I think educational infrastructure is almost a trailing indicator... Silicon Valley is special 'cause it prizes the sort of education required to do this sort of work. Especially when I first came here in the '90s, it was amazing - going from the place I grew up, where reading in public felt like it was risking physical violence (well, that's not really fair, I was 17) - to silicon valley, where that sort of thing was the sort of thing to do.
Re:Stripe to move to South San Francisco
by Kalium on Thursday October 24, 2019 @10:36PM
(#21351311)
Bear in mind that Silicon Valley sprung up, by sheer coincidence, in a place with two world-class universities close enough to loathe one another's sports teams.
Primary and secondary schools may well be training indicators.
Maybe... but can you get world-class universities without a culture that values education? I mean, I guess it's one of those chicken and egg things, as a world class university both requires and attracts people who value education.
But, I mean, could you greenfield start a world class university in a place where people see reading in public as something to be ridiculed? would that be easier than bootstrapping a major tech company in some low cost of living area?
You might be surprised by how many "Silicon X" places there are. Most of them are trying to lure companies. Only a few - like Atlanta - seem to understand that they need educational and financial infrastructure first.