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Ask Slashdot: Why So Hard Landing Interviews In Seattle Versus SoCal?
An anonymous reader writes "I have been trying to make the move to the Seattle, WA area. I liked the weather, the nature, the scenery and the tech environment. However, for whatever reason it seems like interviews are hard to come by. As a MS Stack software developer in LA, I barely had to do anything and recruiters always come knocking, either via LinkedIn or from past connections. Not to mention in general I got phone interviews for easily .8 of the positions I applied for. I wanted to finally make the move and fulfill a live long dream to live in Seattle. So I have been applying for positions in the greater Seattle, WA (King County) area. So far the ratio of positions applied to phone interviews is a dismal .1. Which is terrible considering the economy was much worse when I was actively looking for job in LA. Something isn't right because I am still getting offers for interviews here in SoCal, but not much from where I really wanted to be. What could I be doing wrong? Why such a contrast? Is the IT market in Seattle in poor shape? Or may be I just lack the proper connections in a new area? Am I just being screened out immediately for not being local? Or is it the prevalence of bigger corporations vs. smaller startups? And frankly as nice as the city is I can't move unless there's a healthy IT market to thrive by. I hope someone can point me in the right direction."
He's going by actual statistics.
Texans are sicker then most of the country, worse educated, and (since the state is run by Libertarian leaning Republicans) has very few pollution regulations.
It is true that in Texas, like most of America, it is trivial for a person making six figures to avoid contact with anyone who is actually measured in those statistics. Which means your personal experience isn't terribly compelling evidence. OTOH it's also true that most of the problem stats in Texas come from rural areas, and you're apparently a city boy. And in Texas cities the college-education rates, health crises (like Diabetes), etc. are much more competitive. They beat most states. But they don't beat the cities within those states.
That's the price you pay for living in a state with no income tax and very few regulations on businesses.