7 ms·

It depends on what you like to do. Countryside living is appealing to many people.

• seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  Technologists are probably not typically the ones that find it appealing.
  • ghaff 7y ago
    What do you think is so special about technologists that they uniquely prefer urban (or suburban) living?
    • seanmcdirmid 7y ago
      It really isn’t a mystery: they like tech obviously, they probably went to a big university with lots of diversity and eat out options, they feel a strong need to network. All hint toward city living rather than country side living. Also, many techies in the USA aren’t even Americans, they are even less likely to be craving for the countryside lifestyle.
      • ghaff 7y ago
        I think you're projecting your preferences and those of your circle. The significant majority of the people I work with at a fairly large tech company live in exurbs/suburbs/country. Relatively few live in the nearby major city.
        • seanmcdirmid 7y ago
          None of that is countryside or even small town America.
          • ghaff 7y ago
            You can define terms however you like but I do live in a town with a population of about 7,000 people and together with my two neighbors we're on about 100 acres adjacent to town forest. Sure, it's not some remote small town where you have to drive 3 hours to get to the nearest Walmart but it's not exactly urban--at least the way most people use the term--either. There's a pretty broad continuum between living/working in a city where you can walk to everything and living somewhere that's hours from "civilization."
            • deleted 7y ago
              [deleted]
            • seanmcdirmid 7y ago
              Yes, but you’ve just described about half of the Bay Area, or West Chester county, or even Queens (let alone Long Island).
              • ghaff 7y ago
                It describes a lot of places. If someone argues that tech people tend to prefer the greater metro areas (combined statistical areas) of large cities rather than truly rural areas (as defined by the census), I don't think there's much argument. Of course, by the numbers, so does a significant majority of the US population. But that's a lot different from people arguing that tech people like big cities specifically, as that tends to suggest that they can walk to coffee shops, take public transit to work, etc. which does not describe the bulk of the space in greater metro areas.
                • seanmcdirmid 7y ago
                  The original comment I replied to: > It depends on what you like to do. Countryside living is appealing to many people. My reply: > Technologists are probably not typically the ones that find it appealing. Your reply to that: > What do you think is so special about technologists that they uniquely prefer urban (or suburban) living? reply Putting your last reply in the context of the entire reply chain, I'm confused about what you think we are arguing about?
      • icebraining 7y ago
        Why do you say non-Americans are less likely to crave countryside lifestyle? As an EU developer, that's not been my experience at all; small town developers get dragged to our bigger cities for the jobs, not because they prefer the life. Some have pretty long commutes just so they can keep living in a non-urban area.
  • nostalgk 7y ago
    On the contrary, most of my peers are either living in the country on their own land or saving to do so. Especially if it's within driving distance of a city.
    • seanmcdirmid 7y ago
      That’s anecdotal, but I’m willing to bet the typical technologist is not like your peers.
      • nostalgk 7y ago
        As is your claim. What is the typical technologist? My peers, along with me, live outside of one of the biggest cities in the Midwest, and work remotely or commute to and from. I would consider us part of the prevailing technological culture.
        • seanmcdirmid 7y ago
          True. We need real data to say otherwise, but we already know most techies live in cities anyways, you can claim that is not within their desire and they would like your lifestyle better, but I would claim it is as they want.
          • nostalgk 7y ago
            I would claim that the majority population of techies probably do desire to live in cities and hubs in which there are large communities of other techies, you're right. My point is just that there is also a sizable community of people who work in tech who also enjoy living outside the city, and can still enjoy a city lifestyle from time to time as well. I often notice that this sizable community is brushed to the wayside because they aren't the in-crowd of city-based IT enthusiasts, with their regions being considered "flyover" and their opinions devalued. Yet still, in small towns, we do have Slack and hackerspaces and lots of professional development, just like the cities.
    • ghaff 7y ago
  • sudosteph 7y ago
    Plenty of introverts who like building things (the stereotypical technologist) are into it. More income savings to spend on new gadgets, space to build things (plus No HOAs to say you can't run a business or put up a big antenna on your property), and relative peace and quiet in your environment are quite appealing. I know some brilliant technologists who work remote and wouldn't trade their life-style for any salary in a big city. I'm a city-lover myself, but easily understand the appeal of working in tech while living in the country.
• neom 7y ago
  Except then your best friend moves to San Fransisco and now you have no friends, so you move to San Fransisco and then you live in San Fransisco (I'm not bitter or anything....) :(