with Tim Ferriss's reputation and background, Austin is a great place to
be because he gets to be the big fish in the small, growing pond. I'm sure
he's doing very well at the local speaker scene.

~~~
wyclif
_But with Tim Ferriss 's reputation and background_

You mean his reputation as a bullshit artist?
[http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/01/08/5-time-
management-t...](http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/01/08/5-time-management-
tricks-i-learned-from-years-of-hating-tim-ferriss/)

~~~
3131s
Seriously, who cares where he lives? I rarely flag stories but will make an
exception for promotional "guru" types like Tim Ferris.

~~~
birken
Agreed. I'll also point out in his supposed wise and truth-telling reddit post
he also includes this point:

> 6) Golden Gate and tech are terrorist targets, and I don't like being close
> to the bullseye. This is based on good information from friends who work
> full-time in threat assessment.

Real lessons in courage.

------
jamestimmins
This debate always reminds me of the quote by John Stuart Mill in On Liberty.

"Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough;
there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and
feeling; against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil
penalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who
dissent from them; to fetter the development, and, if possible, prevent the
formation, of any individuality not in harmony with its ways, and compel all
characters to fashion themselves upon the model of its own."

~~~
asabjorn
This quote seem to talk about a group controlling the judicial process, which
is unlike the situation Tim Ferris describe where people are punished in an
extrajudicial manner without due process.

~~~
jamestimmins
Interesting take. I interpret "against the tendency of society to impose, by
other means than civil penalties" as saying that the penalties are explicitly
extrajudicial (exile or censure of some kind, presumably). I'm totally open to
the possibility that I'm wrong though!

~~~
asabjorn
I think it’s quote extraordinary the way opinions are currently imposed at
large scale by mob rule, enabled by social media and other technology that
made this much more feasible. It’s tech that is used to identify, research,
shame, coercing corporations into punishing, and as a tool for spreading the
word on the action to any other that might hold that opinion.

In the past, as far as I know, the only way to do this was to impose through
the judicial process because of limits in organizational capability.

~~~
jamestimmins
I think I follow. My understanding of your point is that in the past due to
limited tools for organization and communication, this level of mass public
shaming or mob-based response wouldn't have been feasible. Is that a fair
characterization?

If so, while it's true that the scale was more limited, there are certainly
ample examples of extrajudicial responses for unpopular ideas and actions,
from simple social ostracizing, up to getting tarred and feathered (which
happened to British loyalists during the American Revolution).

~~~
asabjorn
Yes, that is my point. Technology acts as a large amplifier to extend reach
and increase effectiveness.

Previously you could at best expect to impose on a relatively small geographic
area around you, and it was much harder to organize and needed a majority to
agree with the action. It seems like the mobs, like before, are comprised of a
minority while the quiet majority is trying to avoid the crosshairs.

Unfortunately that quiet majority voted Trump when no one was looking. In the
same way as belittling your partner rarely leads to anything good, doing the
same at scale in a democracy does the same.

------
orliesaurus
Living in Austin, TX I don't think we're any better than SF: Sure things are
still cheaper here and we got live music venues (that are dying out) but from
a tech perspective we're lagging behind. Additionally, the transport
infrastructure here is poor, the gentrification is out of control and what
once was a warm and welcoming community for creatives is turning more and more
into a pay-for-access sh^tshow

~~~
techsupporter
> the gentrification is out of control

I'm a native Texan[0] and I have to say, I wonder where all of the angst about
gentrifying Texas has come from over the last twenty years. _Everyone_ has
been gentrifying Texas for as long as I've been alive[1]. I watched my
hometown go from a sleepy Dallas bedroom suburb 30 minutes from anything to
six-figures of population and now a proper business headquarters in its own
right. It even has its own live music venue and three (THREE!) actual rail
public transportation stations. I never thought I'd see the day.

Nobody seemed to much care when it was Californians[2] selling off their
million-dollar beach houses and buying four-acre ranchettes in the Dallas,
Houston, and Austin suburbs. But now that Californians[2] are selling off
their two-million-dollar inland houses and buying townhouses _in_ the city,
people cry foul.

What do people expect to happen when a lot of folks show up and want to live
in an area? Folks have _always_ gone where the jobs are and now some of those
jobs pay a shitload of money and are actually located inside the urban area. I
mean, I guess we could keep doing the other thing we've been doing in
abundance, which is making one solid Metroplex from the Red River to
Hillsboro, but that seems a little wasteful these days, especially since the
reservoirs don't look like they can keep up...

0 - I write this only as "where I come from," not as any particular authority
on anything besides my own vision.

1 - A lot longer than the average tech worker these days, for sure.

2 - Not a dog on Californians, just they're the most common folks to pack up
and move east, particularly since moving west gets a little damp.

