Stuck In The Middle
LA vs SD vs OC
Last week, I chatted with someone who wanted to start an event with me, with the mission of San Diego becoming the world's tech capital. She lives in San Clemente, which is equidistant between LA and San Diego. The tech scene is minimal and spread out there, so she splits her time between San Diego and LA events.
Surprisingly, she said San Diego has a much stronger tech scene than LA. The events are of much higher quality, and people are bought into the local ecosystem, rather than trying to extract as much value from something they feel no connection to and will bail on as soon as it stops delivering value to them.
People in San Diego like living there; they want to make it work long term. They realize that means they must make it work for others beyond themselves.
She had chosen to live in the middle of both, thinking she could get the best of both worlds. Now that she realizes San Diego is vastly superior, she’s driving for two hours each time she wants to go to an event.
Wherever you live, consider how it relates to your professional goals. In today’s world, online connections are more beneficial than ever. But the belonging, trust, and togetherness of a connection to a local ecosystem are still unmatched.