[Lava Lamp Freak]

I've lived in Nashville about 10 years. I've decided it is time to move on. I'm 26 years old and really just have the overwhelming feeling that I'm ready to move on and experience something new in my life. Anyone else ever get that feeling? I'm single and not tied down, so I really have nothing to hold me back.

I work in web development so that narrows down my list of places I can live and find work. It is pretty hard in Nashville to find anything. I'm not set on doing web development for ever, but it is what I know and has been feeding me for the last 7 years. The hard thing is knowing that my last few jobs have only came to be through networking. If I move to another city and know no one, that will make it even harder to find work.

So I'm looking for a place that has a fairly low cost of living, and has plenty of tech work to choose from. Right now I'm interested in the Raleigh and Durham area. Austin also looks to be an interesting area with low cost of living and plenty of work.

My plan is to keep working at my current job and send out my resume to places that sound interesting. Financially I am at a point where I could just quit my current job now and move someplace and have about 6 months to look for a job, but I don't know if I really want to blow my savings until I know exactly where I want to live.

Any ideas/opinions on places to move? Anyone else know the feeling I'm having now wanting to get out and see something new.

[Captain Obvious]

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak 

I've lived in Nashville about 10 years. I've decided it is time to move on. I'm 26 years old and really just have the overwhelming feeling that I'm ready to move on and experience something new in my life. Anyone else ever get that feeling?

Not in the way you are getting that feeling. I'd never live in Nashville though.

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak 

So I'm looking for a place that has a fairly low cost of living, and has plenty of tech work to choose from. Right now I'm interested in the Raleigh and Durham area. Austin also looks to be an interesting area with low cost of living and plenty of work.

Any ideas/opinions on places to move? Anyone else know the feeling I'm having now wanting to get out and see something new.

You are stuck living in the South if your main concern is the cost of living. A real sized city on the west coast, upper east coast, and even the midwest is not an inexpensive place to call home. I'd say Charlotte or Orlando are your best bets.
Beyond the Valley: 10 Blooming U.S. Cities for Tech: Potential New Hubs

[Moonray]

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak 

... So I'm looking for a place that has a fairly low cost of living, and has plenty of tech work to choose from ...
.

Well, often areas with good job opportunities have high costs of living and vice versa, because no one wants to live in a place with bad job opportunities and high living costs (You’re not the first one there). But if you find something different I’d like to hear.

-

[nonhuman]

Southwest might not be a bad place to look. Phoenix, Albequerque, Santa Fe, &c. They're all actively developing and everyone wants people with tech skills.

Also, don't sell your self short as a web developer. I do a fair amount of freelance web development, and although it's useful to be in the same area as your clients initially (to get to know them), it's far from required. In my experience, the best thing to do is to find some web designers who are doing fairly well but don't have much in the way of coding skills who would be able to contract some work out to you. I've got two deals like that (and working on a third), and they're keeping me pretty busy with work.

[imitchellg5]

Colorado Springs has a lot of tech jobs, although less now that Intel is closing down here. Seattle also is rich in tech, with Microsoft and Boeing around, as well as many smaller companies. Get a job at Microsoft's MacBU, that would be sweet, although there is a bit of dissent going through there right now.

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Originally Posted by Captain Obvious 

Not in the way you are getting that feeling. I'd never live in Nashville though.



You are stuck living in the South if your main concern is the cost of living. A real sized city on the west coast, upper east coast, and even the midwest is not an inexpensive place to call home. I'd say Charlotte or Orlando are your best bets.
Beyond the Valley: 10 Blooming U.S. Cities for Tech: Potential New Hubs

Yea, I wouldn't pick here either if I had the choice. My family moved here when I was 16 because my sister sings. This is a great place to be if you are a musician.

[KeriVit]

I find NC (believe it or not) to have some high-tech and nice cost. Really depends what ur up for personally. Want a city? Then move to one. You'll have luck. Salary may work well with cost of living. Bottom line, say "Where do I want to go?" and just go. Everything else will work out if u r good at what u do.

[rickey939]

Kansas.

[moonmonkey]

Bangalore.

[Jumbonium2007]

Whatever you do.. stay the hell out of michigan. Our state is a blunder with unemployment soaring. I hold 3 apple certifications and cannot find a job anywhere other than saying welcome to mcdonalds what can I get for you today.. Ive done the fast food when I was younger and I wont do it again. Good Luck wherever you choose

[torsoboy]

Originally Posted by Jumbonium2007 

I hold 3 apple certifications and cannot find a job anywhere other than saying welcome to mcdonalds what can I get for you today.. Ive done the fast food when I was younger and I wont do it again.

