HACKER Q&A
📣 callwhendone

Am I too old to move to the Bay Area?


I’m thinking of moving to the Bay Area in a few years, probably around when I’m 38. It’s been a dream of mine since I was young but things happened and life got in the way.

But I’ve seen so many people online saying things like “I wouldn’t live there”, “it’s good when you’re young”, “the goal is to leave”. How true are these statements?

I have been working for companies out of the bay remotely since 2020, and really want to get back to an office. And I want to be where it all happens. I finally got the green light from my wife and if we sold our house here, we’d make enough for a down payment of about 300-400k. Probably wouldn’t buy immediately but wait until we know the area.

So, has anyone done it at my age? Am I too late?

  👤 csomar Accepted Answer ✓
You fail to mention whether you are a US citizen (or permanent resident) or not. This makes a huge difference. If you are a citizen, you can always rent for a year and find out yourself. There is no substitute for that.

I think the golden age of SV/Bay Area is behind us. It might come back with AI but I think this revolution will be more decentralized or happen somewhere else. That being said, that's irrelevant. A place (and a person) are complex and complicated things, and you can only make this call by trying the place for a few months.

👤 tamimio
Regardless of the details, there’s no such thing as “too old for X”, if there’s a well, there’s a way, as long as it’s within the reasonable limits, and even beyond that sometimes can be done.
👤 matt3210
Startup founders in their 20s or early 30s won’t hire you if your more experienced than them (being older than them probably isn’t good either). Mature companies value experience (which comes with age).