I moved from London to SF - here's what shocked me most

The talent

The talent and quality isn't less in London, it's the same interview process that attracts similar quality people. Most expats are willing to grind it out because they came here to work it out.

But here's what's different: the people and community you meet are way more tech-focused. Quitting your job here is the norm. People are willing to take more risks. SF attracts a certain type of individual who wants to work on startups, on the hardest problems. The funding and money is here, the VCs are here—it draws people in with crazy ambition.

It draws the best talent, which means it creates an environment where you can really push yourself. And because it's not a big city, the serendipity here is crazy. You're always bumping into really interesting people.

The meetup goldmine

SF single-handedly has the most tech meetups concentrated in one city. You learn so much through these events. There are easily 3-4 different events you could go to every single day—everyone is showcasing what they're working on, trying to get you to use their products. People fly in from across the globe just to host meetups here. It's one of the best places to network for tech and learn about upcoming trends before they hit the mainstream.

The reality check

The visa situation is not the best, which can deter a lot of talent.

People talk less about politics at work and have more surface, transactional relationships compared to London. London people aren't scared to talk about what's going on outside the office. Here, the fear of losing a job and lack of job security means people are more conformist. People are more hesitant about speaking on certain issues: healthcare system, Palestine, Trump, etc.

The grind

People here work longer hours from home and then go to the office. You go to coffee shops—the Yemeni coffee shops at 22:00, and people are grinding it out on their laptops on tech projects. I don't think I've ever visited any city like this.

Your secret weapon

Having a UK accent is actually a really big hack here. You stand out more in meetings, people can understand what you're trying to say more easily. There's actually a higher concentration of people here who don't speak English as their first language, compared to London. So people believe what you're saying more.

The normalisation effect

You get normalised to walking past the OpenAI office, YC space, Founders Inc—but these are truly places that have such a high global footprint.

You also get normalised to the homeless problem in the city. Coming from Europe, there may be less wealth overall, but the social support of society is a bit stronger. Here, the inequality is stark and visible on every corner.

This is a transient city—a place to go to work on yourself and grow in tech. Not many people actually stay to build a family here. Most come, grind for a few years, level up their career, then leave for somewhere more liveable.

Why you should move

Push yourself as a designer, work on more complex and iconic problems. You'll build a network here super fast that you can invest in and leverage throughout your career.

There's one thing I've learned from being around Founders Inc: everyone here pushes their progress and ideas onto social media, especially X and LinkedIn. For whatever reason, everyone seems to have the same feed.

Here's the thing: sharing your ideas from rainy, dark London? Believe it or not, the guys in SF are seeing this as well. Keep posting what you're up to, to some degree. Keep posting.