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Which state(s) would you relocate to if you were thinking of starting a startup?. Why do you think those states are 'Startup Friendly'?

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If you are looking for startup friendly cities as opposed to states, see this fairly detailed article: entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/august/202666.html – dark Oct 13 '09 at 17:37

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Bay Area of CA is the startup capital of the nation. It's probably the best place to be in the company of serial entrepreneurs, VCs, and tech startups.

Boston, MA is a great city for social media and there are lots of startups there as well.

Houston, TX has a low cost of living and a budding community of startups. The Houston Technology center is an incubator in the downtown area with affordable rent and all-inclusive services.

Austin is a good choice as well, as there are a lot of tech companies there. Texas has no personal income tax and I believe there are many other benefits relating to personal and business taxes.

I'm sure I'm forgetting other important cities. Seattle or NYC maybe?

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Lynton you only deserve half a vote because you came up with only 5. But here is a full vote so you can surpass me :) – anup Oct 13 '09 at 3:24
LOL I figured I would try for quality rather than quantity! – dlynton Oct 13 '09 at 3:34
What perfect timing. I just found this article cited by the Houston Technology Center - HOUSTON IN TOP 5 METRO AREAS TO LAUNCH A NEW BUSINESS - money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/smallbusiness/0910/…. You may also be interested in "Top 10 Up-And-Coming Tech Cities" forbes.com/2008/03/10/… – dlynton Oct 13 '09 at 4:28
Lynton, thanks for the information! – anup Oct 13 '09 at 11:13
up vote 2 down vote

So, there are a few things to consider:

  1. Taxation. Ugh, my home state, California, comes in dead last here. So while I agree this is a great place to live, and yes, Silicon Valley is a hotbed for startups... taxes!

  2. Talent. Oh, wait, so maybe there's a reason California is such an incubator, in spite of its heavy taxation. That's right: one of the best University systems in the country, combined with a critical mass of other ventures and the resources that support them, resulting in an unstoppable chain reaction of innovation.

  3. Lifestyle. Let's face it: you have to want to live there. You will be spending a certain amount of time doing something other than working (I hope).

Besides the article in Money, I could swear there was one recently in either Inc. or Entrepreneur, so you may want to check there as well.

Scott

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