Certainly cost of living in the area is becoming a major issue for companies. But it's the startups who are already being priced out of the area. Companies li

Certainly cost of living in the area is becoming a major issue for companies. But it's the startups who are already being priced out of the area. Companies like Google and Apple can afford to offer higher wages (even if they don't necessarily want to.) But before you see these companies trying to start a major hub in a university town, there are other large cities that would be more palatable: Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Portland are places I would expect to be considered. Even Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte since there's already a fair bit of momentum there, although I suspect them to be a more difficult sell for the same reasons I think Atlanta will have trouble attracting talent. Atlanta would be somewhat attractive, except that Georgia has just passed their "Religious Freedom" law (i.e. the "We Support Discrimination" law). Tech companies tend to be more liberal and don't like limiting their applicant pool, and setting up shop there would certainly do so.