New York or the Valley: Decision Time

Uploaded by DogFromSPACE

Three months ago I wrote a post called "New York or the Valley?" about whether I should move to the west coast to start my next business.

I put it this way: given that my wife and I could live anywhere in the US right now (we have recently returned from a long trip and all our things are in storage), and that I am planning to start a new technology company, are there any advantages to starting it in New York?

Phrased a little differently each time, I put that question to dozens of friends and colleagues in the last few months. But apart from the obvious cases - businesses related to financial services, real estate, or marketing - no one could make a strong case for NY.

Yes, I heard many pleas in mitigation, many examples of how you can succeed here, presuming that you have already decided that this is where you want to live. But we haven't. Though we love this city, we're also attracted to the Bay Area - the climate, the scenery, being a little closer to my wife's family in Oregon, TechShop. Call it a wash. My wife and I decided to make our decision on purely professional grounds; to go wherever we thought we could maximize our chances of success.

So Summer and I are moving to San Francisco at the beginning of February. To old friends, bye for now - my new business will bring me back to NY quite often. To new, we can't wait to meet you.

And if you think I've missed some very important advantage of New York ... sigh. Too late.

Comments

[Chris Yeh]

Jason,

Since you're already married, there isn't any compelling reason to stay in New York.

Personally, I'm fond of Boston myself, but as I tell people, "If Boston had the same weather and opportunities as the Valley, I'd live there in a second. But it doesn't, it doesn't, and I don't."

[Michael Mace]

Vindigo was cool. I'll be interested to see what you do next.

A bit of unsolicited advice on the Bay Area -- don't put the company in San Francisco unless you're planning to do a media company. Plant yourself someplace halfway between San Jose and San Francisco, on either the east or west side of the bay. That way you'll be able to draw from the best emplolyees from the whole Bay Area. If you're in San Francisco you lose the San Jose people, and vice-versa.

Good luck!

[Chris Dunphy]

Jason -

It was great to stumble across your blog - I remember sharing some great conversations with you back when you were running Vindigo and I was working for Palm(Source).

I can't wait to learn more about what you are up to next.

As for Mike's advice - it is sound from the practical standpoint of hiring engineers. But from a lifestyle standpoint - I'd highly recommend living and working in San Francisco, making sure that you can get to/from work without a car.

Living and working on the peninsula or down in San Jose just isn't worth it.

Cheers!

- chris (www.radven.net)

PS: Your comment form keeps rejecting every variation of my URL I give it as "invalid"...