But she was hesitant to move. She’d grown up in Northern Indiana and studied communications at DePauw University. She and her husband, a commercial real estate developer, had built a life for themselves and their two kids near the capital city.
This is an important aspect that I can't assume is only important to the Midwest, but something that I come across myself here, also in the Midwest.
Occasionally an over-enthusiastic recruiter will reach out about a relocation opportunity. I sometimes can't help but reply "No. I love it here." Much to what I assume is confusion.
We can still move fast and break things out here in Fly Over Country. And our salaries can afford us better opportunities in comparison. I think a lot of 'Coasters have a hard time even rationalizing that. No technology I've encountered is locked down to a location.
I dunno...I make a lot more out here on the coast...I graduated from school at the end of 2014 and I make 2.75x more than my first job offer out of school back in my home state of MI. The weather is a lot more mild and pleasant. There are also things on the coast that you simply can't get in flyover country- mountains, ocean, vast empty national parks, for instance...I swear it feels like I'm on vacation every other weekend. OTOH I don't really want to buy a house out here just because it's a daunting prospect but there are pros and cons to living and working in each area.
Good luck going car free anywhere in the Midwest outside of Chicago- and I mean at all, period. Even if you do, you still don't have the opportunity to experience the other- say, if you have friends with cars...which sounds pretty plausible to me(SF or otherwise)...if you think public transportation in the Bay Area is bad...every single city in the Midwest(outside of Chicago) is shockingly bad. You can commute 5-20 miles round trip by bicycle if you want if you feel like having your life threatened by motorists on an almost weekly basis(I speak from experience).
FWIW, my confrontations on public transportation haven't been any worse than confrontations on the road (rare occurrences; current 60-mile commute, 24 years driving).
A car is very much a rite-of-passage here still, sure. For those that can afford it (that is the bad part about it), it's the most freeing, invigorating thing you can own at 16.
Being car-free seems completely asinine here; you're going to need it for something. That's the lifestyle here. No worse than a bicycle. And one day, when we can go emission-free; it really won't be.
> I graduated from school at the end of 2014 and I make 2.75x more than my first job offer out of school back in my home state of MI
I started my first development job in 2013 and I'm making 2.4x more, now (without school). In comparison, (as you know) my cost of living is significantly cheaper.
I get where you're going, but just to give you more perspective...
I live 60 miles or so south of Seattle. I pay ~300$ more in rent for a 3 bedroom house with a fenced in yard and a garage than I did in Kansas City for a 800 sq foot condo. I'm also not a software developer(who would make more than I do). A house would cost me more, but as a young renter with a wife(who also makes 20k more than she did in KC/MI) we are able to pay off our debt obligations(and save) much faster here than we were in the midwest(I wish like you that I hadn't gone to college, but it's too late)...and I still get to enjoy all of the things that only location can get you. Heck I just went for a jog on the Puget Sound with my dogs 15 minutes ago. You might say my commute is bad, which it is, but thankfully due to the nature of Seattle traffic, many Seattle employers- mine included- have pretty flexible office hours and remote work arrangements.
I'm not trying to convince you that the midwest sucks or whatever, but that there are options out here if you want to work in coastal job markets without the cost of living. That said, nobody move here, the weather is awful and the food is bad.
We can still move fast and break things out here in Fly Over Country
But can you find an investor there that will fund you to spend 2 years breaking stuff with 50 engineers on staff and no revenue?
Some startups are much harder to launch outside of Silicon Valley where an investors are willing to make speculative investments on expensive ideas that may never pan out and where the investor can keep a close eye on his/her investment.
It was cool at first, but annoying secondly as the product became an ever-moving target designed to fit an assumed goal the current pitch deck was tossed to.
I liked the swivel chairs, though.
Honestly there's probably more [startups] here, but I haven't looked since my second kid. As hinted in previous comments, it's really geared towards family here. If I didn't have one, I'd probably be elsewhere. Though - to be honest - I'd also probably not be in development, either.
I'm not debating that there are startups there, there are startups everywhere.
But I'm questioning whether there are many VC's outside of Silicon Valley that are willing to pump $10M+ to fund a startup for a few years when both product and revenue are years away.
This is an important aspect that I can't assume is only important to the Midwest, but something that I come across myself here, also in the Midwest.
Occasionally an over-enthusiastic recruiter will reach out about a relocation opportunity. I sometimes can't help but reply "No. I love it here." Much to what I assume is confusion.
We can still move fast and break things out here in Fly Over Country. And our salaries can afford us better opportunities in comparison. I think a lot of 'Coasters have a hard time even rationalizing that. No technology I've encountered is locked down to a location.