The biggest difference between New York City and San Francisco, according to a tech icon who has run businesses in both
Kevin Rose, a former startup founder and venture capitalist and the current CEO of respected watch blog Hodinkee, recently switched coasts, and he has mostly good things to say about the East.
"It's been a blast," Rose said. "There's a handful of cities that I would consider living in in the US, and obviously New York is one of them."
Rose says the Big Apple has a "faster pace" overall. The biggest change he's noticed? Work culture.
"In San Francisco, the startup environment is one of longer duration of work," Rose said. "We tend to work into the night and be a little bit more hardcore like that, whereas New York seems to be more about hustle and a little faster pace."
As for the startup and tech scene itself, Rose said New York's relative anonymity comes as a welcome relief.
"The nice thing about being in New York is that no one is trying to pitch you their startup," Rose said. "[In San Francisco] there were just entrepreneurs everywhere looking for money and in every coffee shop. Not that that's a bad thing - everyone is trying to build something awesome and succeed - but just as someone who has been doing that for so many years in a row, I think everybody needs a break."
Rose is staying away from the New York tech scene for now. "I'm not actively doing any angel investing," he said.
Other differences between New York and San Francisco? Well, it's "nice to have actual seasons," and there's "a lot more jeans and T-shirts in San Francisco for sure," Rose says.
One area New York does lack in: the culinary department.
"San Francisco has better produce, better food," Rose said. "My wife and I are huge foodies, so it's been an adjustment."