It's one or the other, sure you can get great experience but at 40 I'm not looking to work my ass off for a small rinky dink apartment in a shitty part of town, and experience is a mysterious bird anyway.
So is there a software scene in Los Angeles ? or northbound towards Santa Barbara. I hear GooG + Zon are heavy in Irvine but not sure how to actually apply for that and not be sucked into the vortex of offers that require moving to SF.
Any ideas are welcome ...