4 Reasons San Francisco Is A Techie’s Heaven

People love to say the San Francisco bubble will pop any day now, but for a city that’s supposedly on the brink of major changes, San Francisco is flourishing better than ever.

I was born and raised in Ohio. When I arrived in the Bay Area as a graduate student at Stanford, I experienced some pretty serious culture shock. As well-traveled as I was, the wonders of living in San Francisco astounded me. I had no idea how Bay Area Rapid Transit worked or where the bridges connected, and while San Francisco itself is relatively small, the Bay Area is not. For me, getting lost was a regular occurrence.

Right now, the city is in an interesting position. As a giant melting pot in one of the country’s most politically, culturally, and economically diverse metropolitan areas, San Francisco is home to every type of person under the sun. While living here can be tricky thanks to one of the highest housing costs in the nation, the city has something for everyone.

Techie Heaven

Thanks to the rapidly evolving culture of Silicon Valley, San Francisco is the ideal location for the booming tech industry. Companies flock to San Francisco from around the world, and despite the high costs, real estate is still cheaper than it is on the Peninsula — and those flocking here aren’t wanting for great jobs.

Even better for techies, the city’s infrastructure is getting ready to match their high-speed demands. Google Fiber is coming to San Francisco houses, apartments, and business structures, laid over the city’s existing fiber network to speed up the adoption process. While this isn’t Google’s first bid to deliver a faster, more reliable network to the city, this attempt looks like it will stick.

Nothing Beats the Original

Many other cities are trying to attract the talent that San Francisco pulls, but as tech startups and their employees know, there’s a reason San Francisco continues to outpace the nation when it comes to housing successful tech companies. Actually, there are several reasons.

1. Financial Resources: Venture capital is spilling over from Silicon Valley and is following the exodus of bigger tech companies moving to San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood. When angel investors and venture capitalists look to fund a new startup, San Francisco is the first place their eyes will land.

2. Practical Living: While other major metropolitan areas like New York are difficult to traverse, San Francisco makes it easy to get to your destination. You can even own a car without wasting 90 percent of the gas in standstill traffic.

3. Unassuming Nightlife: Despite all the money flying around in San Francisco, you don’t have to be a millionaire to enjoy the roaring nightlife in this city.

4. Abundant Opportunity: The nice thing about being a talented tech worker surrounded by tech companies is that your skills are always in demand. If you have the ability and put in the effort, dozens of opportunities are always waiting around the corner.

For the 21^st-century techie, life is at its best in San Francisco. If you’re thinking about taking the plunge, read up on how to live in the big city, pack your bags, and come see what makes San Francisco the top tech city in the world.