San Diego Struggles to Keep Its Young Tech Talent
I moved to San Diego to start a tech company with a partner about 18 months ago. SD was chosen because partner lived there and was established. We found it very difficult to get the attention of any VC&#x27;s or potential customers. We did manage to get an interview with YC, but were declined.<p>Was this due to the location? Perhaps. I do know that the events we went to were lackluster, and the ecosystem was weak. You&#x27;ve got Evonexus (which wouldn&#x27;t even talk to us), and Connect Springboard, who wanted less complex ideas. Meetups were ok but the ones we went to ended up with more hangers on (&quot;hey I brought my class of 20 HS students to learn about startups at this meetup with 8 people!&quot;) than actual people doing stuff.<p>Also, to be honest I just really didn&#x27;t like San Diego. My wife got hit by a car while riding to work on a scooter and was in a cast for a few months; the weather was too damn hot (and I lived only two miles from the beach); public transport is dreadful; the culture, while better than LA, is still very socal; drivers tried to kill me as I cycled everywhere; and the city is a model of horrific urban design. Even in places that COULD be great you&#x27;ve got organizations like the Hillcrest Business Association trying to kill a single. damn. bike lane on one of the most heavily-ridden (and dangeous) streets in San Diego - University Ave. The city spends years claiming it&#x27;s doing something just to have SANDAG kill it. This is particularly egregious when you consider that Todd Gloria supports cycling - until it matters. A bike lane in the middle of nowhere doesn&#x27;t take any political courage.<p>SD is vastly overrated. I will admit, though, that the beer and Mexican food are good. Within SD I _did_ quite like South Park. It was when I needed to leave South Park that things were bad.