It's not quite that simple - for example Canada has a number of advantages and good programs for early stage startups. What is true is there isn't much access to SV style VC funds, so if your model is dependent on that, you have a problem. Other sources can be pretty good though.

What all of these tech hubs need is to popularize their own style of growth that can contrast favorably with SV's '80s Wall Street-esque brand of maniac growth chasing. Once a city figures out how to do that, then the "must be in SV" meme will weaken.

Yes, my current startup is finding it very, very difficult to raise the Series A financing here in Toronto. Canadian VC firms are few and far between, and concentrate on the oil/gas sector mostly, and find tech scary and unpredictable.

On the flip side, the SF VCs don't like investing outside their local sandbox.