Ask HN: Which Small U.S City Is Best Suited For Bootstrapping A Startup?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4473555

by npguy • 14 years ago

4 10 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

npguy2• 14 years ago

based on cost of living, and then other factors.

israelyc2• 14 years ago

Probably Detroit or its peripheral cities (there are some nice ones, Birmingham, Royal Oak and more). Dan Gilbert (Quicken Loans) is trying to revive downtown and investing in new startups. Also it's only 45min away from Ann Arbor which is an awesome city.

You can rent an apartment for the cost of monthly parking in SF :)

npguy2• 14 years ago

Thanks for the data point. Are these neighborhoods good school districts as well?

smartwater• 14 years ago

You have a 1 in 43 chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Detroit: http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/detroit/crime/

I recommend Boston.

johnrgrace2• 14 years ago

Rochester/Birmingham and other cities have some of the best schools in the state. The northern burbs are on par with any good suburban area in the country.

johnrgrace2• 14 years ago

Some business plans will benifit a lot from being in a specific location; however if you currently live in a city with friends, family, and maybe a SO with a job starting right where you are until at least you hit MVP isn't a bad idea.

I'm personallly biased towards lower cost areas, the same funding slug buys you more runway. Being in michigan I'd say Detroit ISN'T on my top list of cities to start in, I find Ann Arbor to be more expensive but offers better quality of life and is right next to a major univeristy. Grand Rapids is cheaper, and has StartGarden.com that is trying to build a whole ecosystem.

vigeek• 14 years ago

Philadelphia is quite good as well. Big city, in a super expensive area (northeast) but quite affordable compared to NYC/Boston/DC.

_delirium• 14 years ago

Pittsburgh has a nice combination of low-cost housing, good universities, and a moderately sized tech industry (boosted by the Google satellite). Nice nature in the area as well.

Ask HN: Which Small U.S City Is Best Suited For Bootstrapping A Startup?

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