I thought this was an interesting piece on the types of ambition best suited to particular cities/regions, namely:
New York tells you, above all: you should make more money.
The message in Boston (or rather Cambridge) is: you should be smarter.
As much as they respect brains in Silicon Valley, the message the Valley sends is: you should be more powerful.
In L.A. knowing people is the whole game.
The main melody of Washington D.C. is: have more influence.
Many of our kids are moving to some of these places. And some of us have done so. Do they (or you) fit in with those characteristics? Is it something to consider when thinking about where to live? If you donât live in one of these places, how would you summarize ambition in your home city/region?
Itâs reductive, of course, but thereâs truth in it. Rings true for me about Silicon Valley, for sure.
I also think thereâs another layer to this - not only, whatâs the prevailing ethos/ambition/driver, but also, how transparent are we about it? I feel like the Bay Area is very circumspect about whatâs really going on with its ambitions (itâs considered unseemly to admit youâre power-hungry even if thatâs what drives everything), and people can feel very disillusioned as they get to know the real dynamics of the society/culture here. Whereas I feel like Boston and New York are much more âWYSIWYG.â
My Bay Area born-and-raised Portland kid definitely likes the ethos in Portland better (attendant issues, which have been discussed to death even on CC, notwithstanding), but Iâm not sure exactly how to name what that ethos is. Itâs definitely much different from Seattle, where my other kid is living.
Maybe it would feel more nuanced to name the top three ambitions for each city, instead of reducing it to only one. But itâs an interesting way to frame a discussion, anyway.
Itâs not even circumspect, imo, itâs more a tendency to speak euphemistically - every bombastic (yet now cliched) claim of âdisruptionâ and âchange-makingâ is a euphemism for the kind of power and influence referenced in the article.
Of course, those types of ambition are mostly found among the elites and those aspiring to enter the ranks of the elites, probably populations that are overrepresented on these forums (with the focus on getting into elite colleges that are often assumed to be an advantage for the kids in getting into or staying in the elite ranks of society).
But all of these places are mostly populated by people who are not among the elites or aspirants; their ambitions are likely much more modest.
Thatâs true. But thereâs also this layer of benign politeness that belies the underlying ruthlessness. My âsurrogate kidâ who moved here from the east coast took a long time to wrap his head around how mistaking all the ânicenessâ for positive intent can end badly.
Iâve always felt Seattle has a bit of the Cambridge side (be smarter) overlaid on the Silicon Valley ethos. Thereâs more respect for smart or accomplished people who arenât all about power than there is in Silicon Valley, even though there are obviously powerful people like Gates and Bezos there too. Certainly accomplishments in outdoor activities appear to carry more weight in Seattle than in the Bay Area.
As an example, when I worked there in the dotcom years at one of the companies run by a billionaire, we used to admire the people who waterskied on Lake Washington before work, flew a seaplane or climbed Mt Rainier on the weekend. Far more of the wealthy/powerful people in Seattle seem to own a boat as well. Iâve not encountered similar admiration for outdoor activities in Silicon Valley, maybe with the exception of Larry Ellison and his yachting (but even that is seen as a bit odd).
Anywhere in Colorado- when people ask âwhat do you do ?â they donât mean occupation. They mean âwhat outdoor activities do you doâ? Hike, bike, ski, rock climb, showshoe, 4 wheeling, hunt, fish, white water rafting, camping, etc.
Yes thatâs familiar and like Seattle quite prevalent amongst the ambitious and powerful. Charlie Ergen was notorious for weeding out the interns by taking them on a company trip up a 14er. And if you ever went to a meeting at his offices, you could guarantee it would be on the fifth floor and theyâd insist on taking the stairs, just to intimidate people who came from lower altitude cities.
Some of those seem to be rather expensive outdoor hobbies that are not very common (I do not know anyone who has a seaplane). But there is no shortage of people in the SF/SJ area doing more accessible outdoor activities like hiking, road and mountain biking, rowing and paddling, etcâŠ
Because Denver is 5000ft above sea level (the âmile high cityâ). So itâs a good way to intimidate out of towners by leaving them out of breath for the first 10 mins of the meeting.
And do we think more highly of the rich and powerful people in Silicon Valley because of their outdoor activities? Is it an important part of their persona for an ambitious young person seeking to join the elite? I donât think itâs as important as in Seattle or Denver.
Well, you certainly donât have to own a seaplane to fly one, theyâre easy to rent. And though not everyone will fully climb Mt Rainier, people hike part of the way up or do plenty of other hikes. Everyone and their mother owns a boat in Seattle, or at least has a friend that does, and itâs common for people to go waterskiing. Not all pricey pursuits. The tech companies try to lure people in with these sort of things. My kid had a Microsoft internship where they had parties with jet skis for all. Being in SF now, no doubt he misses those days. Our kid in NYC definitely misses trees, water and mountains.
I think for my kid, and many of the kids of CCerâs, their ambitions are simple and old-fashioned. Be successful enough to be independent, live someplace safe and comfortable, and be able to have some fun (whatever that means to them - travel, hobby, fine dining, etc.)
However, I will play along. The Seattle vibe is to be hip.
Maybe those with poor physical fitness, but does that describe most of the ambitious elites and aspirants? Plenty of people go to Tahoe (higher elevation than Denver) and do activities involving physical exertion (hiking, road or mountain biking, paddling).
Flying a seaplane would require learning how to fly an airplane, which has a higher barrier to entry than most activities. Owning a motorboat (with maintenance and tow vehicle and/or dock fees) is significantly more expensive than owning something like a standup paddleboard, canoe, or kayak that I see as much more common.
What about other cities? Do those characterizations seem right? I definitely think my S18 made the right decision in moving from LA to DC, itâs much more in tune with his personalityâŠ
