Olympia, WA is a beautiful place. The people are nice, and if you are interested boating, hiking, fishing, or other outdoor activities it's your town. It's a wonderful place to raise a family and the water tases better than anywhere else I've been -- it's famous for the water, in fact. Olympia is not a high-tech Mecca though. The only other programmer that I've met in real life here works for the same company that I do.

My friends in Olympia are wonderful people and I'm fortunate to know them, and want to continue to know them. They're all interesting, and it's not an exaggeration to say that at least a few are brilliant. They are not technical in the way that I am though. In order to find people who understand the work I do, I have to go online, and when I do, the entire conversation is like an IV of liquid inspiration and excitement.

I want real life to be more like my online life. It's what I need now. So I want to go where there are people more like me. I want to strike out on my own. I want to talk to technically-minded people in real life, instead of just on the internet. I want to live closer to where things happen.