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Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

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Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#281
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know exactly, but my experience is that most parents say private schools do a better job (teachers are better engaged and aren't checked out, apathetic pencil pushers). In the areas with good school districts (and there are a handful of those), things swing to another extreme: too much pressure, like Singapore-style schools, which causes children to buckle under the pressure later in their lives.

It's not that the schools are shit. They all have issues. Some get much better funding than others - clearly, but they're all leagues better than what you'd get in many rural parts of America. The issue is that the kids going to the "poor" schools are poor. Their home life is shit because they're frequently sharing a two bedroom apartment with another family. They're dealing with parents who are unable to afford a be…

> Their home life is shit because they're frequently sharing a two bedroom apartment with another family

This sounds like a spoiled rich person talk: it's unimaginable how people manage to survive without a separate bedroom. And a private gardener, one should add.

A mere hundred years ago having a room per family was considered to be okay.

In USSR two generations living in the same one-bedroom apartment was a usual thing.

Somehow people managed to finish schools, go to universities and just do whatever normal people do.

Once you have a roof above your head, your living conditions are not shit pretty much by definition. We all got a bit too spoiled.

Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a ridiculous take. There’s a lot of technical talent trapped in the Bay Area and I welcome it in my region. Treating every resident as if they agree with the repressive SF politics is over generalizing. And who’s full? The main thing the flyover states need is more people.

God no, please don't move to rural areas. They don't need more people.

They actually do need more people, there's quite a drain of young people in these communities which leads to closed farms and hollowed out Main Streets. But transient npm ninjas aren't quite the ticket.

Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Yeah, I've had some friends leave (to CO and DC), but I'm skeptical of companies and VCs leaving. >> I have had older friends leave to have a family. They went to Santa Cruz, Seattle, Denver, DC, and Austin. It's a shame. The ones that stayed either are very rich where a $5M house is not an issue, or they still live with three roommates and rent without kids. Just wait until they look for interesting jobs and get…

There are a ton of companies in Austin, also no state income tax. You can always move back after you vest and sell.

Yeah, the previous poster seems to be completely missing out that Austin and Seattle are major tech hubs, Denver is a secondary hub, and Santa Cruz is within spitting distance to Silicon Valley. Seattle alone is probably the second most significant tech region in the country after SV and Austin is easily third or fourth.

Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#284
post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think SVs appeal is that you can leave in a quiet suburb close to a lot of easily accessible nature, while still having Amazon 2-day shipping, ridesharing, Uber Eats, and luxury retail. There's not many places in the US like this. Europe has a lot but there's not much tech jobs in them. You are also close to SF if you like the madness of the city every once in a while. Other suburby places with nature easily access…

> I think SVs appeal is that you can leave in a quiet suburb close to a lot of easily accessible nature, while still having Amazon 2-day shipping, ridesharing, Uber Eats, and luxury retail. Maybe there’s something you’re not explaining here but there’s plenty of places all over the country that fit this bill. Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Denver, etc. And Amazon 2 day delivery is available all over the place..…

right? this person is stuck in like 2015

Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#285
post #74

The major obstacle to living in SV is the insane cost of homeownership that puts the (pretty commonplace) aspiration of living in one's own home with a nice yard out of reach of all but the richest (even being in the top 5% of incomes in the nation is no guarantee of being able to own a house in Palo Alto, for example.) With the recent passing of Prop 19, things get even worse: people who are looking to inherit homes…

The cost of homeownership is a huge factor for me. When I started working in 2014, I figured I would need to save around $150k for a down payment because the median home price in Santa Clara county was around $800k. Now the median price is around $1.4M [1], so I'd need around $250k. The growth in home prices has roughly matched my ability to save for a home, so almost seven years later I'm not any closer than I was i…

Not only that, but also consider the fact that you are paying 1.4M for a house that was likely built in the 60s, is not up to date at all, and has a perpetual tax liability of at least 15-18k per year (further raises in taxes are much more likely than not). The mortgage would also not be sustainable if one earner lost their job (or if the high-earner lost theirs), and remember that this high mortgage payment needs to be paid every month for 360 months. All of these are solid arguments against buying even if you did have the down payment.

Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#286
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come on: there’s a beautiful A/B test you can consult: in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Boston’s route 128 was the “Silicon Valley” of its time. The US poured even more money into it than they did the Bay Area. Yet which grew and which stagnated?

I think THE major difference was enforcement of noncompetes (as well as those as a proxy for a slew of similar regulatory differences). Financial resources went to route 128 because of a more corporate-friendly regulatory climate. Innovation came from Silicon Valley because of a more innovation-friendly regulatory climate. Guess which won out? US reached economic supremacy in part due to a weaker IP scheme than Europ…

This is not an antagonistic comment but do you have any sources to share about this? I've lived in both cities and feel like I should know more about this.

Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

William Shockley graduated from CalTech, and his connections from CalTech, more specifically Arnold Beckman, funded his new venture in silicon transistors. It's true that Shockley picked Palo Alto because of his mother, but it would be unfair to not also credit Stanford who had an outsized role in helping solidify the Bay Area as the hub for "Silicon Valley". Many many many companies tried to move the industry away f…

Okay, so if California's "free-wheeling culture" caused SV to be where it is, what factored into CA's cultural development? Why the lack of free-wheeling culture elsewhere?

Are you serious? SF's Castro is the gay capital of the world. Summer of Love. The Emerald triangle. The Hells Angels. I could go on.

Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#289
post #37

This is what happens when a city neglects basic quality of life issues, and allows petty crime to thrive. It happened to New York in the 1970's and took roughly three decades to recover from. Good luck, San Francisco.

I think many people prefer petty crime to tech elites. With the upward pressure on rents over the last 10 years, even having your bike stolen every few weeks is cheaper than getting evicted and/or having to find a market rate dwelling. Of course, it's better to have neither exploding costs nor petty crime, but at the end of the day, dealing with petty crime is more affordable. EDIT: Getting downvoted to oblivion but…

Despite the idiotic downvotes you are absolutely right.

A minority of people can afford living in an expensive and safe area.

The majority is forced to choose less expensive, even if less safe, areas.

Re: Tech elites leaving San Francisco threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy

#290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a ton of companies in Austin, also no state income tax. You can always move back after you vest and sell.

Yeah, the previous poster seems to be completely missing out that Austin and Seattle are major tech hubs, Denver is a secondary hub, and Santa Cruz is within spitting distance to Silicon Valley. Seattle alone is probably the second most significant tech region in the country after SV and Austin is easily third or fourth.

Yeah, also have coworkers moving there. If my family wasn’t in the Bay I would seriously consider it.
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