~~~
orliesaurus
I should have said "Gentrification + Poor choice of how you're tearing down
neighborhoods to create super-cool multiplex buildings" It's not much the fact
that gentrification happens, but how it is been happening. Usually - find an
old building that's been abandoned or a depot. or some poor folk's homes - buy
it for little, nuke it down and rebuild something that doesn't blend in and is
usually so tall that hides the sun, but that you can slot up and resell for a
big margin.

~~~
techsupporter
But that's the thing and was kind of my point, too. People have been building
where other people didn't like it for a really long time but now it's in the
city so all of the city slickers[0] are more vocal about it. Those four-acre
ranchettes I mentioned? Those were built on native prairie that had been
farmed or ranched by the same family since Texas was its own Republic. Then
some developer comes in, clear cuts all of the trees, and plops down a bunch
of "garish monstrosities" (to quote the Dallas Morning Snooze[1]) and, poof,
the town of Prosper is now a city.

Another story: anybody remember what used to be under what is now Jerryworld
out in Arlington next to the Ballpark[2]? I do, a bunch of houses that people
had owned since the the 40s, all bulldozed so somebody could build a new
stadium and eminent domained out of existence by the city. Think that stops
anybody, new arrival _or_ long-time resident, from going there for a football
game or a concert? Nope.

I dunno what my overall point is except that things change, people do things
that other people don't like, and life moves on. That's the way it has been
since before I was on this planet and will be that way after I'm gone unless
the heat wave of doom kills us all. Just, now, it's happening more in those
areas that used to be "crime-ridden inner cities," which is probably more good
than bad given we're covering the rest of the state with pavement at our own
peril.

0 - Great movie.

1 - Not to be outdone by the Fort Worth Startlegram's breathless editorials
about how development in Far North Fort Worth is going to ruin everything.

2 - Lest my Rangers get off the hook, they've also begged for taxpayer money
to build their shiny new stadium and Arlington used eminent domain to boot one
landowner (versus 150 for Jerryworld) off before the stadium could be built.

~~~
orliesaurus
I don't disagree but there needs to be a balance at some point - if there
hasn't been one before where the four-acre ranches used to sit why can't there
be one now? Surely someone should be able to notice that adding more
condominiums downtown and near-downtown isn't going to help the city's traffic
and congestion go away? Things do change, but they must change for the better
- not for the worse...and not only for locals - people who are moving in will
notice it and that will de-value Austin's USPs ( incl. the cool city vibe)

------
asabjorn
He is on point. The common way to approach any questioning of the common way
of thinking is to always deny, never admit to anything and make counter
accusations.

The questions are never answered, and the counter accusations are aggressive
charicatures that most often has little relation to what was claimed.

I personally find this more scary than McCarthyism because while it used the
judicial process, the current attitude is to rule by mob with no process and
without hearing both sides.

Our democracy is fragile and rely on us respecting the rule of law . These
people have the power to ruin people’s lives and use it. They should be
ashamed for risking our democracy in this way for short term gain, in the
naive belief that democracy is the default state of a society.

------
drcross
I suspect Ferris's move is secretly more to do with house prices and cost of
living. Unless you are actively working in the valley there's no reason to be
there because you can cut your living expenses significantly if your work is
location independent anyway. I suspect Tim is on the proud side of admitting
this.

~~~
cholantesh
In the Reddit thread, he very, very begrudgingly mentioned lower income tax
rates in TX, and several Redditors surmised that this was more important than
anything else.

~~~
pwinnski
The income tax rate in TX is 0%, which is very low indeed.

------
crooked-v
> I'm as socially liberal as you get, and I find it nauseating how many topics
> or dissenting opinions are simply out-of-bounds in Silicon Valley.

Saying this in such a generic form, without actually mentioning what any of
the topics or dissenting opinions are, raises a red flag for me.

~~~
asabjorn
What benefit do you think it would have to bring up what he dissents on if he
is correct? Assuming he is correct that would risk proving his point in a way
that distracts from the debate he is trying to start.

------
whiddershins
Many of the comments here seem to miss the context of Ferriss's quote,
possibly it wasn't clear in the business insider article.

Ferriss indicated he doesn't want to be involved particularly in startups
anymore, negating that advantage of living in SV, he was NOT claiming that
Austin is a good or better place for startups.

As for close-minded, I believe he is saying something very similar to what Sam
Altman wrote in a recent essay; just so everyone knows what to disagree/agree
with.

I, a New Yorker, have zero opinion on either place.

------
vfulco
Good way to get additional PR for one's products/services. Jump aboard the
train already moving. So freaking obvious. What a thought leader.

~~~
asabjorn
We need every single leader that agrees to stand up for our democracy and
inclusiveness in Silicon Valley. Currently the opposite side is way louder.

------
gonzo
Austin sucks. Don’t move here.

~~~
stevenh
Why?

~~~
stevenwoo
It's gone downhill since they built the 360 Parkway bridge. /s (it's something
different for everybody). I think when I left they started building a Walmart
on 2244 at the end near Bee Cave and there was one subdivision between Austin
and Bee Cave besides the Barton Creek intersection, and I assume by now the
entire road is lined with either subdivisions or businesses now.

