I'm a writer who left LA for an AI startup in San Francisco. It was like stepping into a whole new world.
A journalist describes her transition from Los Angeles to San Francisco to join an AI startup, noting a distinct shift in professional culture. She observes that San Francisco's tech-centric environment prioritizes AI innovation and high-intensity work over the social curation common in LA.
Why it matters
This personal account illustrates the cultural and economic migration of talent toward the AI sector in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Erika Lee and her mom in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. Courtesy of Erika Lee Moving to San Francisco from LA was life-changing for Erika Lee, a journalist. She said San Francisco, where products and ideas are currency, had a different value system to LA. Lee feels she's getting an insider's view of how AI is transforming the world. I moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco because of a cold DM on X. I grew up in the LA suburbs , and after attending college there I built my career in journalism across the country, first covering local news, and then crypto. I liked my comfortable life with friends and family. Then in February, the chief of staff at Corgi , the AI insurance startup that recently went viral for its seven-day workweek, messaged me on X to ask if I would be interested in a role.
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