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Another possibility is the Googles of the world get tired of paying Bay Area wages and start doing their damndest to open shops elsewhere and try to shift the b

Another possibility is the Googles of the world get tired of paying Bay Area wages and start doing their damndest to open shops elsewhere and try to shift the bulk of their workforce out of the Bay. Yes, they hire in the Bay because there is talent in the Bay. But talent is in the Bay because they hire there. If they set themselves to it, I'd imagine they could convince a lot of people to work in other locations. "If you move to <city> with half the CoL, we'll pay you 90% of your current salary"

czep 10y ago
> "If you move to <city> with half the CoL, we'll pay you 90% of your current salary". It's an interesting proposition and one that I suspect many would take seriously. But as an eternal pessimist, I would immediately ask what would happen if I were to lose my job after 6 months living in <city> where my alternatives would be to work for Regional Bank A or Third-Tier Manufacturing Co. B who would not be offering 90% of my previous salary but rather 40%? We stay in the Valley because if, as has happened to me twice already, I wake up and find the company I worked for is now insolvent, I send two emails and find myself another job before lunchtime.
- noobermin 10y ago
  >I wake up and find the company I worked for is now insolvent Google, facebook, twitter et. al aren't insolvent. Yest, I know, bordering no-true-scotsman... I think his point is if the superstar corps move, there may be some motion, not hipster-startup #229777. Yes, and Yahoo! and other examples of big names going under exist.