Which is better for tech. and entrepeneur's...SoCal or NorCal? (San Diego: real estate, condo)

[Angel Bear]

Just curious about which area is better for techies and entrepeneurs to live? Hubby and I are looking at both SoCal and NorCal to see which would better support our careers. Hubby is an engineer with tons of experience, so he may want a day job to begin with until he starts up his company (he'll be using tech. knowledge, but it will be in the recreation industry). I have a company, but mine is more spiritually-metaphysically based, so I can work any place LOL.

I guess it depends on where the job offers are once he starts looking, but wondered about the socioeconomics and such.

We've been smart with our money, so housing costs are not a big concern and we're aware of the expensive nature of housing in the areas we're looking at. We don't aspire to a large single family home and large SUV's LOL We will most likely start out in a 2-bedroom condo or townhouse...something like that.

Any advice that is balanced would be most appreciated

Thanks in advance!

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by Angel Bear

Just curious about which area is better for techies and entrepeneurs to live? Hubby and I are looking at both SoCal and NorCal to see which would better support our careers. Hubby is an engineer with tons of experience, so he may want a day job to begin with until he starts up his company (he'll be using tech. knowledge, but it will be in the recreation industry). I have a company, but mine is more spiritually-metaphysically based, so I can work any place LOL.

I guess it depends on where the job offers are once he starts looking, but wondered about the socioeconomics and such.

We've been smart with our money, so housing costs are not a big concern and we're aware of the expensive nature of housing in the areas we're looking at. We don't aspire to a large single family home and large SUV's LOL We will most likely start out in a 2-bedroom condo or townhouse...something like that.

Any advice that is balanced would be most appreciated

Thanks in advance!

Silicon Valley is the premier location for technology Venture capital and technology startups in the world.

That said, SoCal has a good startup scene and some local VC's too, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to what's going on in the Bay Area.

[KittyG]

That's what Silicon Valley is supposed to be...but I know several people that have lost their jobs and others that were so pro N.CA. and have moved to S. CA!!! CA is expensive, but it's quite pricy up north...IF you can find something stable in S.CA.. My husband is in Technology and an Entepreneur - we've he's able to p/u clients from San Diego, OC to LA...

[kettlepot]

I think it REALLY depends on the kind of engineer your husband is. Certain engineers do better up north and others do better in the south.

[Angel Bear]

I think it REALLY depends on the kind of engineer your husband is. Certain engineers do better up north and others do better in the south.

Thanks for the comments on this thread...I had forgotten about it! Hugs!

My hubby has a degree in aerospace, but only worked briefly with that background (CFD--computational fluid dynamics) before he was whisked away by the automotive companies But, he did challenge himself to switch areas and projects many times in the auto biz.

So, mechanical or aerospace engineering...those would be his areas. But, then again, he's a total brainiac so I think he'd be adaptable to most engineering jobs, except maybe computer 'cause he doesn't have an interest in that area (I do which is ironic LOL--I'm more into graphic design and marketing though, but my day job is as a spiritual healer/intuitive coach Hee hee!)

Irvine in the southern part seems to have tons of jobs in his field, but then again, Sunnyvale is northern and has a ton too. It seems there's more jobs overall in his field in CA as a whole than here where we live, so that is encouraging

I think he'll work for someone else for a while before doing his own stuff, which is the smart thing to do IMHO

[Skyminor]

Hmmm, when you said Aerospace Engineer I instantly thought of Northrop or Lockheed, both of which are in L.A.

Silicon Valley is still ripe with VC for tech start ups. There is no comparison. Socal is making headway, as evidenced by both Yahoo and Google putting huge campuses around L.A. Socal does have many other periphery businesses though, entertainment, logisitics, banking/finance.

[Mach50]

Historically SoCal has better jobs for Aerospace: Lockheed, Northrop, Raytheon, Boeing and the many subcontractors that support these mega corporations. However, I am an Aerospace Engineer who works in Software Engineering Security now and my jobs have taken me to Silicon Valley time and time again. Moffett Field has NASA, Lockheed, Loral, Boeing as well.

Both OC/LA and the BayArea have loads of jobs in these fields. I tend to think NorCal has a stronger economy right now mainly because Silicon Valley has a very diverse array of tech companies. OC/LA seem to be around DOD, Entertainment and Real Estate/Finance (which is hurting).

I have lived in both Irvine and Sunnyvale area, I will say usually it comes down to personal preference on who likes to live where. Have you considered the differences of Irvine vs Sunnyvale? These are completely different types of environments to start a business in.