The Great Decentralization? Geographic shifts and where tech talent is moving next

I know this article is about Us, not Europe, but living in Lisbon, Portugal I can't help but notice that many digital nomads have been choosing Lisbon as their permanent headquarter. Mainly it's because:

• the cheap cost of living compared to neighboring Spain or France
• several tech unicorns and many-many agencies that are driving the tech scene
• the hype about Portugal being crypto tax-heaven (not anymore!)

So mainly it's about cost/benefits. Nothing really XXI-century-post-information-society-features are there - if your food is excellent, rooms are nice and easy to find (not the case with Lisbon though!) and there is a job around - yup, that's the place!

I'm not sure why they're calling them "Tier 2" and "Tier 3" cities.

They're tier X in terms of what, exactly?

When you start working remotely, you're removing a whole lot of context from your life. Your priorities change. So using "Tier X" cities in terms of your "on-site" context is not really useful IMO.

I think that the leaders of the current super-tech world will remain relatively the same, even with the introduction of Web 3.0... Silicon Valley is what comes to mind, as do other supercities that are known for their technology adoption and progressive prerogatives... San Diego, CA is another.

From a hiring perspective, the salaries that engineers need to live well in those Tier 1 are astronomical. $500k a year doesn't go very far when a normal sized home in a good school district is several million dollars, like in may areas around San Francisco. As a founder, you can often hire equally good people in those Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and make each dollar go much farther. Remote work through the pandemic has really opened people up to those opportunities, so I think the trend will continue.

One place I don't think people realizing is getting a lot of talent is Raleigh, NC. Apple is there, and there is the research triangle (UNC, Duke, I forget the 3rd) as well as a dozen small start ups and some unicorns (SaaS, Pendo).

@zerotousers - in America Tier 2 cities are cities that are considered as having a lower standard quality of life then Tier 1 cities. Tier 3 have a lower standard quality of life then Tier 2 cities. Tier 1 cities are obvious, NYC, Boston, LA, Austin, Chicago. Tier 2 cities are smaller cities in less-populated/developed places i.e Raleigh, NC, Dallas, TX, ect.

TIer 1/2/3 is useful for just generally assessing the availability of services in an American city. Places vary widely, so having a quick way to gauge each one is helpful.

This is fascinating and awesome to see.

The hot new tech hubs are developing Tier 2 and 3 cities ... " almost half of the 83 cities measured saw tech job growth accelerate in 2020, including mid-tier cities such as Philadelphia, PA; Madison, WI; and Stockton, CA."

While there are many benefits of being in a densely innovative community, the pandemic and remote communication has shown that you can develop community wherever you are. In these still-vibrant and fun "Tier-2 and 3" cities, you can live more affordably, grow your product and still have the community you need.

Many of these cities also have close-knit entrepreneur organizations that offer a powerful conduit to opportunities and growth. The Midwest has so many of these entrepreneur- support groups.

That graph showing negative growth in lots of major cities, with the exception of DC and Portland, is nuts. I had no idea.

Makes sense though. Most of the perks of living in a big city went away with covid. And most of the downsides got way worse.

Nod to TLDR where I found the article.