Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates San Francisco/Silicon Valley as an actual and imagined place for tech-entrepreneurs, living and working in Europe and in the US. Including perspectives from residents and prospective residents, envisioned migration, as well as actual everyday life is explored.

Paper long abstract:

This paper takes its starting point from a research project studying Swedish tech-entrepreneurs, living and working in Europe and in the US. Sweden has in recent years been playing a relevant role in the internet/tech-field with successful companies such as for example Skype and Spotify. The paper sets out to investigate San Francisco, as both an actual and an imagined place. Migrating to San Francisco (and/or Silicon Valley) is for the internet/tech-community primarily associated with opportunities for success - and it is for many entrepreneurs in the field regarded as the ultimate location to live and work. How is San Francisco constructed as a mythical, imagined place that holds relevance for the tech scene? And how is this image mediated in different channels such as for example social and traditional media? The social ideal of making a difference in a global context can be regarded as an important value for the Internet/tech community but the utopian image of San Francisco as the most important global tech hub is at the same time challenged by the city's social problems such as poverty and segregation. How do the skilled migrants of the transnational network that is the tech community experience this conflict? Including perspectives from both residents and prospective residents of San Francisco/Silicon Valley, this paper explores envisioned migration, as well as actual everyday life and concrete experiences.