RALEIGH – The Silicon Valley exodus is so big that one Triangle exec has created a working document to track the numbers.

“After the pandemic started, I received many requests to meet with people who were relocating and looking to get plugged into startup jobs,” recounts Jessica Mitsch, founder and CEO of coding training school Momentum. “So I decided to start a list.”

She’s sharing it with other founders who are hiring, and believe it’s a positive trend.

“I can’t wait to see how all the fresh faces impact our growing startup community in years to come, especially after the pandemic.”

WRAL TechWire’s Chantal Allam had the chance to interview some recent transplants from California. Here’s what they had to say:

Alexandra Tai

Name: Alexandra Tai

  • Tell us about yourself.

I’m 27 years old, working in marketing and social media management. I will be moving by myself.

Where are you relocating from?
I am relocating from Berkeley, California. I grew up in southern California, went to school in northern California, and have been back and forth between the two ever since. Main reason for leaving is a desire to push myself and get outside my comfort zone. I love California and I think I would’ve been content to remain in the Bay Area for the rest of my life, but I’m also someone who is very motivated by growth and I think after having spent my entire life in California, I was looking for something new.

  • When did you arrive?

I haven’t arrived yet!

  • Why did you decide on the Triangle?

A lot of my friends relocated to the area in the past few years and have spoken very highly about Raleigh- Durham, and as I looked into it more, one of the things that stood out to me the most was cost of living. I went to school in the Bay Area and also worked there for approximately three years, and both times I lived near the UC Berkeley campus so I’ve grown very accustomed to high rent and small spaces.

In contrast, Raleigh-Durham is very affordable and I think as I am growing more, both on a personal and professional level, looking to eventually purchase a home and to start a family down the line etc, that was something that was very important to me. I think the community stood out a lot to me too. I haven’t had any in-person experiences, of course, but the community seems very warm over Zoom! I worked at Momentum over the summer and I think from day one, I felt at home. And since then, I’ve been actively volunteering with a church based in Durham and participating in caring for college students through that particular community, and I do feel like even though I’m in limbo right now and not fully transitioning to NC just yet, NC is starting to become home to me already.

  • What are you first impressions of the Triangle’s ecosystem?

I’m not sure I can comment too much on this as I am currently still job seeking and the only experience I’ve had in tech was this past summer when I was doing marketing for Momentum, but I will say, for me, it all goes back to affordability. When I draw comparisons between Raleigh / Durham and the Bay Area / Silicon Valley, I think both have strong developer communities (both established and growing), great schools and universities, startups and companies, but I think at the end of the day, Raleigh / Durham has this particular pull — it’s fast growing as a tech hub and has all these things Silicon Valley has to offer, with companies and startups flocking to the area and schools and universities feeding talent into the ecosystem, but the biggest difference for me is how much it costs to live in Silicon Valley vs. Raleigh / Durham. It’s an area that makes it easy to grow both in your personal life and in your professional career. And I love that.

  • Where to from here?

Not sure! I think I’m still doing a lot of growing as a person, so I’ve learned just to stay open. If I feel to stay for a while then I will, and if I end up feeling the need to move in a few years, then I’m open to that too. But I do hope I’ll be sticking around for a bit!

Cody Hill

Name: Cody Hill

  • Tell us about yourself.

I am 33 years old. I work in product and growth roles in tech. I moved here by myself, but my family lives in Wilmington, NC so I wanted to come back home.

  • Where are you relocating from?

I was previously working at Facebook HQ in Silicon Valley (I was living in SF and commuting by FB corporate bus to the campus in Menlo Park) for 2.5 years as a Product Operations Lead on Facebook’s biggest Growth product team.

I have several reasons for leaving: I gained incredible skills working at Facebook, but wanted to work at a smaller company where I could feel like I was having more of an impact on growing an idea that helped people.

I am from DC originally, but got my MBA at UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina is where I want to live. I think there is more incremental growth able to happen in this area as opposed to the traditional power centers of SF, NYC, LA, Chicago, DC etc.

I think that tech should be used to solve new, better problems that are affecting society as opposed to social media and communications which I found are incentivized to divide people and are leading to many problems in our society

  • When did you arrive in the Triangle?

I moved here in September 2020

  • How has your transition been so far?

