I am looking at moving to either SF or NYC. I wanted to know what your opinions on living there and working in the tech industry are. From my visits, NYC seems a lot more fun and affordable. I found a cheap place in Harlem near the subway. This would have been impossible in the Bay Area.
NYC isn’t more affordable (I’ve lived in both) but there’s more variety in housing so you can find something cheaper more easily. If you’re a guy, NYC all the way. If not, would still recommend it as there’s definitely more things to do simply due to the density of the city and the number of people who live there.
I'm a guy yeah. I agree about the housing part. How's NYC better for guys? Im leaning towards NY so im curious
If you’re single ratio is mad in your favor. And even if not, there’s almost no nerdy tech people here as the city is mostly finance, marketing, consulting, etc
Fuck SF, what a shit hole.
In my personal opinion having lived in both places, Pros of SF, a lot more opportunities in tech, nice weather NYC, less opportunity in tech, i enjoy the culture and seasons on East coast, summer is summer you can go to beach and jump in water.
Depends what your focus is. If you’re trying to make it big in tech, SF. If you want to have fun / focus on life outside of work, NY
If you want A+ career, choose SF. If you want an overall better life with healthy outlets for passing time, NYC hands down.
Lived in both. If you like nature, go SF.
NYC bitches.
For career options, if you’re front-end, mobile or like working at consumer facing companies there are way more opportunities in SF (if you have <3 years experience). NYC wins in pretty much everything else though. Public transportation is superior here even if you live in the burbs. Everyone loves bitching about the subway but it’s actually really good at getting you everywhere fairly quickly most of the time. Failing that you can ride a bike 8 mo/year. Food is better and it’s not even remotely close. There are just more people here from every country than anywhere else in the US. No other city can compete. Cost of living is cheaper than SF by a long shot once you learn the city. Yeah if you live in a trendy area of Manhattan in a newly renovated doorman high rise and get $32 sushi for lunch every day it’s expensive, but only new people do that. It’s pretty easy to live here if you have discipline vs SF where everything is flat out expensive. Nightlife and dating are both better here no matter what you’re looking for, there are just more people, in a more dense area.
SF People: Friendly and chatty on the surface but constantly judging you and how much money you make. Plus everyone here is full of ego. NYC People: Cold and grumpy on the surface but actually values real friendship and companionship. Real people with no bullshit.
Sounds like you've already made up your mind, then. I wouldn't advise anyone to move to either unless they know they want to and know what they're up against. Both places require a good amount of money to be enjoyable, but each has their perks.
For sure!