

Ask HN: Any theories on why cities like Miami are devoid of programmers? - aorshan

I live in Miami and I find it almost impossible to find real tech people. I was just wondering if anyone had a theory on why certain cities have so many coders and techies while others are barren.
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kls
One of the problems with the rest of Florida is that Orlando seems to attract
all of the talent in the area. So it leaves the other areas such as Miami,
Jacksonville and to a lesser extent Tampa at a loss for talent (not saying
there are not talented people, just that many head for other areas) due to the
fact that many developers that stay in Florida eventually wind up in Orlando
and to a lesser extent Tampa.

On a personal level, I had the choice of going to Miami or Orlando when I
started my career. I opted for Orlando due to less crime and a generally
friendlier community. Miami has been voted the worst city to drive in for
several years for a reason. Given the option of Orlando or Tampa if one wants
to be on the water, many opt to forgo Miami. I did, and I know many others
that do for the same reasons.

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cd34
<http://www.meetup.com/south-florida-hack-and-tell/> \- run by Mike Greenberg

<http://refreshsofla.org/> \- run by Brian Breslin

<http://miamitechevents.com/> \- run by Brian Breslin

<http://agustinaprigoshin.com/oec> \- run by Agustina Prigoshin

But, what I've found... in most cities, programmers get off work and like to
talk. South Florida? 5pm... out to SoBe or any of the other spots -
office/work isn't thought of until 9:30 Monday morning.

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true_religion
I and 3 of my best friends are moving to Florida at the end of this month. So
don't say its devoid of programmers just yet.

Whilst not as premier as Silicon Valley, Florida has great things going for it
as a hacker:

1\. It's cheap living in warm weather

2\. It has concentrations of paying customers in clear demographics and
dilineated geographic areas (i.e. state-wide suburbia and ethnic enclaves).

3\. It's a nice place to find angel investors if you have the right product---
the next facebook might not find investment here, but something that makes the
lives of baby boomers easier will.

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cd34
You must not be moving to Southeast Florida. SFL has been described as a lot
of things, cheap is not a word I've ever heard.

Most angel investors live here Jan-Apr/May and go back to NY or the Med for
the summer. Otherwise, if you have a list of angel investors, there is a
startup community in SFL that would be extremely eager to talk with them. Most
of the startups down here struggle for funding, or go to NY/SF to get funding.
Even angel.co lists a handful of investors in Florida, and most are in other
areas watching Florida.

As for #2, I would like to congratulate the webmaster that wrote that. Clear
demographics? what does that mean for a business? Are you using racial
profiling to pick your customer base? Delineated geographic areas? We have
county and city boundaries, but I don't believe that is unique to Florida.
State-wide suburbia? I can drive five minutes to the west and it is swamp for
roughly two hours until I reach the other side of the state. While Florida is
a large state, the population has decided that living in swamps/marshes isn't
nearly as nice as living on the edges of the state near the ocean. Once you
get to Central Florida you're in a different environment, but, it might as
well be a different country. SFL is certainly a unique ecosystem.

incubatemiami.com is a local equivalent to YC, but, while they have the mentor
track figured out, once you get out of mentorship, it is a struggle to find
funding. SFL doesn't even have any positions dedicated to helping startups. UM
Launchpad in Miami is a good start and there are some other college affiliated
programs, but, for a startup community, SFL is quite difficult.

If you're moving and didn't have something lined up, and you're looking for
startup activity, I don't really think SFL would be my choice.

But, once you get here, take a look at some of those URLs and get involved.
There are a lot of smart people in SFL that are anxious to talk with other
people - your connections with Angel funding will make you very popular.

~~~
true_religion
Oh, you're right---we're moving into Northeast, Florida. But compared to
DC/NYC/Silicon Valley, Florida is cheaper no matter where you live.

Thanks for the succint description of Florida. It's given me a lot to think
about.

I only have to point out now that Incubate Miami is definitively not the local
equivalent of YC if you struggle to find funding after you leave it. I know
that my team doesn't have a dearth of experience in running a business, so the
only use of a traditional incubator/accelerator is the connections it leads
you to.

I'd consider something like Start-up Chile to be a good incubator: it's
government backed, and its stamp of approval may open doors in the government
sector.

YC is also good because its a proven money maker, and the press is only too
happy to cover the companies that it graduates.

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andrewstuart
People feel guilty if they are inside peering into a computer "wasting a
lovely day". Look to cooler climates where there is a reason to be inside.

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tobylane
Tech people are young, like the presence of others their type/age, cool
enviroment, etc. Based on CSI Miami (seriously, how else am I meant to know
:P) it's none of those things. Pretty high murder rate, I doubt there's many
tech people in Vegas either.

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raghav305
you are looking at the wrong side of the country..

~~~
johnny22
for? developers? the MD/NOVA/DC area has tons... they just tend to work for
the government or some of other big companies out there.