I think you would find that same scenario in almost every city. 3 apple certificates? What the heck did you think you would do with those? With only a 5% market share, and with Apple doing most of their own repair and sales work, it seems like a kind of silly thing to spend your time doing.

Anyway, I agree with what others said... pick a city and go. If you are decent at web development you can find a job anywhere.

[tavin64]

I live in Austin, TX and while I am in the accounting field myself there is plenty of tech jobs in this city. Of course we have some of the big companies (Cisco, HP, Intel, AMD, Dell, Samsung, TI, Apple) but there are also a lot of IT consulting firms as well among others.

Also while I don't know how the cost of living is in Nashville, Austin is not as cheap as you think. It is actually the city with the highest cost of living in TX. But then again it has the highest median household income in the state as well.

My wife works for Apple at the Marketing Dept. here in the Austin campus and she has told me that there will be a lot of available jobs in the future as they are constructing a new building in the campus. Although I think it will mostly be for tech support purposes.

[Aussiemac]

Your 26 single & have an urge to travel, if your any good at your job a company will sponser you.
Go for it
See the world, think big.
I work in Mining Construction, based in Australia, have worked all over Australia and Papua New Guinea and Africa.
Its great to see other countries & meet new people.

Web Developer - Europe Jobs London

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Anyone have opinions on the Tampa Bay, Florida area? Not just related to tech jobs, but life in general, cost of living, and traffic.

[olePigeon]

If you're eligible for citizenship with the European Union, you can live/work in any country that's apart of the Union with little or no tape. It's pretty damn cool.

[Nivag]

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak 

Anyone have opinions on the Tampa Bay, Florida area? Not just related to tech jobs, but life in general, cost of living, and traffic.

I've heard Michael Jackson likes Tampa with the kids.....

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

If you're eligible for citizenship with the European Union, you can live/work in any country that's apart of the Union with little or no tape.

"apart of"

You mean "a part of"

-t

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

Colorado Springs has a lot of tech jobs, although less now that Intel is closing down here. Seattle also is rich in tech, with Microsoft and Boeing around, as well as many smaller companies. Get a job at Microsoft's MacBU, that would be sweet, although there is a bit of dissent going through there right now.

I've decided on Denver. I've already quit my job and have begun preparations to make the long journey from Nashville to Denver two weeks from today. I've already started applying for jobs in the area and am in communication with two tech staffing companies. I hope to at least have some interviews lined up by the time I get there. Good thing is I have a friend there I can stay with a few days while I look for an apartment. I was thinking about finding a roommate on Craigslist, but after looking around through ads that seems a bit scary. It would be cheaper though.

All of my furniture will be furnishing my parents basement for the time being, so at least I have a place to store it while I figure things out in Denver. If things work out I'll move everything there, otherwise I'll come back to Nashville and decide where to go next. I'm really hoping I can find a job with a good salary because I love the Denver area. I visited last year and thought then that it might be a nice place to live. I'm not sure how I'll like the snow, but I guess I'll figure out pretty quickly if it is the thing for me.

[turtle777]

You seem quite determined, so I'm sure you will make it happen.

Good luck with the move and finding a new job. Hope it goes smooth and fast.

-t

[olePigeon]

Northern California. You can't beat the Bay Area when it comes to tech jobs.

I lived in Colorado for a few years and they're considered the "new Silicon Valley." You might like it having grown up in Nashville, but personally, it was too white for me. Not enough culture. That's why I love the Bay Area, San Jose specifically.

Anyway, I don't think I need to list all the companies down here. OK, I'll name a few: Apple, HP, Cisco, Sun, Xerox, NASA, Lockheed Martin, Blizzard, Pacific Bell, etc. If there's a tech company, chances are they have an office out here. Microsoft is just a bit north in Washington.

[Paco500]

Congrats on going for it- good luck.

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak 

I'm not sure how I'll like the snow, but I guess I'll figure out pretty quickly if it is the thing for me.

Any locals can correct me, but it was my understanding that Denver itself doesn't get that much snow- more than Nashville, obviously, but less than you might think.

[moonmonkey]

I still think Bangalore is the place to be for tech jobs.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by moonmonkey 

I still think Bangalore is the place to be for tech jobs.

Prepare for a nice cut in standard of living

-t

[funkboy]

Good luck Freak! Can we see some of your web site design?

Denver is a great place for the singles scene I've been told.

