Is moving to the Bay Area worth it?
April 29th, 2010 | Published in geoarbitrage | 6 Comments
For the last 9 months or so, we have been hunkered down in Argentina, focusing on building up Piehole. Overall, it has been a success. Away from the distractions of networking events and County Enterprise Board grants, there has been nothing much to do other than grow our subscriber base and find more work for our artists.
I do have one big fear however. It is all too each to get used to good wine, tasty empanadas and cheap meat. You don’t need a lot of money to live a very nice lifestyle and there is a temptation to spin down a little bit and just coast. I’m not against coasting and it has been wonderful to be able to focus on Piehole, giving it the love it deservers . However, after a while the question becomes, ‘what next?’.
As we live in Mendoza, 18 hours away from the bright lights of Buenos Aires, there are limited networking opportunities. There are local tech enthusiasts but it is hard to make the sort of network of contacts that can be useful in growing a business. I’m somewhat wistfully looking on at all the great events being held back in Dublin these days. I’m tempted to come back for a few.
However – why move back to Dublin – when we could go straight for gold and move to the Internet epi-centre – the Bay Area, California. There are a couple of daunting reasons NOT to go.
- It will be at least 3 times as expensive.
- We won’t be able to afford the same quality of life.
- Hiring local talent will be out of our budget.
- GMT-8 is a long way from our Irish customers. Starting work at 1am would be a toughie.
On the plus side – here are some of the benefits I imagine will flow
- Ready access to cutting edge talks and education on building web businesses
- An opportunity to set up a Piehole in the states, working with local artists.
- Potential to build relationships which made aid the eventual sale of Piehole.
So here is my question . Is it worth it and how would we get the most out of it?
April 29th, 2010 at 2:58 pm (#)
I don’t think moving is the answer but being present is. I ‘m at the us and spending 3 weeks in SF and you can do some hardcore networking. The advantage got a 450 euro flight return from Dublin which is very reasonable.
The US is HUge Market and Ireland is tiny so …
April 29th, 2010 at 9:30 pm (#)
Hey Adrian
You can’t complain about those flights. Great value. Although – spending 3 weeks there could be expensive enough. You have to wonder whether we’re spinning our wheels back in Dublin when there is such a focus on the valley. Having said that – there have been some signs of success in Dublin with firms being acquired etc.
April 29th, 2010 at 11:43 pm (#)
Interesting question….it’s definitely more expensive in some areas. Had to buy a car, food, etc. But I also made lots of more money because I had a job. Rent, interestingly was almost the same since I was just renting a bedroom in a house in both Buenos Aires and the Bay Area. Not much changed there price wise. I have met tons of great people – the atmosphere here and people are totally different. Maybe set a revenue goal that you want to hit before moving? Or try another ex-pat spot for a change of pace before making the move to Sillicon Valley (like thai land?). You guys seem like you’ll thrive wherever you are.
Brian
May 2nd, 2010 at 2:43 am (#)
I’ve only been in the Bay Area 6 months, but I would recommend it wholeheartedly. There is so much going on, I think you’d immediately find value. That said, Adrian’s suggestion of trying it for a month of networking first is definitely worth it. Give me a shout if I can help at all.
May 2nd, 2010 at 2:09 pm (#)
Hey Brian
Unfortunatly for us, we don’t get paid more because we are living somewhere more expensive. In fact, the time zone might mean was have to make an extra outlay on telephone support for the GMT zone. Getting a car would be an issue to. For various reasons, I don’t drive (nothing enforced by a judge I assure you) which makes me wonder how awkward it would be for me up there. Much as it pains me, for now, we are leaving Argentina and heading to South Africa for a bit of footie, and then London. A move stateside is penned in for next year.
As for moving somewhere else ‘cheap’ – I do feel as though Argentina is the perfect low cost destination for us. I love it, especially now my Spanish is starting to come up to par. For us, it is more of a question of how to move up the ladder a little and start to do things on a bigger scale. We had a recent potential investor comment on our lack of business expertise. That kind of got me thinking that we need to push ourselves a little more. That is probably where this idea of moving to the states is coming from. In the mean time, I’m looking forward to London.
May 2nd, 2010 at 2:11 pm (#)
Hi Dave
How did you decide to move over there? Was it a job offer or just the opportunity to ‘be where the action is’? I’m thinking of a 1 – 3 months stay initially in any case. Thanks for the offer of help.
James