Depends on what you want. If you're looking to tap into the tech mainstream and be "in" the major flow of companies, company growth, etc then your best bets are:
. Silicon Valley - Redwood City, San Mateo etc is the heart of tech even today. From a web perspective, there are many start ups and established companies in the software industry, all of which put a priority on web. VERY expensive and lots of demand and supply but there's no better place to be in the "flow". Pace is very fast.
. New York - Very heavy in financial services. Lots of sofware companies. Major hub for IBM and other "titans" of the industry. Very heavy in "Big 5" consutling firms (Accenture, Deloitte, Bearing Point, etc). Not a bad place to find mid-stage startups (but often they'll be out of the city due to cost). If you like Banking and Investment side technology, there is NO better place in the US. Very high cost of living, very fast paced, incredible amount of culture and, if you haven't been, New Yorkers are, as a general rule, really great people. It's also one of the top three places to find venture capital folks.
. Boston - Next to silicon valley, Boston probably has the most early and mid-stage startup companies in the country. Generally fast paced, definetly in the flow. Many established companies with opportunities. Very strong in the Venture capital community. It's also the home to AMR (One of the top technology industry analyst groups). Harvard and MIT create an additional set of ongoing opportunities. Expensive cost of living, but not like the valley or NYC. Culture is quirky in its way but I find it very stimulating. The Bosox is a religion and the Pats aren't far behind.
. Seattle area - Home of Microsoft; so if you like MS, it's a good area. Web, Content, and Gaming are all hot priorities. Microsoft and Google are the dominators in the area. Culture is "green" and laid back. Cost of living is higher than average but not Silicon Valley level. Pace is a bit slower but still intense (especially at Google more than MSFT).
. Northern Virginia and Maryland (Columbia, MD, Reston, Fairfax, Vienna, etc) is the home of major government contracting which, more and more, includes significant high tech and lots of web development. Cost of living is high but not as high as New York, LA or Silicon Valley. Flow is pretty good with some decent innovation (more than many realize), and pace is fast.
. Atlanta - Atlanta has some very strong and well established tech companies, mainly software. A good venture community also opens up new opportunity. Cost of living is pretty decent for a major city, especially if you're more out of the main city. Pace is fast for most southern cities but still relatively gentile. It's also a major regional banking center and home to some big dogs like Home Depot and Coca Cola.
. Dallas-Ft. Worth - Still a strong area of technology. Regardless of what some think, it has more established action and job opportunities than Austin. Some mid-stage startups, a lot of large established companies and a great place if you're early in your career. Cost of living is good, pace is reasonably fast but much more 'comfortable' than other major cities. People are very much "Texas" centric (which is humorous and fun in most instances). Don't dis the Cowboys and make sure you know who the longhorn fans are :)
Chicago - Some good software companies, some startups, and some very large financial services firms. It's also the hot bed of "consulting" with major professional service firms like Accenture, Deloitte, and others having regional headquarters there.
. Denver / Co Springs - Denver is an area with a lot of early and mid-stage startup work. It's generally seen as an area of innovation and there are some solid companies in the area. IBM has a major research center in the northwest part of the city (I'm assuming its still there). Lockheed-Martin has a very large complex there. There is some great culture in Denver and its certainly a progressive city. Cost of living is decent, pace is medium to fast with a nice level of intensity.
. LA - Still a lot of defense work in the area, Orange County has a decent venture community with some growing startups, and the movie and entertainment business are big (and heavy tech buyers and users). LA used to also be a strong area for Defense but that's waned in the last decade or so (But its still there). Cost of living is very high (Silicon Valley kind of high) pace is fast, maybe more so than it should be.
. Boca Raton Florida - A sleeper for most people but Boca has a strong foundation and history of innovation through IBM and others. There are still things going on there and a suprising number of early stage and venture activity. Cost of living is high but managable, pace is pretty relaxed, but it's also an area of a lot of retirees, financial boiler room companies etc so you need to be careful.
. Austin - Still a generally good place to find opportunities but is living, IMHO, more off its fumes of Dell than anything else. There are startups but I haven't seen any real strong companies coming out of the Austin area for some time. Not to say there aren't opportunities. Cost of living is higher than it used to be but reasonable. Pace is not as intense and the city is small in comparison to other tech beds. Austin is the "Live Performance Music Capital of the World" and the State Capital, all of which have appeal. It's also relatively close to San Antonio which is the home of AT&T, the Army Medical Services branch and USAA (all of which are heavy tech buyers).
