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Comment by Apocryphon | Hacker News Reader

So are there any tech hubs right now that aren't dealing with issues of rent increases, gentrifications, and growing pains?

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None. But 'gentrification' in, say, Pittsburgh means houses in newly-hip neighborhoods that used to cost $50,000 are being renovated and sold for $250,000, instead of houses that use to cost $500,000 being renovated and sold for $2,000,000.

Boston seems pretty reasonable in terms of rent, and has pretty good tech community. With exceptional schools, which you have access to for eg. take courses at Harvard, attend events at MIT, MediaLab, or big tech firms like Google, fb etc. And its great if you have kids too as public schools are also highly rated.

That's something of tautology in that pretty much everywhere that's a tech hub is booming almost by definition. (In some cases like the Bay area, largely driven by software tech. In other areas, driven by a combination of computer tech and other things such as finance and pharma.) And any area that's booming that I'm aware of is experiencing quite a bit of real estate appreciation even if it's often still modest by Bay area standards.

If only there were some way to collaborate with people sitting more than two feet away.

The DMV area? Its rents are fairly consistent, gentrification is pretty slow-and-steady, and the only growing pain I see is poor transportation options. But DMV is full of established companies and government work, not trendy startups. If San Francisco's high rents are due to startup culture, you may find more average rents where the tech isn't trendy.

Sorry, but I've never heard of that acronym for a metro before. Where's the DMV?

Delaware, Maryland, Virginia

DC, Maryland, Virgina. Also known as the Washington metropolitan area (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_metropolitan_area). Delaware doesn't have much of a tech sector.

I've heard Richmond, VA is a new hip city, but I'm unaware of tech being there.

Richmond is several hours away from the DMV metro area. It's... alright? But I wouldn't call it a metro area. It's more like a college town that has a foodie and music scene, and of course is chock full of history, being the national capital of the Confederacy and instrumental in providing support for the American Revolutionary War and later industrial power.

To me, DMV stands for Department of Motor Vehicles.

DelMarVa is the geographic peninsula east of Chesapeake Bay and west of Delaware Bay.

The ring of urban sprawl around the federal capital is "The DC Area". Unfortunately, "DC Metro" is the train system, and "DC Metropolis" is where Superman lives.

The only (well paying) tech jobs in Delaware would probably be working on internal systems for credit card companies in Wilmington. Possibly also registered agent software for CT or CSC, or some other business revolving around corporate registration and reporting.

I can't help thinking "Columbia Metropolis" would be a better name for the urban areas around the District of Columbia. But I don't have the authority to just change the names of things.

"But I don't have the authority to just change the names of things."

PING!

You do now! Go for it!

-- The Naming Fairy

No. At least, none that I'm aware of.

There are a number of cities that have significantly less of these problems. But that's primarily because they have other, different major problems that they are struggling with instead. (High violent crime, financial crisis, lack of employment or far-lower-than-average incomes, etc)

Try North Carolina, which has regrettably chosen to become a former tech hub.

You mean the Research Triangle?

Not what I hear from various co-workers complaining about the prices of buying or renting condos in downtown Raleigh.

He is referring to the anti LBGT antidiscrimination law just passed.

Oh sure. Which I was certainly aware of. Unbelievable.

Keep in mind that "tech hub" implies tech salaries. Shovel a big pile of money into an area and you will get inflation.

Berlin definitely has gentrification issues. How's it doing in terms of rent increases?

Cleveland wants to become one, but it's an uphill battle.

As someone who's very familiar with the tech scene in Cleveland. Get out, it's so incredibly dead end there.

Is there even a "scene" if there's just a few companies and a few developers? I mean, any city of any size has some tech companies and engineers, doesn't mean it's a scene.

FWIW I'm pretty happy at NASA GRC. If I wasn't though, Its true that I probably would have already left for Pittsburg or Chicago. I am one of those suckers that does like the midwest ultimately.

The ones that aren't growing. For example, Detroit.

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