[@pplejaxkz]

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak 

I've lived in Nashville about 10 years. I've decided it is time to move on. I'm 26 years old and really just have the overwhelming feeling that I'm ready to move on and experience something new in my life. Anyone else ever get that feeling? I'm single and not tied down, so I really have nothing to hold me back.

I work in web development so that narrows down my list of places I can live and find work. It is pretty hard in Nashville to find anything. I'm not set on doing web development for ever, but it is what I know and has been feeding me for the last 7 years. The hard thing is knowing that my last few jobs have only came to be through networking. If I move to another city and know no one, that will make it even harder to find work.

So I'm looking for a place that has a fairly low cost of living, and has plenty of tech work to choose from. Right now I'm interested in the Raleigh and Durham area. Austin also looks to be an interesting area with low cost of living and plenty of work.

I myself am in a very similar situation. I am also a Web Developer, it hasn't necessarily been feeding me but I'm hoping that one day it could. Right now I have my eyes set on Chicago, living with a buddy of mine. Anyone know if there are a good amount of opportunities there? I'm only 20, but I have been living in Upstate NY for most of my life and I too feel it's time to move on.

[nonhuman]

Just stay away from Boston, those future web development contracts are mine!

Seriously though, any major city is going to have tons of opportunity. You'll also find opportunity in smaller cities and even out in the country if you put a little more effort into looking for them. As with everything it's a balancing act, you either have to put more work into finding opportunities, or you have to put more work into beating the competition to them. The strategy that's been working for me well so far has been to find a good web designer and build a good relationship with them so that you become their go-to guy for development. I've got two good designer that I work closely with here in Boston and it keeps bringing work in even when I don't go out to look for it. I'm starting to have to sub-contract certain things out, and am even thinking about the possibility of hiring employees.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak 

I work in web development so that narrows down my list of places I can live and find work.

I'm not understanding this statement at all.

Every city over 500,000 people will be able to sustain you because every business everywhere needs web services. The smart money is on moving to a city which isn't already overpopulated with web developers (i.e. a traditionally non tech city), going self-employed and hitting up every business you can your rate card.

Example: You're in Nashville, so don't hit up the music companies - everyone else will be doing that. Hit up the plumbers - they need web sites too.

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

I'm not understanding this statement at all.

I guess I stated it wrong. The list isn't narrow, its broad, rather. The narrow list would be places I want to live and can afford to live.

I am also doing freelance work and just had prior co-worker e-mail me yesterday stating that he is now the Director of Technology at a company and has freelance work he can send to me. I also have designer friends who send me work and another prior co-worker who is doing freelance work and wants to send me work when he is over-committed. So, really, I could just live anywhere I want and do freelance work. Denver is where I *want* to live so I'll find a way to make it work.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak 

I guess I stated it wrong. The list isn't narrow, its broad, rather. The narrow list would be places I want to live and can afford to live.

I am also doing freelance work and just had prior co-worker e-mail me yesterday stating that he is now the Director of Technology at a company and has freelance work he can send to me. I also have designer friends who send me work and another prior co-worker who is doing freelance work and wants to send me work when he is over-committed. So, really, I could just live anywhere I want and do freelance work. Denver is where I *want* to live so I'll find a way to make it work.

Got ya.

Go for Denver (or just outside) then dude. You know it makes sense.

[mindwaves]

I'm not sure how good the Orange County, CA or SoCal area is good for web development, but in general, for tech jobs, it is a nice place to live. We have the following companies: Sun, Google, was Linksys, Micron?, Qualcomm, biotech stuff, IP firms, Broadcom, Toshiba, Sharp, etc.

[iREZ]

yahoo has also set up shop in santa monica

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Originally Posted by mindwaves 

I'm not sure how good the Orange County, CA or SoCal area is good for web development, but in general, for tech jobs, it is a nice place to live. We have the following companies: Sun, Google, was Linksys, Micron?, Qualcomm, biotech stuff, IP firms, Broadcom, Toshiba, Sharp, etc.

I was in Lake Forest last year visiting the main office of the company I was working for at the time. I thought it was a beautiful area, but it seemed to have a very high cost of living. My standard of living would probably take a nose dive there. I would like to try So Cal someday, though.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by mindwaves 

I'm not sure how good the Orange County, CA or SoCal area is good for web development, but in general, for tech jobs, it is a nice place to live. We have the following companies: Sun, Google, was Linksys, Micron?, Qualcomm, biotech stuff, IP firms, Broadcom, Toshiba, Sharp, etc.

San Francisco is one of the leading cities to get into biotech right now. Schwarzenegger is throwing a ton of money at stem cell research.