What about Los Angeles?

[rocken7]

Now that fB employees are going to further glut the SF housing market, and the mounting VC money is pushing costs up as well, SF is just not in the cards for me anymore, not interested in moving there, can't save money and work there:

It's one or the other, sure you can get great experience but at 40 I'm not looking to work my ass off for a small rinky dink apartment in a shitty part of town, and experience is a mysterious bird anyway.

So is there a software scene in Los Angeles ? or northbound towards Santa Barbara. I hear GooG + Zon are heavy in Irvine but not sure how to actually apply for that and not be sucked into the vortex of offers that require moving to SF.

Any ideas are welcome ...

[dcpdx]

If you're looking for warmer weather + sunshine, then the Pacific Northwest isn't really going to do it for you as long as you're east of the Cascades (Seattle, PDX, etc). I just moved to SF from Portland, OR myself and the difference in climate is huge. Have you considered Austin, TX? It's pretty much the cultural hub of the south and there are a lot of cool things going on there with both startups and established companies. I lived in Houston for a couple years and the cost of living in TX is really low. It definitely gets hot as heck in the summer, but Austin isn't as humid as Houston so it's manageable. Plus, sunshine is in no short supply!

Best of luck with the move, wherever you end up!

[techninja]

Do you have your heart set on California?

If not, the start-up scene is pretty good up here in the Seattle area. You can get decent 2-bedroom apartments for $1000/month downtown. Plus its very similar to San Francisco in culture and weather (our fog is just further up in the sky).

Denver is also getting popular for start-ups and housing there is cheap. You could also try Plano, Texas; similar thing going on there.

[rocken7]

yes good thoughts, seattle is actually in the running, i'm from portland so its well known to me, just wishing i could stay in the warmer climate + sunshine (i gave up on pdx after 7yrs of rain)

[techninja]

Then I would say look into Plano, Texas. A lot of my co-workers work there and they are pretty happy about it, a lot of them are from San Francisco and Southern California. And its is pretty warm there. Its apparently becoming a hot-bed for start-ups (At least that is what I have been told)

[dirkdeman]

Santa Monica is becoming a sort of tech hub in the Southland: http://www.forbes.com/sites/maureenfarrell/2011/05/20/the-si...

Not sure about the rents, though. Santa Monica isn't cheap, Orange County is a bit more affordable, so are San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys.

[hans]

yes E A is up there and seems to recruit a bunch ...

[rocken7]

Does anyone know of some cool software gigs up in LA ?