Transition has been positive so far and I joined an early-stage company UpstateNC as Head of Growth. UpstateNC is focused on bringing better technology and efficiency to state governments by creating the fastest, most accurate, and easiest to use platform to track, analyze, and advocate for/against state level government bills, budgets, and legislation.

  • What are your reasons for picking the Triangle?

The tech scene here is primed to explode. Three incredible universities, a mass of young tech talent, startup hubs, and a desire to grow the Triangle into the country’s next big place for tech are all reasons I am excited to be in the Triangle.

  • What are your first impressions of the local tech ecosystem? 

My first impressions are that people in the Triangle are very willing to connect, support others, and collaborate around new, interesting ideas that are driving tech and society forward. My background working at Facebook in Silicon Valley has been helpful in this regard and I have met many people who have lived and worked in tech elsewhere, and all feel that they have a responsibility to grow the Triangle’s tech presence.

  • Where to from here?

I plan on staying here and continuing to grow UpstateNC while branching out to consult with, or take a larger role, with other early-stage tech companies who want to solve problems using cutting edge technology.

Bill Rollinson

Name: Bill Rollinson

  • Tell us about yourself.

I’m 61 years old and work as a Product Manager for a technology company.  My wife, Jill and I moved.

  • Where are you relocating from?

We are relocating from the San Francisco Bay Area, specifically Saratoga, CA.  The main reason for leaving was that three of our four grown kids live in Raleigh, and two of them graduated from NC State University.  My daughter, Anne, who is the youngest of the four, just graduated in 2020.  We were also attracted to the Triangle because it reminded us of the Bay Area that we grew up in.

Don’t get me wrong, my wife and I love California and have spent the majority of our lives there, but the harsh reality is that California has fallen into disrepair, has a high cost of living and unbearable traffic. Many of the recent policies enacted discourage business and innovation, stifle opportunity and make life in major cities ugly and unpleasant.

It was time for a change.  We had purchased a home here in Raleigh in 2017, and in May of 2020, we made the decision to make the move since we were both able to continue our jobs by working remotely.

  • When did you arrive in the Triangle? 

We arrived the first week of August 2020.

  • How has your transition been so far? 

It has been smooth, despite Covid.

  • What are your reasons for picking the Triangle? 

Proximity to our family, the balance of city versus outdoor space.  The vibrant college and tech environment.

  • What are your first impressions of the local tech ecosystem?

Excellent and looking forward to being able to do more once things open up again post-Covid.

  • Tell us about your startup, Surfitlocker.

It’s very similar to the bike share that Citrix has here in Raleigh, the idea is to allow people to self serve equipment for paddle sports, like stand up paddle boarding and kayaking.  I’m currently working on adding locations here in North Carolina.  We had two locations in California before we relocated, one in Monterey and the other in Petaluma.  With our relocation and COVID, we shut those down, but the underlying technology and software exists to restart in the Raleigh area.

  • Where to from here? 

Looks like we’re here for the long term.

Thomas Whitaker and his fiance, Dana.

Name: Thomas Whitaker

  • Tell us about yourself.

I’m 36. I work on political campaigns mostly, but I’ve also worked for startups in sales and marketing roles – I moved with my fiance, Dana, and our sweet dog Layla!

  • Where are you relocating from?

I left the San Francisco Bay Area — Oakland specifically. It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while. Most of my family is in WV, so it’s nice to be closer to them, and Dana is from Durham originally and her parents still leave here as well. Thinking through future life goals: buying a house, family growth, etc. Durham made a lot of sense for a relocation.

  • When did you arrive in the Triangle?

Early June 2020. Oddly enough the pandemic gave us time to think through the logistics and we decided it was a good time to go ahead and make the move while life slowed down a bit.

  • How has your transition been so far?

Pretty smooth! We found a house that we’re renting close to downtown Durham and love the area overall. It’s a little weird to move to a new place during a lockdown, but we’ve still been able to get to know the area a bit, get some good takeout, and settle in over the last 8 months or so.

  • What are your reasons for picking the Triangle?

Proximity to family, good job market, mild winters.

  • What are your first impressions of the local tech ecosystem?

The tech/startup ecosystem has been very welcoming. Every one I spoke to was very helpful with suggestions on where to focus the job hunt, who to talk to, and generally was quick to offer help and share ideas. Networking here didn’t feel transactional and was ego free.

  • Where to from here?

We’re not going anywhere for now!