David Heinemeier Hansson is Emigrating to Chicago
According to his blog, David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) of Ruby on Rails fame is emigrating to Chicago. He is joining his company, 37signals, in Bucktown on the northwest side. Think what you want of Rails, but I think it’s awesome to see Chicago finally get some good tech publicity. Ever since the supernova-style implosions of sleazy companies like marchFirst and Divine, Inc., Chicago has been in dire need of good tech businesses. Not that Motorola isn’t a good tech business. But let’s face it, they hardly drive tech talent to Chicago. And they’re located in the suburbs, which affects their cool, cuttings edge factor. I’m tired of seeing Silicon Valley and Seattle get all the good stuff. Chicago is a great city with some great tech talent that seems to be ignored by the technology industry. And it makes it that much sweeter that 37signals is located in Bucktown rather than downtown. There is so much more to Chicago than just the Loop, the Mag Mile, and Millennium Park. Plus, I lived in Bucktown for 5 years and I still have a soft spot for it, despite it’s changes over the last 10 years. It’s refreshing to see some good publicity for businesses in the neighborhoods, especially tech ones. Maybe this will be the beginning of Chicago’s new tech persona.