Saul grew up in Tacoma and left when he graduated from Stadium High School. After attending college, following a job to Boston, and falling in love with an east- coaster he moved back to Tacoma in 2014 to care for his parents who were ill. He and his wife bought the house he grew up in Tacoma’s Old Town neighborhood. “Tacoma has changed a lot since 1997. A lot. And then I changed a lot,” says Saul. “Some of the things that were always lovely about Tacoma now are particularly lovely when you have little kids. Great parks, a tightly knit community, everywhere you go there’s people that you know.”
Saul’s family has been in Tacoma for generations and his uncle Steph Farber is the owner of LeRoy Jewelers and one of MoveToTacoma Podcasts most popular past guests. His episodes are linked in the show notes below.
Especially after time away, Saul appreciates that Tacoma has the community building engine running, also that people and organizations in the community are open and welcoming. One of the things Saul notes that’s great about Tacoma is that the sharply defined roles and places in civic life are much blurrier and messier in Tacoma. “If you’re willing to wade in and do something there’s a place for you at the table. I mean you might have to elbow some people out of the way but that table is big enough for you to have your voice heard.”
- Marguerite and Saul talk about why there are SO many tech workers commuting to Seattle for tech jobs- but so few tech companies opening satellite offices here in Tacoma.
- Saul talks about his company PeopleGIS, a software company that helps cities and counties with roads and utilities.
- One of the ways Saul has found success in hiring and building connections is by working directly with students at University of Washington Tacoma. “We’re looking for people to be integrated parts of our team,” says Saul. “I’ve found… people who come to UWT already want to be here. I don’t have to sell them on Tacoma. It makes it a little easier.”
- Saul talks about how the salaries and compensation being offered to tech workers in Seattle are very high and it can be difficult to compete with that and lure talented people to Tacoma- even with lower cost of living and lower cost of housing. People are more likely to give up 3-4 hours of their day commuting for a higher salary than to take a pay cut and work where they live.
- Places like Surge Tacoma and coworking in general are great for folks interested in tapping into the Tacoma tech scene. To learn more about Surge and Coworking check out this past episode of the MoveToTacoma Podcast on Coworking.
- Saul believes Tacoma has the opportunity to grow Tacoma’s tech scene in a more sustainable way than Seattle has.
- Saul and Marguerite talk about how The Internet is a utility, and since Tacoma has the fiber in the ground and that Tacoma should fight to keep their internet publicly owned. “Owning the pipes is important,” says Saul. “My moral compass says… low cost easy access internet is I think one of the most powerful ways to distribute knowledge.” The same way that libraries are seen as a public good, the internet is the library of today.
- In Tacoma change happens because we make it happen, that’s the magic of Tacoma. Go do it.
For the second part of this interview (That actually aired FIRST), Saul talks about Tacoma’s Jewish Community and how we can support them in these difficult times. Click here to listen.