The Top Five Places for Geeks to Live in the United States
What would make a city feel like home for someone with say… geeky tendencies? Sure, things like affordable housing, nice neighborhoods with good schools, a strong economy, and enjoyable weather are nice, but where’s the tech? And where are all the other geeks? In these five cities, you’ve got a pretty good shot at finding plenty of geek interests and plenty of other like-minded geeks to share them with (unless you’re one of those geeks without any social skills… you know who you are).
5. Washington, D.C.
The Agenda
As our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. is the symbol of our democracy. The city has a large range of architectural styles on display and residents and visitors alike enjoy diverse dining opportunities and eclectic shopping. It seems that every corner of Washington, D.C. is packed with history, monuments, and embassies.
What the Geek?!
Upon first glance, you might think that geeks would feel out of place in a city full of bureaucrats, lawyers, and assorted lobbyists, but if you look hard enough, you’ll see that there’s plenty for a geek to find in D.C. Any geek’s first stop in D.C. should be the Smithsonian Institute, specifically the National Air and Space Museum, which holds the largest collection of air and spacecraft in the world. 
If that doesn’t quench a geek’s tech thirst, there’s the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles Airport, where you can see the Enola Gay, Space Shuttle Enterprise, the Gemini VII capsule, and the miniature mothership from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
D.C. is even a welcome home for the athletic geeks who like to participate in the annual Run! Geek! Run! 8K charity race. Certainly, anyone who travels to D.C. will see the monuments commemorating such leaders as Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt… and Vader? Yes, Darth Vader. At the Washington Cathedral, way up on northwest tower, the feared sith lord has been carved into the top of the tower.
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4. Austin, Texas
The Low Down
Over the past decade, Austin, Texas has become one of the fastest growing cities in the country with a population of over 750,000 people. Austin has been the Texas capital city since 1839 and has also assumed the mantle of the cultural capital of Texas as well. With some good ‘ol down-home friendliness, gorgeous homes, and big-city appeal, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Austin has become one of the top cities for people looking to relocate from across the United States.
What the Geek?!
One may not be quick to associate anything Texas with anything geek, but when the unofficial city motto is “Keep Austin Weird” you’ve been granted permission to open the floodgates. The dorkbot-Austin group describes their group as “a regular meeting of artists, hackers, designers, engineers, students and other interested parties who are involved in the creation of electronic or otherwise technological art (in the broadest sense of the term).”
Over the past two decades, Austin has emerged as a hub for technology jobs, often being referred to as “Silicon Hills.” In 2010, Facebook opened offices in Austin, making it the first city with online operations outside of Facebook’s home base in Palo Alto, CA. Austin is also home to the annual SXSW Festival, which has become one of the largest music festivals in the United States. For geeks, the best part of SXSW has to be the interactive festival, which showcases the best in technology, gaming, and all things innovation.
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3. San Diego, CA
What’s Up, Dude?
With a population of 1.3 million and arguably the best weather in the nation, you don’t get more “southern California” than San Diego. San Diego ranks in top ten of most educated cities in the country and has a higher than average household median income. But what about the good stuff? Amazing beaches? Check. Sports town? Check. Great nightlife? Check. Plus, the city is teeming with history and you’ll be hard pressed to find a lousy view from anywhere.
What the Geek?!
Comic-Con. Quite simply, the annual Comic-Con in San Diego is the pinnacle of everything geek culture: comics, gaming, sci-fi, horror, anime, television, etc. The convention draws people from all over the planet, with nearly 150,000 attendees making the yearly pilgrimage to worship at the altar of all things geek in 2010. That alone is enough to earn San Diego a home on this list, but wait… there’s more! In addition to Comic-Con, San Diego has been the home to ConDor, a sci-fi and fantasy convention, since 1993.
Can’t wait for the conventions to roll into town? Fortunately, San Diego comes spring loaded with literally dozens of museums covering everything from Aerospace and Natural History to The Museum of Man, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, and the San Diego Automotive Museum.
And oh yeah, the animals too. Whether it’s the San Diego Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, or SeaWorld, biology junkies (they have to exist, right?) won’t have to look far to satiate their cravings.
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2. Seattle, WA
The Morning Brew
With an exuberant cultural scene and a relaxed lifestyle accentuated by its natural beauty, Seattle attracts people wanting a comfortable place to live with a friendly downtown area and a limited urban sprawl.
What the Geek?!
While Seattle might be perhaps best known for being the home of grunge music, Starbucks, the Space Needle, and Pike Place Market, and a lot of rain, there should be no doubt of Seattle’s status as a geek haven. A couple of companies you may have heard of, Nintendo and Microsoft, are based out of nearby Redmond, and Amazon.com was founded out of a garage in a Seattle home rented in the mid 1990s by Jeff Bezos. For women looking to get their geek on, there’s the Seattle Girl Geek Dinners where women can network and “to embrace being girly and geeky!” Seattle also has several tech-themed museums including the RE-PC Computer History Museum, Museum of Communications, and the Museum of History and Industry.
