Where Do Hackers Live?
I moved to San Francisco, but it feels like most of the tech people here are focused on fame and money without an intrinsic love of tech described in Paul's "Hackers and Painters". I'd like to live around people that love tech in the same way and intensity that I do. Where are they?
About a decade ago most of the hackers moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, and set up a colony there centered around a maker space and some tolerant coffee shops. You can find them there, easy to identify by the Macbooks covered with stickers propped up on laptop stands, clacking away on mechanical keyboards.
When the seasteading colonies get up and running the hackers plan to move there.
If you want to live close to Paul Graham rather than worship from afar, he lives in Gloucestershire, England.
Most resourceful hackers live somewhere cheaper. College towns, small cities, that sorta thing. The Bay Area is filled with a lot of ambition and money, which is good news if you're looking to pitch a business to investors.
In every big town and most small towns. But online. Hackers don't hang out IRL.