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Startups Ditching Silicon Valley For New Cities (economist.com)
The rising cost of living in Silicon Valley is pushing startups out, the Economist reports, and re-focusing innovation in new cities around the country [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source]. From the story: More Americans are leaving the Valley than moving to it. In 2017 several counties in the area saw their largest combined domestic outward migrations in around a decade. In a recent survey by the Bay Area Council, a think-tank, 46% of Bay Area residents said they planned to leave in "the next few years," up from 34% in 2016. This is not just a case of people of more modest means being pushed out by carpet-bagging techies. At this year's "FOO camp," a freewheeling annual gathering of hackers and others, a session called "Should I/you leave the Bay Area?" saw a strong turnout. Participants shared their gripes about the high cost of living, bad traffic and a "toxic" culture obsessed with money.
The world is small, thanks to communications and travel systems. Why go to the Bay area with exceptionally high costs and congestion? If you want great central California weather, there are lots of places just down the coast around SLO that are great. The LA/Ventura/OC area is great. And then there's the rest of the country as well. The only reason to be in the Bay area is you want to be there because you perceive it has "extra value" in terms of how others perceive you. In essence - vanity.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!