Re:Silicon Valley Poverty Is Getting Much Worse Amidst Insan...
by tzaman on Monday March 11, 2013 @10:27AM
(#5356888)
I think you missed my point. You're right about being the connection point. But that doesn't really mean or do anything for you if you're poor or homeless, does it?
Re:Silicon Valley Poverty Is Getting Much Worse Amidst Insan...
by potatolicious on Monday March 11, 2013 @11:01AM
(#5357117)
Sure, possibly. Moving to a city to be homeless seems like a terrible idea regardless of context - but sacrificing some financial flexibility for your preferred lifestyle (so long as you're not broke) seems sane.
You're discounting, once again, the point of connectedness. The senior folks you talk about - how long have they been there? Are all of their friends there? What would they do with themselves if they moved into the countryside - visit friends they don't have?
The connectedness of cities goes beyond business. There is a reason why major urban centers are a focal point for subcultures - the more fringe they are the more urban they get. It's the only place where these groups are able to sustain a critical mass to keep existing. For a great many people cities are the only place where they can be themselves.
Technology rarely exists in a void - it is at its most useful when applied to dissimilar fields. See for example Uber, which has applied technology to the field of taxicabs, or AirBnb which has applied technology to the previously pencil-and-paper field of private B&Bs/renting.
When you're in a technology business that needs to interface with an established industry, you need to be where they are. Fashion startups in the US want to be in New York, rather than the Valley, for example. We are not even close to the point where the guy teleconferencing in from his country house is on the same footing as the guy who walks through the front door to have coffee.