The highest density of competent geeks I've found in this area was at http://shdh.org . I had a lot of fun drinking beer (Old Rasputin Imperial Russian Stout and Stone IPA 4tw) and geeking out with fellow programmers. I met a Google millionaire who was developing his own Lisp dialect with Pythonic features, and had a long discussion with another guy about cache performance problems caused by smart pointers that use atomic refcounting.
May have been skewed by the fact the only one I've been to was on the evening following Startup School, but I was told that all of the SHDH events have about the same turnout.
I'd say you're on your way to bigger and better things. By making the decision to leave a comfortable job you're already ahead of 90% of the population. Most people seek stability not opportunity. Move there, talk to people, attend events, network, and you'll find something that you can do well and enjoy doing. And if it doesn't work out, so what! You'll probably remember the time as the best adventure in your life. Go for it.
So let's say I quit my investment banking job this summer and head to California with $10K in my pocket and hope in my heart. What's the next step? College, a tech job, hanging arround coffee shops looking for cofounders? I have a rudimentary knowledge of PHP and Ruby (I built a photo gallery in the former), an abstract mathematical background, and I love talking in front of crowds. What would you do if you were me?
Nope, sorry but that's just wrong and totally unhelpful.
Asking for advice from peers who are actively involved in what you want to do is a great idea.
Since you are early in your dev career, I would highly recommend finding an existing startup to join with more experienced developers and learning from them - both what they do wrong and what they do right. Hopefully more of the latter ;)
When I left my first bay area job I almost did my own startup at that point. However, when I was honest with myself, I realized I wasn't ready to do it alone and needed a team. So I looked around and applied at several startups. I felt great about one particular startup where the founder was super-smart in business, but also very mature and kind. I don't think I ever saw him get upset or show the least unkindness during the whole startup phase. And he had plenty to be frustrated with, believe me. Anyway, I learned a ton of good and bad through that experience and the company was acquired by Intuit for $60 million. I was really lucky in that regard. Most startups will not have an exit so quick or so profitable.
So that's my recommendation based on my limited experience. Good luck!
Usually when someone asks for advice about what to do, they're really looking for facts and information.
If I present a problem to a bunch of friends, the chance that I'll just take their list of suggestions and pick one to run with is minimal. What is valuable are the various tidbits of information that come up during the discussion. Often, it's information that I wouldn't have thought to ask about directly.
Sorry to continue an argumentative tone, but I just really don't like to see young hopeful guys ask for advice only to get slapped with an unwarranted "grow up you baby" response.
If you actually read his question, it's clear that he is asking very specifically for advice on this situation:
1) Moving to California
2) Wants cofounders
3) Has junior dev skills in PHP/Ruby
4) Has 10K in savings
Doesn't sound much like the meta-physical angst question as you suggest...
Exactly. Right now my best plan is to wait until I can get into a grad school out there to begin the startup process. Grad school would connect me with like minded people and keep me alive until we can open the doors on our business. However, that's at least a year and a half away, and I'd like a plan to do it sooner. But if I just show up in CA with a "startup or bust" t-shirt, I don't know how to get the show off the ground.
The good news is that there are plenty of startups that already have the "show off the ground". Join the most interesting startup you can find with a team you 'click' with, then work your tail off with them. You'll learn more than you ever dreamt ;)
The fact the you're posting this question here, in a startup forum, tells me you've already made your decision to do it (i.e., quit the ibank and head to California).
This is according to a French philosopher (digging deep here, trying to remember that freshman course...) who used an example of a young man in France, during the German occupation in WW2.
He was trying to decide between joining the priesthood or the resistance.
The fact that he went to his local church for advice meant, according to the philosopher (attention lazyweb: name check?), that he already decided for the priesthood, and just needed some reassurance or confirmation.
What exactly would you do in CA that you are not able to do in your location? I'd come to CA only if I have some idea of what to do: College? First find out which one and apply. Tech Job? First send your resume. Find co-founders? You won't find them in the coffee shops, trust me! (at least not the busy ones...)
Talking in front of crowds? That'd be a good reason. Lots of events going on over here. But first you need an app to show off :)
I love CA, don't take me wrong! I'm just saying that a bit of planning would make your 10k last longer.
Edit: No, but seriously, downmodding aside, apply for google. Working for a big company in a new place is a decent way of building up connections and local knowledge. Google is about the least egregious option, so go with them.
This is good advice, despite the down-mods. Google is a great place to learn a few things, make contacts, and find your co-founders. You shouldn't stay too long (a year or so), but there's a lot of much worse paths you could take.
Don't spend too much effort on it though...the interview process can really suck up a lot of time (I know because my girlfriend works there), and if you aren't really Google material (don't have a proper degree in your area of interest, for example) your odds of getting hired are low...particularly given your inexperience. I've received a recruitment letter from Google due to some projects of mine on the web, but I suspect I wouldn't actually get hired. Luckily, I already know what I want to do in California, so I don't need to work at Google while I figure it out. ;-)
Get hired somewhere. Check out the job boards on techcrunch, siliconbeat, linkedin. Go to every local conference. You don't have to be registered. Twitter. Blog. It will work out. :-)
May have been skewed by the fact the only one I've been to was on the evening following Startup School, but I was told that all of the SHDH events have about the same turnout.