Triangle Park, North Carolina - The "RTP" is near Raleigh-Durham, NC, and is probably the longest standing area of innovation outside of the Silicon Valley. It's heavy in many aspects of technology and research including Bio-Tech, tech hardware, software, etc. Most of the major players, IBM, Sun, HP, Oracle, SAP, etc have centers there. Cost of living if decent, pace is laid back but there are fewer overall opportunities in the area today than in the past.
All of the above have a strong mix of technology as an industry and technology for businesses (working in the IT shop) opportunities. The following have more business IT jobs with a few tech as industry but are still pretty strong areas of tech opportunity and growth.
. Phoenix, AZ - A major regional center for banking and other industry, Phoenix is often overlooked as a tech center but it shouldn't be. There are some early and mid-stage companies there and some good established software companies. The main draw, though, is the banking industry and the plethora of jobs that go with it. Culture, IMHO, is very strong, especially for golfers, cost of living is good, and the pace is moderate with a decent amount of intensity.
. Philidelphia, PA - Strong regional industry, good banking infrastructure and a number of large industry type companies including GE all are in and around Philly. As a financial center there are banks and technology software and services companies including SEI investments, and others (names escape me right now). Cost of living is high but more like DC than New York. Pace is relatively fast but nothing like New York. Good culture (even with Donavon McNabb injured).
. Charlotte, NC - Charlotte is the home of Bank of America among other financial giants. It's a regional financial center. They typical bank IT Budget is 55?eople cost, meaning banks buy platforms and build. As such, anyplace with heavy banking will have a high numbe of IT jobs. Charlotte is a great example of this. Pace is generally nice, even slightly laid back. Cost of living is reasonable. You've also got Lowes Corp there. If you're a NASCAR fan, there's no better place to be.
. Columbus, OH - Columbus is another sleeper. It's the state capital and has a large number of tech opportunities related to a large state government. In terms of business IT, there is Nationwide, Chase Retail and Home Mortgage, Cardinal Health, a number of large manufacturers, and the defense supply center. Dayton is nearby with opportunities as well. With Ohio State University and other research arms, Columbus is growing significantly in bio-tech research and there are tech opportunities in that. A few software industry companies are there but there's more angel and early stage investing than big established tech companies. Cost of living is excellent and the pace tends to be almost "collegiate". You also probably don't want to talk alot about Michigan and build an affinity for The Ohio State University :)
. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN - Very strong IT potential in Minneapolis with major food companies, Best Buy and other large companies headquartered there. Retailers and other supply chain type companies tend to have overall smaller IT budgets than, say, banks, but there's still robust hiring. There are also some very interesting startups that have come out of the area and some innovation in the retail market with IT going on in the area. Not a huge amount of venture capital but money is accessible. Culturally, Minneapolis is a fantastic place to live (maybe not if you're a fast paced New Yorker, but you'd be suprised). Folks in the area can be "clanish", i.e. they like folks from the area (not unusual for high northern cities like Minneapolis, Milwaukee, etc) but I find the people to be warm and open and really enjoy the people and the area. Cost of living is very good and the pace is solidly mid-western. It's a great place if you love winter sports :)
. Cincinnati - Cincinnati is home to Proctor and Gamble, Cincinnati Bell (CBIS) and other large corporations. It's also got a lot of medium and regional industry which create a good amount of IT opportunity. it's got decent culture, especially is you like sports, the cost of living is very good and the pace is mid-western.
. Las Vegas - There are some things going on in and around Las Vegas although the gaming and entertainment industry is the majority of it. There have been some movement by the city and area to spark venture and there are some startups. There is alot of culture around resort and gaming etc and a reginal lake that's a recreation area (and Hoover Dam about 45 mins away). Cost of living is still reasonable but higher than in the past. Pace varies but is generally moderate.
There are others but, for me, if I started looking tomorrow, These would all be on my list above all others. I've been in the tech industry 23 years, have spent a lot of time in every place I've mentioned and seen first hand the industry, the tech growth and the venture capital investment groups in all.
Hope this gives you a better idea of possibilities.
Take Care.
Answered By: techbankguy - 11/30/2007 |