from Hacker News

Why You Should Stay in Silicon Valley

by typage on 5/12/16, 3:58 PM with 14 comments

  • by humbleMouse on 5/12/16, 4:06 PM

    I admire your desire to solve problems, but you can’t just write off macroeconomic trends. Debt cycles are a real thing and they do happen. Deleveraging is a real phenomenon. All the money printing the fed did is unprecedented in history and has real effects. Who is going to stay in silicon valley when people are not throwing around funding? Not everybody has 250k to spend on a domain name.

    On top of these macroeconomic facts — why would you want to live in a big suburban sprawl with bad traffic? Sounds pretty crappy to me.

  • by smt88 on 5/12/16, 4:05 PM

    For the vast majority of people, starting companies will only be a money-losing effort. Don't criticize people for choosing not to take this risk. Not everyone can (or wants to) afford it.

    For the vast majority of people, joining a startup in Silicon Valley costs more than it's worth. Salaries are not pegged to the cost of living in SF. Some startups have a work culture that demands long hours, little time with family, and accepting illusory equity instead of cash. Don't criticize people for choosing not to live their lives that way.

  • by zer00eyz on 5/12/16, 4:06 PM

    I used to say if want to work with the stock market, NYNY. If you want to work in insurance Hartford CT. If you want to be an engineer SF.

    However after you have been here a while, you don't need to STAY here to run a small SAS. And unless you KNOW that your going to turn into a unicorn (I hate that term) you probably DONT need to be here.

  • by venomsnake on 5/12/16, 4:21 PM

    Well seems like people are leaving SV because the rent it too high. And I think that "Why bother making money here, when it will only make my landlord richer" is the driving attitude for people to leave.

  • by adambrod on 5/12/16, 4:05 PM

    What about companies that need to save money? SV is extremely expensive compared to other parts of the country and SV is not a good value for everyone (also i'm assuming this is your post from the name)

  • by mariel574 on 5/12/16, 6:03 PM

    I think it's OK for people who aren't really committed to leave. I also wonder if it's worth encouraging folks who want to be in tech to head to other cities where there is slightly less competition but potential for higher impact.

    PS This reminds me a bit of "Why I'm leaving China" articles that came out from a bunch of expats a few years ago :)

  • by steveislearning on 5/12/16, 6:15 PM

    It's just not necessary to be in Silicon Valley to build a great product. Once you've got a team of smart people, get out! "The Valley" and San Francisco have been overtaken by sales and marketing bros, anyway.