Need more evidence pointing to the overall geekiness of Seattle, how about Seattle Geek Week? Nothing says geek (besides, it’s totally in the title too) like a ten-day event consisting of conferences, workshops, and meetings on everything from space elevators to a golf tournament.
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1. Silicon Valley, CA
The Hard Data
Comprised of the region in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley earned its named originally from all the silicon used by the multitude of industry in the general area. Eventually the name came to represent all of the technology industry that was born from the area. Now, the term Silicon Valley alone has come to represent the entire technology sector of the United States.
What the Geek?!
Just say “Silicon Valley” out loud and you’re bound to have images of geeks dancing inside your brain. Silicon Valley is the center of the geek universe. It’s the sun around which the other cities on this list rotate (okay, well technically, that would make it a planetary system rather than a universe, but work with me, here). With companies like Apple, Yahoo, Netflix, Google, Facebook, HP, eBay, Intel, etc. based in Silicon Valley, the real question is what major tech company isn’t in Silicon Valley?
Silicon Valley has also been home to the NASA Ames Research Center, an aircraft research lab since 1939. The Ames Research Center performs much of the research and development for nearly every NASA mission and also focuses astrobiology research on stars, planets, and whatever else may be out there.
Should you be on the lookout for the longest linear accelerator in the world, look no further than Silicon Valley’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where you’ll discover a two-mile linear accelerator. Scientists employed at SLAC have taken home six Nobel Prizes for their work which includes astrophysics, photon science, and particle physics to name a few.
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14 comments
Bentor Tazenda
September 8th, 2010 at 7:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“Seattle is vibrant progressive city tucked in between the Willamette and Columbia rivers. ”
Uh.. please check your facts. The Willamette River is in another state well over a hundred miles away, and entirely south of the Columbia river, on the other side.
AC
September 8th, 2010 at 11:01 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Nice try, better luck next time.
Geography
September 8th, 2010 at 11:03 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You do realize that the Columbia and Willamette rivers are NO WHERE NEAR Seattle, right? I’m sure I’m at least the 25th person to point this out.
Brant Pontoriero
September 9th, 2010 at 7:45 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
What’s the point in teleporting the people to the ship if it can’t break free from the holes gravity? They’re doomed I tell you, DOOOOOOOMED!
Seattle -Rob
September 9th, 2010 at 9:50 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“Seattle is vibrant progressive city tucked in between the Willamette and Columbia rivers”
oh…dude, that’s PORTLAND. Seattle’s on the shores of Puget Sound.
Dustin Harper
September 9th, 2010 at 10:08 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Portland, Oregon is “tucked in between the Willamette and Columbia rivers”, not Seattle.
HouseHunt
September 9th, 2010 at 10:14 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Oops, we had a mistake in our article which has now been fixed. Thanks everyone for pointing this out – we appreciate the feedback
PDX
September 9th, 2010 at 1:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Portland is number one for geeks, I’m sorry but your list is a sham.
Erica
September 9th, 2010 at 2:21 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Seattle is AWESOME. And it really doesn’t rain that much here.
Malacshakor
September 10th, 2010 at 1:25 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
More to add to the Seattle geek list: PAX!! Just wrapped up this past weekend, and has pretty much become the replacement for E3. Also, Wizards of the Coast was founded and still operates in the region. Plus if aviation is geek, then Boeing’s presence should be worth a few points.
robziel
September 10th, 2010 at 9:42 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
you mention comic con but not PAX? for shame
Ran kailie
September 10th, 2010 at 10:22 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
DC? Seriously? This place is filled with nothing but pretentious yuppy trash, and its a gigantic black hole of life force sucking hell. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone for another other then a vacation.
Now if you want to constantly rub elbows with bureaucrats, lawyers, lobbyists and pretentious, holier then thou assholes, then sure, DC is a great place to live.
David Masten
September 12th, 2010 at 1:16 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
About D.C. – D.C. proper sucks for geeks, but the surrounding areas are great. Northern Virginia is home to a lot of tech companies, as is the I270 tech corridor, and do not forget NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. If you don’t mind occasionally running into and working with those in uniform, the Pentagon is stuffed with nerds and geeks.
For those who have lived in the Silicon Valley, home prices will make you think you are back in the SV at the height of the dot com boom.
Also – any place that has a bar called “The Science Club” gets bonus points.
ketty
October 12th, 2010 at 1:43 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I think Geeks should stay at such place where, there would be museums nearby as geeks love gathering knowledge, they are kind of creative and art lover. I find museum is the best source to enhance their knowledge and make them feel good.
http://www.thetop10guide.net/top-10-museums-for-geeks.html