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I think the Bay Area. Although there's not too many conservative places to live. I like the American Canyon region and Contra Costa County but not much else.
I'll have to say SF by a hair. I personally do not care for Houston at all but economically it is no slouch. There are frankly a lot of pitfalls for both.
I am probably a bit biased but I would put O&G on a slightly more solid footing at least in the near term. Most business publications have been declaring the latest tech boom as a bubble destined to pop for some time. Lots of tech companies like Twitter are making little if any money. How much VC money can they suck up before they have to start turning profits? Something's got to give.
Long term nobody really knows whats happening but the improvements in technology within oil and gas and energy effiency are really underreported. Nobody would have guessed even 5 years ago the US would be producing as much as it is. I think oil is going to be around longer than most think.
SF is hell for any sort of middle class household; it MUST increase its housing supply. At the same time I was pretty blown away how expensive Houston has gotten just in the past few years. Of course, its still quite cheaper than the E/W coasts and there are very few truly global cities that are cheap. But Houston has billed itself as affordable...can it sustain its growth if this goes away?
One major advantage SF has is it has much better human capital. Multiple top universities (Stanford, UC Berkley, etc.) doing a lot of R&D and much better lifestyle metrics. For a city that is doing well economically, Houston (and Texas in general) have very poor education and health levels. Rice is a good school but it is no Stanford. I will say a lot of O&G firms are stepping up with their R&D activity though.
I don't think one tech firm closing is indicative of the tech climate of Los Angeles. I don't think LA is really gunning to "dethrone Silicon Valley" but there is a tech scence worth keeping an eye on. This article today from Tech Crunch can explain it better than me
Interesting read - lots of valuable information in that article, and very timely.
Interesting read - lots of valuable information in that article, and very timely.
Big differences between Bay Area and LA tech companies:
Bay Area has the true LARGE/LEGACY GIANTS headquartered there EG: Oracle, Google, Salesforce, EMC, Accenture etc.
LA has a lot of media tech (youtube), app dev, professional services and boutique tech EG: Machinima (although dying), Maker, Cornerstone, Demand Media etc. Also most of the giants have offices in LA as well -- as offshoots of their Bay Area HQ. This will be the trend for LA within the coming years. Although the reason why LA's local economy is in shambles has nothing to do with the tech presence here, it's because the Entertainment industry has been dying for years and we are finally starting to feel it. A lot of freelancers are broke as a result, whereas 10-15 years ago these people would have been fine.
Technically the company I work for fits into the "Silicon Beach" category but it is HQ'd elsewhere. We are just a satellite office.
They have some similarities with having ports, Chevron connection, SF Opera director moved from Houston Grand Opera, Both love the arts, Strong dominance in one economic area, large Asian communities, but that really is about it.
I love the aesthetic beauty of San Fran, and it can't be duplicated. Houston's somewhat minor setbacks of high humidity, long hot summers, and flat land are overlooked by the southern hospitality and free wheeling spirit of its local residents.
Houston has more economic relevance than SF. Aside from being a monster with oil related jobs, Houston has an important port getting more important by the minute. The Panama canal capacity is about to really explode.
Presently the Houston port is consistently ranked 1st in the United States in foreign waterborne tonnage; 1st in U.S. imports; 1st in U.S. export tonnage and 2nd in the U.S. in total tonnage. It is also the nation’s leading breakbulk port, handling 65 percent of all major U.S. project cargo; tens of thousands jobs directly related to it. Overview | The Port of Houston Authority
Houston's texas medical center is also growing by leaps and bounds. It provides jobs for over a hundred thousands of people, with thousands of them being advanced degree professionals. Texas Medical Center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The center's recent goal: to become a leader in turning academic research into a pharmaceutical, medical device and digital health engine on par with that of Houston's oil and gas industry. Texas Medical Center steps up to propel science into industry - Houston Chronicle
I love SF weather but I don't mind the semi-tropical weather that Houston offers. Not any worse than Singapore or Hong Kong.
There were 6,490 homes sold in Sep 2014 in Houston Houston Real Estate Market
In SF there aren't very many houses to buy Bay Area’s Dubious Honor: Tightest Real Estate Market in U.S. | Bay Area Real Estate Market Blog | Pacific Union
Houston is not just oil/gas or even more broadly not just energy. As said above there is the world's largest medical center that employs over 100,000 people in related industries. There is the massive port that is about to become even more important with the Panama Canal expansion. And there is the aerospace presence. I read once that in Houston, about 14,000 people are employed in NASA-related jobs. The city is pursuing a spaceport at a former air force base. With the commercialization of space travel, Houston is one of the obvious choices to capitalize on that developing trend. All the engineers that lose their jobs with NASA may not even have to relocate to find a new job.
Maybe its because my parents are immigrants who came to the US with nothing and still climbed to the highest income bracket, I dunno, but these used tampon-like, defeatist comments about affordability have always seemed so bizarre to me.
To each his own, but the old saying 'you get what you pay for' usually rings true and this is no exception. You want a live in a premium, world class city and metro region with outlandishly generous doses of natural beauty, divine weather, a hyper dynamic, cutting edge economy, packed with educated, accomplished, affluent and upwardly mobile people from all over the world? Well guess what? Thats not going to be cheap.
The antedote for a lack of money is to go out and hustle to make more money.
Maybe its because my parents are immigrants who came to the US with nothing and still climbed to the highest income bracket, I dunno, but these used tampon-like, defeatist comments about affordability have always seemed so bizarre to me.
To each his own, but the old saying 'you get what you pay for' usually rings true and this is no exception. You want a live in a premium, world class city and metro region with outlandishly generous doses of natural beauty, divine weather, a hyper dynamic, cutting edge economy, packed with educated, accomplished, affluent and upwardly mobile people from all over the world? Well guess what? Thats not going to be cheap.
The antedote for a lack of money is to go out and hustle to make more money.
Different people will have different priorities. You may call it a defeatist attitude but some would think of it as being realistic. Money is limited for most people so instead of spending it all on housing, it can be spread around to funding college educations, vacations with family, saving for the future, and whatever else.
Instead of hustling to make more money, many people would rather spend TIME with their family. My best friend is from a very wealthy family. The only thing he has ever lacked in his life is time with his father. I find that sad.
"No other success can compensate for failure in the home." - David O. McKay
Different people will have different priorities. You may call it a defeatist attitude but some would think of it as being realistic. Money is limited for most people so instead of spending it all on housing, it can be spread around to funding college educations, vacations with family, saving for the future, and whatever else.
Instead of hustling to make more money, many people would rather spend TIME with their family. My best friend is from a very wealthy family. The only thing he has ever lacked in his life is time with his father. I find that sad.
"No other success can compensate for failure in the home." - David O. McKay
Yes, I agree totally, but one of his recent succesors said the following:
"Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds"-Gordon B. Hinckley
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