Agreed. One of the reasons it works here in SF CA is because of the type of people we attract -- and have been attracting for 150+ years. Do-it-yourselfers, iconoclasts, vagabonds, that type of person. Twain, London, those guys. Seriously. It takes an adventurer to want to build a startup, and for whatever reason, CA attracts those types.
Obviously that's not the only reason, but I think it's a factor.
So, the secret is a high bohemian ratio?? Man, I've gotta start eating organic. :P
But I totally agree, you've got to be a certain personality type to start a startup, and that kind of eccentricity usually finds a way of conglomerating together. That culture certainly does propagate itself; I know where I live, it's almost a taboo to start something yourself. I've never been to SF yet, but I get the feeling that it espouses a completely different kind of philosophy?
Obviously that's not the only reason, but I think it's a factor.