
Is NYC the next tech mecca? - idiginous
http://www.scripting.com/stories/2010/05/06/isNycTheNextTechMecca.html
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ctd
Yes, based on these articles it is and always will be the next tech Mecca. ;)

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rmontalban
I live here and think it is a fantastic place, a mecca for the romantical
types.

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mitchellhislop
Minneapolis, MN. Strong community, plenty of funding, several datacenters and
coworking spots. Hard to beat, IMHO (disclaimer: I am currently writing this
while in an apartment in MPLS)

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barredo
"This will be the year of NYC as the new tech mecca"

"This will be the year of Linux in the Desktop"

"This will be the year of..."

:-)

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Kilimanjaro
My bet is on Austin TX.

All they need is a couple of rock stars, a couple of news sites, and a couple
of big hits.

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cobralibre
Judging by the job listings I typically see, the Austin software scene tilts
heavily toward the enterprise. I'd love to see that change, though.

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ganley
Great. One of the few places in the country that's even less affordable than
the Bay Area.

Startups looking for a home: Take a look at D.C. IMO the talent base is every
bit as rich as NYC's, and people can actually afford to live here.

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joshu
Manhattan is expensive. NYC as a whole isn't as bad.

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sstrudeau
You can save some money in the outer boroughs but the entire metro region is
more expensive than _any_ other American metro region for most lifestyles; and
_much_ more expensive than _most_.

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spamizbad
Well, it certainly has the money. And the ambition.

But way back in 2006-2007, at the start of the web 2.0 gold rush, I remember
being bombarded with non-serious NYC startup offers that were basically "Do
all the work for my brilliant <buzzword soup> product. I'll give you 10%
equity. Maybe. Sign an NDA."

Since then, though, several really impressive startups have emerged. It looks
like their doing a good job sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Question for anyone based in NYC: How difficult is it to find qualified
programmers and other tech people? I've heard it's much tougher than it is in
the Valley.

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davydka
As a qualified programmer, I found it much harder to find a legit work in NYC
compared to when I lived in Seattle. I know very talented programers in both
places, though.

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illumin8
I don't understand this. Your resume must not have enough experience or
something, because I get calls from recruiters all the time.

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pw0ncakes
No. We have to work on the housing problem quite a bit before that can happen,
and since this involves inflicting pain on some very wealthy, entrenched, and
powerful people, it's unlikely to happen any time soon.

(Silicon Valley has disgustingly high housing prices, but that happened
_after_ it had established momentum in technology.)

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warfangle
NYC only has disgustingly high housing prices _if you want to live in
Manhattan_.

Arguably, moving to one of the boroughs is much cheaper.

(Two bedroom apartments start at around $1200 in my neighborhood in Brooklyn -
1200 square foot studio lofts run for about $1850)

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ganley
Actual question, not a jab: How long would it take to commute to midtown
Manhattan from there?

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yummyfajitas
Parts of NJ have similar prices. The commute would be 30 minutes to midtown.

If you live in a slightly different place, you get a 15 minute commute to
lower manhattan.

[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=250...](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=250+palisade+ave,+jersey+city,+nj&daddr=625+8th+Ave,+New+York,+New+York+10018+\(port+authority+bus+terminal\)&hl=en&geocode=%3BFfHmbQId9f2W-ynZ2Rs1U1jCiTGLJI3hdQ2J3Q&mra=ls&dirflg=r&ttype=dep&date=05%2F06%2F10&time=12:45pm&noexp=0&noal=0&sort=&sll=40.751158,-74.021845&sspn=0.044995,0.090723&ie=UTF8&ll=40.753564,-74.019442&spn=0.044993,0.090723&z=14&start=0)

[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=1+J...](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=1+Journal+Square+Plaza,+Jersey+City,+NJ+07306-4004+\(Journal+Square+Plaza\)&daddr=World+Trade+Center,+New+York,+NY&hl=en&geocode=CRcXiEZ1OoHwFdSGbQIdnduV-
yG2z58pckp4ESnJAjQQMlfCiTHp-_y7Drr0aQ%3BFUs8bQIdRauW-
yERuvPyU56r_inTg_hmGVrCiTGziNTcXRg16g&mra=pe&mrcr=0&dirflg=r&ttype=dep&date=05%2F06%2F10&time=12:45pm&noexp=0&noal=0&sort=&sll=40.730999,-74.02751&sspn=0.045008,0.090723&ie=UTF8&ll=40.721957,-74.036951&spn=0.045014,0.090723&z=14&start=0)

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jimboyoungblood
No, not while NYC is still run by the bankers.

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tedunangst
What does it mean for NYC to be run by bankers?

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CytokineStorm
Zed Shaw explained this very well in a post about why there's no real startup
culture in NYC (yet): <http://zedshaw.com/blog/2010-01-19.html>

It's true though. The financial industry controls an incredible amount of
wealth in New York. I think most people don't really appreciate the scale of
it.

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yummyfajitas
Zed exaggerates wildly. If he was speaking with the manager of a $30 billion
hedge fund, he was talking to one of three people: George Soros, John Paulson
(yes, the guy on the short side of ABACUS), or Brevan Howard.

<http://www.pionline.com/article/20100308/CHART2/100309910>

J.P. Morgan asset management (i.e., nearly all the hedge funds J.P. Morgan
owns) is only $53 billion.

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shykes
Zed is right about the fundamentals. Wall Street, as a provider of financial
products, is cheating. Their returns are artificially higher because of
excessive risk-taking, weak regulations and the guarantee of a bailout if
anything goes wrong.

If all hidden costs were taken into account, Wall Street would be less
competitive which would leave more space for healthier financial products.

