Apple was born in a garage. Back then, from what I have read, SV was in the margins and two working class kids had that space to experiment. Now, a garage in the same city would probably cost more per month than my entire flat.

Also, Atari (where both Steves contracted) had a freewheeling sex and drugs culture that was at least as subversive in its time as Thiel's Christian/Libertarian views are now. He's already made his penny but, being a human being, he likely doesn't enjoy the condemnation he faces in SF any more than Jobs would have enjoyed living in a religious town in the deep south.