
Why Midwesterners leave Silicon Valley and go home for better opportunities - happy-go-lucky
https://venturebeat.com/2017/07/25/why-midwesterners-leave-silicon-valley-and-go-home-for-better-opportunities/
======
Anatidae
When you work 12 to 15 hours a day, make a pretty good salary overall, and
still have nothing to show for it other than, "I managed to rent a closet in
SF"... yeah, the midwest is a FANTASTIC option.

It is hugely ironic that so many Silicon Valley companies are building
solutions to enable exactly what they don't do - work from anywhere.

The Bay Area is a cool place to live. There is a lot to do there and a ton of
resources. Seattle has it's merits too. Portland is experiencing the same
flock of "hotness". After a while, the grind becomes greater than the "cool"
and you soon realize that you're 12 hour day plus 2 hour traffic commute
leaves you no time or energy to enjoy the city you live in anyway.

------
EADGBE
I think a lot of this comes from a lack of understanding that innovation
doesn't have to be centered around a locale.

There are plenty of business in the midwest doing ho-hum widget making as
there are in all parts of the world. There are also plenty of businesses
trying to break into something and be the next "X"; I've worked at a few of
them. They're great with their Startup mentality and you'd think you were on
the set of HBO's Silicon Valley if you didn't look out the window and see a
Midwestern Storm System.

However, I think the Midwestern Mentality will still remain here, which is
what also might hold it back from becoming the Next Silicon Valley (but you'll
read articles countering this). We're very family-oriented and generally nice,
and that permeates a bit into the "move fast and break things" ideas that are
so abundant and (sometimes) wasteful.

There's plenty of top developer talent (in their prime) who choose to remain
here for the competitive salaries and affordable home costs and lifestyle.

It's a little bit of a badge of honor to deny interview requests with The Big
Disrupters simply because you know that the salary they offer (with few
exceptions) can't possibly give you the same quality of life as it does here.

Homes specifically: we're talking comps at 2x+ at a salary negotiation that
doesn't touch that.

------
JKCalhoun
If salaries are competitive in the Midwest, then move there ... go for it.

I grew up in the Midwest and had second-thoughts about Silicon Valley after
moving here decades ago.

I did a little thought experiment though and saw that, despite the cost of the
real-estate, when it came time to retire, I could sell my over-priced house
and move more or less anywhere I want to in the U.S.. While if I took a
smaller salary in Kansas, I could have comfortably purchased a house there too
but when it came time to retire....

~~~
EADGBE
You could also invest in your retirement, and be safe wherever you wanted to
be.

