1) You're absolutely right that there are more tech opportunities in the Bay Area than anywhere else on Earth. 2) Nonetheless, your all-caps IF was a tad drama

1) You're absolutely right that there are more tech opportunities in the Bay Area than anywhere else on Earth. 2) Nonetheless, your all-caps IF was a tad dramatic :) I'm a programmer in St. Louis. Jobs are plentiful. I've been working for about 10 years without issue (both at big companies and small). 3) None of this even applies to me because I have no family and no interest in owning a home right now. (So I'm not coming from a position of trying to defend my own choices.) But if I were interested in buying a home, I wouldn't hesitate to do it here. Concerns about the Midwest job market are mostly bunk, especially when you factor in the cost of housing. You know all that stuff about software eating the world? Yeah, it's eating the world, not just SV. There are jobs everywhere.