Although discussed, interesting anyway to look at some of these other cities not named Seattle or Austin…
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The appeal of the Bay Area is the volume of companies. People in tech tend to change jobs more often than other industries. That’s easier when you have so many companies in your area.
…and everything else that we take for granted, like the weather (usually) or all that one can do here, especially if you do make a pretty decent salary on any scale.
I honestly don’t buy weather for tech geeks. How many tech geeks do you know that spend a significant amount of time outside or have outdoor hobbies?
Bay Area has the networking effect. The brightest techies work here. Not in Austin or New York or anywhere else. To be the best you need to work with the best. That’s a price to have to pay for.
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Actually a lot. I know quite a few techies into the bike scene. So, tight pants and ultra light bikes meant to show off and really climb mountains if needed. I would say, let’s check with you in a solid year or so for a report. Don’t get me wrong, I have been to Seattle and it is lovely (granted it was dry) and does remind me of the Fab 7x7. I am just not big on the rain. Like what we have been experiencing down here this year…
Bay Area - All tech areas.
Seattle - AI/ Machine Learning/ Cloud
Austin - Ops related/ Demand fulfillment/ Lower (not low) skill tech
I already know more people that bicycle/run to work in Seattle than the Bay Area. So far the furtherest is 20 miles one way. They do it rain or shine. There’s a big culture of running, biking, and triathlons here.
And I expect the folks up there to be pretty outdoorsy. Hey, to move to the Great NorthWest, you have to be right? City slickers needn’t apply…
Even 30 mins walk after lunch on beautiful day keeps me happy.
Biking and playing in the park is normal weekend routine for many families with kids.
I believe weather matters to most of people live in BA including techies.
Anyway, Seattle housing price is getting close to BA.
Thus, weather difference may explain remaining small gap. 
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Seattle is my nemesis. As well as their company amzn. When can people stop talking about them and pretend that they didn’t exist? I have no problem with Starbucks though.
Seattle has rain even in the summer…Plus it is really cold in winter…Great for boating, though…Make sure the boat has shelter from the rain…They rent trawlers you can take all the way to Desolation Wilderness in BC
As someone from a state where it snows, I sort of laugh at “real cold winter”. The weather is still better than at least 90% of the US. It’s cold enough to snow every few years, and it’s not unbearably hot in summer.
How is housing price there? I heard that good school district SFH is over 1.2 million. Is it true?
It depends on how long of commute you want. It seems housing is quite a bit cheaper not counting downtown condo prices. Bellevue is that expensive, but most other areas aren’t. SFH seems buying is better deal than renting. Cash flow should be good.
It’ll be interesting as they build out light rail. It’s way faster than San Jose, because it’s elevated. There’s no stopping at intersections.
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Seattle traffic is a nightmare…But I love boating there and taking ferry rides out of town…Waterskied on lake Washington. .pretty cool…cruised by Gates house…
I went all the way up to Fair Oaks by Sacramento yesterday. The 680 corridor shows lots of activity. Lots of areas to be developed, some projects are advertised already, bunches of construction activity too. The closer I got to Sacramento, I started to notice the water flood had made quit a statement.
The weather is something you take in consideration to live here. Take that away, you are left with what? Restaurants? Traffic nightmare? Jobs? Bring the snow, you will see how it changes everything.
5 Biggest Bang For Your Tech Bucks Cities
Stare clear of these 5 cities! Should you choose to risk your tech career in one of these cities it will most likely stall and go nowhere. You will suffer severe depression from failure to achieve your full potential. You will forever be pondering about the possibilities you could have otherwise had and the more successful and fulfilling life you could have led, should you have chosen wisely and gone with San Francisco instead.
God, scary, someone touting the Fab 7x7 more than me…