I settled on Mountain View, and have been happy with the choice. The downtown, despite aspersions on its character by alaskamiller, is actually quite nice. More Asian food than you can shake a stick at (some of it very good), a couple of great little Asian markets (I just got back from one of them, where I bought everything I needed for a good vegetable soup, some Jasmine green tea, and some nice looking apples for cheap). Having shopping, and especially restaurants, within easy walking distance is now my primary concern in choosing where to live.

I'm renting a house a few blocks from Castro St., and I like the whole town quite a lot. It's not San Francisco, and right now, that's probably good--I would go to rock shows three or four times a week if I could walk to the club. I've got work to do right now, and don't need the distraction. Presumably, if you're starting up, you also have work to do.

That said, being around other startups has value, too. The YC guys often get together in the city, and I'd love to go, but I rarely have a car handy (and I hate driving/parking in the city, anyway). If I lived nearby, I'd walk, or catch a bus. But taking the train (which stops running at a ridiculously early hour) from here to there isn't an option. Once things are spinning nicely, I'll probably move to the city, or possibly back to Austin.