The Old Joel on Software Forum: Part 4 (of 5) - San Diego

San Diego - the new Silicon Valley

So, someone mentioned San Diego as one of the world's leading tech centers and this came as a BIG surprise to me and I was skeptical, but I googled and found this article only 2 wks old:

http://www.azcentral.com/business/columns/articles/0215talton15.html

Any one want to comment? Should we all move to San Diego then?

Tony Chang
Sunday, February 29, 2004

Yeah! San Diego rocks :

Nice bars ...
Hot hispanic ladies ...

Got for it pal ...

Just a few hours drive from TJ in Mexico where you could meet even hotter babes ....

Geeky
Sunday, February 29, 2004

"A few hours drive from TJ"

You must mean during rush hour...

Philo

Philo
Sunday, February 29, 2004

I've lived in Dago for 8 years (originally from Long Island, NY), and I've witnessed the tech-splosion first hand.

Firstly, SD is not comparable to SV in terms of software companies or software jos. Generally, engineers will fare better here. Tech jobs in SD fall into one of a few gigs:

* DoD prime or subcontractor (Cubic,Northrop/Grumman/,Titan,SAIC) - This is mostly embedded / systems engineering , but there is some applications stuff here.

* Wireless - 99% sales jobs, but usually some RF / CDMA / BREW / engineering jobs

* Biotech - just IT and some informatics - 99% of the companies are drowning in losses - The culture around biotech promotes PhD's working for very low wages .

* Start-up / Niche tech companies - Some good options here if you are an expert / specialist / willing to work cheap.

You cannot compare SD to SV because there are simply fewer software companies - but I suppose that could be offset by a smaller population.

I have always found SD to be a good place for work - not saturated with local talent like SV and a lot of churn, so new things always come up.

The main problem is that SD is a very expensive place to live, and wages here are, on the whole, low. This combination makes SD a lot less atttractive after a while.

We recently tried to buy our first house here - and with a combined income of almost 100k - we are looking at a back-breaking $2500/mo - a prospect that's causing us to re-examine staying in this city.

Sassy
Sunday, February 29, 2004

San Diego was fun ... I lived and worked there for a few years and I'd go back if given the opportunity.

SD exploded during the time I lived there (1998-2002).
Traffic had grown horrid, having to commute from North County to Sorrento Vally for a company that insisted on 9-5 was just insane.

Geeky's & Sassy's statements are pretty much accurate

Fun nightlife. Wireless is (was?) big down there. Some biotech. Small gaming industry pocket. But hardly another Silicon Vally. The region's tech market crashed badly around 2003, and SD is generally expensive ... I was forced to move.

Immature programmer
Monday, March 1, 2004

Good news for this San Diego nerd :)

Warren Henning
Monday, March 1, 2004

TJ. What a pit!

pdq
Monday, March 1, 2004

Boulder - The new Silicon Valley?
Austin - The new Silicon Valley?
Northe Carolina - The new Silicon Valley?

They are all nice, and you don't have to live in California

Doug Withau
Monday, March 1, 2004