Alright folks, let me tell you about this little experiment I did comparing LA Tech to North Texas. It all started last month. I was itching to dive into some new tech landscapes, right? So, I decided, why not pit these two emerging hubs against each other in my own, completely unscientific, way?
First things first, I needed a project. Nothing too crazy, just something to act as a common ground. I settled on building a simple web app – a basic todo list manager. I know, super original, but hey, it works. I figured that’d give me a good feel for the different libraries, frameworks, and general workflow each area favored.
So, I started by digging into the LA Tech scene. I mean, I went online and tried to find out what everyone was using or talking about recently. It seemed like React was all the rage, no surprise there. And everyone was on the JAMstack train. So I started trying to build with React.
- Choosing Tools (LA): Okay, so I installed * (because, duh), set up Create React App, and dove in. I also wanted some kind of backend to store the todo items, so I looked into serverless functions, something like Netlify or AWS Lambda was in the air.
- The Build (LA): I messed around getting React components to display and getting the API calls to the serverless function working. There were a lot of errors in the console to be honest. But after fixing it, I finally got a basic app up and running, where I could add, delete and mark off tasks.
Next up, North Texas. Now, from what I gathered, the vibe was a little different. More emphasis on .NET and C#. Since I used to do .NET back in the day, that was alright with me.
- Choosing Tools (North Texas): So, naturally, I fired up Visual Studio, created an * Core Web API project.
- The Build (North Texas): The setup was pretty straightforward. I scaffolded some controllers and models, hooked it up to a local SQL Server database, and was off to the races. The initial coding felt a little faster, probably ’cause of my past experience.
Comparing the two: Look, both got the job done. The React/Netlify setup in LA felt a bit more “modern” and faster for frontend development, but I was constantly wrestling with dependency versions and the ever-changing JavaScript ecosystem. The .NET Core setup in North Texas felt more “enterprisey” and stable, but it had a bit more overhead. It was a lot to install too.
The Verdict? Honestly, it’s a tie! It really depends on what you’re into and what you’re trying to build. If you like the cutting edge, fast paced web dev, LA tech is great. If you prefer stability and robust frameworks, North Texas might be your thing. Plus, the people I chatted with in each community had such different things to say. It was really cool!
What did I learn? Well, besides brushing up on some old skills and learning some new ones, I realized that “best tech” is totally subjective. It’s all about picking the right tool for the job and finding a community that vibes with you. Also, I really need to work on my CSS skills.
