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Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

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Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Bay Area is home to a lot of immigrants from all over the world, as well as first generation American citizens whom were raised by their immigrant parents. Is the implication here that they all have the same ideologies?

They all moved to the Bay Area didn't they? And they left behind people that didn't. Given that they don't spend much time segregating themselves into Chinatowns and Little Italies one should expect some preference for the culture of the Bay Area to explain the selectivity and staying power, when other locations are just as prosperous (New York, Texas, Boston). An analogy from my own experience: in my youth I was rai…

>They all moved to the Bay Area didn't they? And they left behind people that didn't.

No, they didn't. Some moved here by choice, others had no choice but to move where opportunities are, and many were born here as a consequence of their parents being here.

The latter point is of particular note. It is not at all uncommon for first-generation Americans to be torn between their parent's ideologies, values, and culture, and those of the rest of the population. The result is a unique perspective, or put another way, "diversity of thought" regarding many issues.

Anyway, I appreciate the conversation.

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#202
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do low property taxes have to do with high rent and lack of housing? Higher property taxes would result in higher rent and property prices...

NIMBYs oppose new construction because it keeps their property values high. They don't care about property values ballooning because they pay property taxes on the assessed values from when they bought, which is often decades ago, due to Prop 13. Prop 13 in general keeps things stagnant. For another example, there is no incentive to renovate/tear down/rebuild bigger because now you will pay significantly higher prope…

A lot of people complain about California policies, but I don't ever see anyone stop to think that maybe those policies aren't there to serve them. That is, perhaps they aren't the constituency those policies were implemented for.

And maybe America and certainly California don't need half the country moving to just one state.

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#203
post #202
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NIMBYs oppose new construction because it keeps their property values high. They don't care about property values ballooning because they pay property taxes on the assessed values from when they bought, which is often decades ago, due to Prop 13. Prop 13 in general keeps things stagnant. For another example, there is no incentive to renovate/tear down/rebuild bigger because now you will pay significantly higher prope…

A lot of people complain about California policies, but I don't ever see anyone stop to think that maybe those policies aren't there to serve them. That is, perhaps they aren't the constituency those policies were implemented for. And maybe America and certainly California don't need half the country moving to just one state.

So just proud NIMBYism then?

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#204
post #18
post #7

I wonder if the people fleeing California will end up voting for the same bad policies that are the reason they had to leave in the first place. That is, do they connect the bad policies to the bad outcomes, or will they still favor the bad policies? There is one major area for tech people where Texas may prove a nasty surprise to employees: non-compete agreements. For large employers this may be a bonus though as th…

Is there any evidence that the people moving are responsible for the bad policies? Something tells me the NIMBYs that bought their homes decades ago and pay $3.50 in annual property taxes aren't going anywhere.

I guess you're implying that old people are the reason for high housing prices in SV. Respectfully, what are the bad policies my parents are responsible for, besides pioneering the technology that makes you want to live in SV? And buying a house for 85k in a nice neighborhood in order to do so, without forseeing that Facebook and friends were going to move in and make their house unaffordable were it not for the protections you're mocking?

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#205
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are pockets of Nimby in Texas - truth to be told Austin is one of the most Nimby cities in Texas. The only good thing is unlike Bay Area - the Cities in Texas a primed for outward sprawl.

How is public transit in Austin? Scalable for urban sprawl? I don’t know much about it from an on-the-ground POV

austin just approved a 7B rail system "to start". It will have 3 lines and a bit underground.

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey! Thanks for replying, good to hear from another resident :D Yea, I certainly don’t agree entirely with CA’s gun laws. I also definitely don’t believe CA is perfect. But I agree that the state seems unfairly demonized, I’ve been trying for a bit now to try dig into why. Agree 100% about loving the diversity in this state.

As a Texan that hears that frequently among my right winger friends / family, I think its mostly (plain old) ignorance and indifference. When I talk about liking California I get -- effectively -- dirty looks. But concomitantly, if I press for details there are none. So I think it is just one of those talking points that's taken on a life of its own, probably exacerbated by the housing prices that also get blamed on…

suppressors are not legal, 10+ round magazines banned, very complex rules around "assault weapons", guns are registered, many new pistols are banned, defacto no issue concealed carry, red flag laws, background check required to purchase ammunition. no peer to peer sales, etc etc.

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#207
post #52

People really want to see California and silicon valley fail. Crab mentality I think, people love these articles

Why do you think this is? I find it really bizarre. My own family in the Midwest kind of passive aggressively implies that they hope I “feel the effect” of these “oppressive laws” and I’m out here shooting guns, enjoying the desert on HOVs, and visiting Yosemite to bask in the beauty. Oppression seems like the last thing I’ve found here, honestly. Like what grinds people’s gears so hard about CA? Really would love a…

I think it's a side effect of America's culture war and more recently intensified political war. Fly over vs coasts. And some of misery loves company. And jealousy, California is just kind of cool, not everyone is brave enough to take the chance and move or has the resources. So it's comforting to see oh they're miserable over there.

Though, NY media writes negative stuff about sf too, I think they're jealous that the bay area might be cooler than NYC. When NY has been the one of the ideal places to be for while lol

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#208
post #79
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. They're companies trying to avoid taxes or regulation. Only companies on the downslide really consider that as an relevant option.

Some folks in my network are ex-Oracle and my understanding is that the company is run by the CFO and a huge group of MBAs. Any company where the bean counters are at the helm are optimizing for things like quarterly earnings, tax savings like you said, etc. This is the stage where they milk whatever they can out of a dying cash cow. There’s nothing interesting to me about this flavor of capitalism and I don’t think…

Growth at geriatric tech companies like IBM, HP, Oracle, etc. is largely inorganic, driven by well-negotiated acquisitions of smaller B2B software companies.

It takes MBAs to do this sort of work, and while it isn't for me, I don't think it's the worst business model out there.

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#209
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NIMBYs oppose new construction because it keeps their property values high. They don't care about property values ballooning because they pay property taxes on the assessed values from when they bought, which is often decades ago, due to Prop 13. Prop 13 in general keeps things stagnant. For another example, there is no incentive to renovate/tear down/rebuild bigger because now you will pay significantly higher prope…

This! Right to the point. I think Texas got this right. Higher property taxes are assessed every year on the current property value. This has the positive effect to keep the real estate market within reason. Home owners have no incentive to see their taxes explode, unless they plan to sell and move. CA is a mess! And don't get me started on the fact that property taxes pay for public schools, so if I buy a property t…

every smart person i know in SF is moving to Austin and they all hate the CA dems now.

Re: Silicon Valley exodus: Bay Area tech companies leaving for Texas

#210
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any evidence that the people moving are responsible for the bad policies? Something tells me the NIMBYs that bought their homes decades ago and pay $3.50 in annual property taxes aren't going anywhere.

I guess you're implying that old people are the reason for high housing prices in SV. Respectfully, what are the bad policies my parents are responsible for, besides pioneering the technology that makes you want to live in SV? And buying a house for 85k in a nice neighborhood in order to do so, without forseeing that Facebook and friends were going to move in and make their house unaffordable were it not for the prot…

Opposing the construction of anything besides single-family housing for one
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