It is really to the detriment of the states that allow it. I constantly feel as though due to noncompetes I will be forced to make a move to California in order

It is really to the detriment of the states that allow it. I constantly feel as though due to noncompetes I will be forced to make a move to California in order to further my career on any reasonable timeline. I can't actually know that I will want to stay at a company many years until after I sign the noncompete, but then it is much too late and the noncompete is in effect. If I don't want to be chained to a specific company possibly killing my career progression, I have to be extremely careful. It is things like this that are severely slowing tech growth outside of the bay. Since there are no noncompetes, the chains have to be crafted with positive incentives instead of negative incentives, causing developer salaries and benefits to go up rapidly.