Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

Despite All Your Rage You Can Leave The Cage

Are you a lab rat?

Chances are good that if you're in America, in these troubled times, your state is probably engaged in some kind of experiment.  It might be the changes in Florida () or Wisconsin's cuts (and the weird statements on the National Guard), or California's cut-and-confront budget.  You're probably seeing a lot of very experimental things.

I've ranted on this before - we're seeing a lot of social and financial experiments in the Great Recession.  Some of these are legitimate, a great deal seem to be ideology over practicality.  The thing is they're being done.

After talking to friends in different states, I've come to two conclusions about this:

1. If you aren't paying attention to your state and local budget you're missing a lot, and could be blindsided by some very nasty surprises.
2. You should have a backup plan in case whatever experiments going on in your state/city/location fail miserably.  Or in short, where would you move if all the geniuses making budget decisions screw it up.

Be careful.  Apply all those geeky relocation tips we've discussed here over the years.  Right now it's a pretty unsure time, and that ideal city or state you live in now could end up being the site of a failed experiment.

This applies even to me.  I love California and Silicon Valley, but I like to have a backup plan or too.  I just don't want to USE them.

- Steven Savage

* Bonus question - what's the inspiration for the post title?

Microregions and Why You Should Care

I know I go on about Megaregions, if only because it's an awesome name to use in a serious economic conversation.  However, though I do take the concept dead seriously, I've come to the conclusion that if you're in or heading into a Megaregion, there's something else to consider.

What I call "Microregions."

Look At The Many Opportunities Of Relocation

OK, you've done it.  You're relocating.  You found that right place, that right job (or right opportunity).  You're going to get that career of yours going!

Don't forget, once you relocate, that there's plenty of other things you'll want to do to catch up on your life.  Relocation is an opportunity not just for that new job, but often we're moving to areas that cover a lot of our others needs much better than where we were. 

Consider:

• A chance to improve your connections.  There are new meetups, new conventions,  new events, new networking opportunities, new holiday celebrations.  Take the time to find out what to do and how to get involved.
• A chance to improve your health.  If you're going from an area with less than stellar health care to a place with better, or to one of the high-tech megaregions, take advantage of it.  Better doctors, better medications, newer technologies, and more options can all contribute to your health.
• A chance to improve your education.  More training?  Better schools and colleges?  Check out the opportunities to get better educated in your new location.
• A chance to go a bit greener.  Is there better public transportation where you're moving?  Can you make a bit less impact on the environment?  Maybe you can even get involved locally to improve things.
• A chance to save money.  Now you may be moving to a place where things are more costly, despite higher pay, but I've found that its too easy to ignore the chances to save money from a move.  Better public transport can help you ditch one of your cars, locally grown food may be cheaper, more opportunities for exercise can cut your doctor's bills, and more.

So when you relocate for that dream job, don't just look at that.  Look at all the other ways the relocation can improve your life.

- Steven Savage

IBM, Boston and Hidden Geek Hotspots

When it comes to geek meccas, the first thing that usually comes to people's minds is the Silicon Valley. Biggest concentration of tech companies, liberal California lifestyle, and hey, they've got a Japantown complex in San Francisco!

What people don't realize is that there's geeky hotspots in unexpected places. Clusters of tech and creative jobs, not to mention divserse lifestyles, are found in almost all the "mega-regions." And sometimes, an area will suddenly rise to prominence, prompting people who keep up with these things to say, "Why THERE?"

Such was the case, this past week or so, with Boston.

Geekery, Trends, and Megaregions

I live in nerd central.  I'm in Silicon Valley.  I can WALK to the headquarters of important companies.  I've found myself in random conversations with famous people in gaming.  I have casual conversations with people about multi-million dollar deals.  Local news here is international news on an economic and cultural scale.

This is one of those areas that I've been talking about a lot lately - the Megaregion.  Those big economic/social/technical/industry clusters that seem to be the future of economic development.

My Thoughts On The Great Reset

So after reading Richard Florida's "The Great Reset" I began asking myself what's coming next.  What will we, the profans, progeeks, working otaku, and the rest of us face as the economy of the world re-aligns after the Great Recession of the early 21st century?  What do I think is next?

So, with credit to the inspiration of Mr. Florida and everyone else I read for advice, here's what I've been thinking.

Book Review: The Great Reset

The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity
by Richard Florida
ISBN-10: 0061937193
ISBN-13: 978-0061937194

PROS:
* Easy-to-read writing style that also communicates a lot of information.
* Presents historical information and research that helps give a sense of the big picture and justify the theses of the book.
* Covers a lot of ground and speaks to people's interests.
* Provides a lot of useful insights.
* Stays positive without pulling punches.

CONS:
* Covers so many broad topics depth is occasionally missing.
* The broadness of topics makes the usefulness of information unpredictable from person to person.

SUMMARY: A must-read book on the future of the global economy after the crash of the late 2000's.

Try The Drive

Many years ago, when a company in Boston was interviewing me, I got lost driving.  Deliberately.

My reason was not any form of masochism - I was considering a relocation to Boston.  If you're going to move to an area, one of the ways to get familiar with it, intimately familiar with it is to drive through it if at all possible.

Why Local Politics Matter When You Relocate

Right now there's a lot of talk about Arizona's recent immigration laws - as well as additional laws and policies following it.  To summarize as easy as I can:

• The governor signed a bill that extended police power to detain/question people over citizenship with reasonable suspicion.  The interpretation of this - and some potential modifications - make it more complicated.  The law is quite controversial as it seems to invite profiling (though people I know in Arizona says it's less change than people may think).
• A bill that would limit ethnic studies (and oddly lump it in with other things)
• An education department policy on teachers with accents that could lead to teachers being fired or limited in teaching.  I find this ridiculous as I live in an area with tons of accents.

Yes, if you read about these laws, you'd get the impression that there's some racial and ethnic animosity here.  I sadly come to the same conclusion, am sure that this is going to be a giant political powderkeg, and that there will be much fallout in the future. 

But ask yourself this (before I turn this into a Frustration Friday), would you have heard of this if it wasn't national news?  I don't think you would.

Oh, The Places That Will Kill You

You're considering relocation like so many people do.  You've got a lot of research to do on ideal cities, states, provinces, countries, and what have you.  You're busy understanding the economics of areas, job opportunities, cultural benefits . . . and then as you do your research you find a very hard truth about your plans to move elsewhere.

Relocation may well take you to a place in the world that will outright kill you.