I'd say fix your personal problems and stay in your home country. If you can currently afford to live and work in SV, you can move 500-1000km in any direction a

I'd say fix your personal problems and stay in your home country. If you can currently afford to live and work in SV, you can move 500-1000km in any direction and live cheaply, while staying in your own country. "Intellectual atmosphere" is a meaningless buzzword. If you're looking for high-earning academics to hang out with you've gotta live in an expensive city near a university. If you mean you like a hipster-y atmosphere, you'll find such people nearly everywhere if you go looking for them.