

Ask HN: Is the state budget crisis a reason not to move to California? - shorbaji

For a techie considering moving to the US and trying to choose a place to settle are California's budget crisis &#38; high unemployment enough reason to avoid moving to the state?<p>My natural choice would have been the Valley but I hear there is a net outflow of Californian residents, the already in-bad-shape schooling system is due for some cost cutting,  and that there is a big chance taxes will increase.<p>If the idea is to balance living in a tech hub vs. raising a family where would you choose to move to? Given the economic situation, would New York or Massachusetts be good alternatives to being in or around Silicon Valley.
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endlessvoid94
What do you want to do?

If you have some lazy habits, generally just want a nice place to work, and to
afford rent, a car, good food, and to play xbox, I might choose elsewhere. Or
maybe not.

If you have an idea and some drive, it's an utterly fantastic place to live.
Sure, in some places the rent is a little high and the burn rate in general
can be large, if you're able to network and work your ass off, it can be
perfectly doable.

I like SF quite a bit. I'm not sure I could live here for 10 years (I'm grew
up in northeastern Ohio), but for the time being it's definitely where I want
to be and I've been pretty satisfied so far. Good people, good nightlife (in
most places, NOT the valley), and good work environments.

Oh, and good coffee. That counts too.

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mace
Here's an interest perspective.

The truth about California:
[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/story/print?guid=3229293A-F...](http://www.marketwatch.com/story/story/print?guid=3229293A-F67D-11DF-8066-00212804637C)

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noonespecial
At least have a look at Austin, Texas.

Texas isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the startup scene down there is
starting to look very interesting.

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wh-uws
What's it like there do you have any experience?

I'm about to graduate from college and I know I want to be in a tech center
and I've interned in silicon valley before but I'm a southern boy at heart.

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jaundicebaby
I have been in Austin for 13 months now. The market for all dev languages
appears really good, if you take into account the amount of people hiring at
local user groups and all the recruiter emails that I get. There are also one
or more tech events on most nights of the week, so networking is super easy
and the events are fun.

You mentioned being a Southern boy; I am from Chicago and I would say that it
does not feel like a "southern" town here, so keep that in mind. It is urban,
don't be fooled by the "Texas" thing.

Anyway, people are real friendly, tech jobs appear plentiful, and there is a
very good nightlife. The housing is expensive for Texas, but probably not
compared to other states. The "no income tax" thing helps, as well.

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wh-uws
Thanks and I'm from Atlanta so while I'm decidedly southern I also like to
have a city to be in.

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roblund
You can always come join us in the great white north of Montana. The tech
community is small and pretty tight knit. We'd be happy to have you. More
persuasive material here <http://bit.ly/hghtmI> and here
<http://vimeo.com/17564571>.

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thomas11
The Economist has a cautiously optimistic view on California's future:
<http://www.economist.com/node/17631115>.

Also, a net outflow of residents should dampen the high cost of housing.

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davidmurphy
Don't give up on California yet. Amazing place.

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TimJYoung
I'm going to ask the same questions as others - are you looking to start a
company, and if so, will you need a steady supply of local talent, or will you
need to find employment in the tech industry ?

