Re:San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents
by timr on Tuesday April 05, 2016 @05:23PM
(#11434623)
"But for a variety of reasons, the momentum has been in SF's favor as the world's dominant technology hub."
I know this is ancient history, but I keep having to remind folks that the fetish for locating tech companies in SF didn't start until the late 1990s. Then it crashed, and didn't pick up again until the mid/late 'aughts.
Viewed dispassionately, the "momentum" of SF as a technology hub looks more like a fad that happens at the peak of VC consumer investment cycles.
Re:San Francisco Tech Firms See Workers Flee from $4,500 Rents
by wavefunction on Tuesday April 05, 2016 @05:18PM
(#11434565)
Or a thousand seeds will be scattered to bloom in "out of the way places," creating employment and value for towns and cities all over the world.
Of course, that might not be in the Bay Area's interest but they seem to be voting firmly against it already.
We might wonder what will happen this momentum is deflected. Technical talent will disperse, and we'll end up with a more distributed workforce? Or will it simply concentrate somewhere else?
Right now, the Bay Area is in an extremely enviable position: it has a high concentration of extremely profitable companies; it has a high concentration of highly skilled workers; it has a high concentration of wealth; and, except for housing, it's a desirable place to live.
The Bay Area's residents and local governments oshould be able to leverage these positive factors to maintain the strong economy while making the area a better place to live for skilled workers who want to set down roots and raise families. Of course, it's more likely that nothing will happen and living conditions will become less and less sustainable.