[OPINION] Best place in the US for NetAdmins

Sun Jul 27 17:41:15 UTC 2014

On Sun, Jul 27, 2014 at 9:28 AM, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:

>
>
> > On Jul 26, 2014, at 6:01 PM, William Herrin <bill at herrin.us> wrote:
> >
> >> On Sat, Jul 26, 2014 at 1:13 PM, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:
> >> Bill, on your list of not so wonderful things in DC, you left off:
> >>        Weather
> >>                In the sumer, the DC area is, well, what you’d expect
> from a hot, humid, fetid swamp.
> >>                In the winter, you can make ice cream outside without
> rock salt (though there’s plenty of
> >>                        salt available on the roads).
> >
> > Meh. The weather is always temperate indoors. You ARE a computer guy,
> right?
>
> Yes and no. I like being able to go outside and enjoy things outside of my
> job environment.
>
> To me, weather matters.
>
> I guess if I had grown up or been stuck in the DC area for a long time, I
> might not be so focused on the outdoors.
>
> >> Contrary to Bill’s claims, we have nearly as many data centers
> >> housing lots of interconnect, content providers, etc. out here,
> >> too. We’re also a primary gateway to Asia and the Pacific as
> >> well as Australia.
> >
> > I wouldn't dream of suggesting that silicon valley lacks for anything
> > of interest to computer and networking folks. You even have heavy
> > taxation, heavy regulation and a state government ever on the brink of
> > financial collapse, all things less prevalent in Northern Virginia.
> > Though if you really enjoy those things you can always visit DC or the
> > People's Republic of Maryland.
>
> Meh... I don't think my taxation is that high overall. Yes, I pay a
> slightly higher sales tax than VA, but IIRC, our income tax rate is lower.
> My property taxes are definitely lower and more predictable.
>
> Owen
>
>
Shush, Owen!  It's already crowded enough out
here--the last thing we need is more people
thinking it's a good place to work.   ;P

You wouldn't like it here in the Bay Area.
It's horrible, there's pollution all the time,
the traffic is terrible, there's no reasonable
public transportation, there's no late-night
eateries for when you finish that maintenance
window at 2am.  You definitely don't want to
live here.  :D

And as far as that government data about
salary goes...yeah, that's definitely the mean,
and doesn't represent the full range.  My W2
last year was *mumble*-times the listed mean
for some parts of the country.

Telecommuting can work out amazingly well,
for the right people.  But it takes dedication
and focus, and a relentless willingness to
be accessible to your coworkers.

Matt