I have a somewhat contrarian opinion. I'll speak from the standpoint of an American citizen. Yes, remote work will obviate the need to live in Silicon Valley

I have a somewhat contrarian opinion. I'll speak from the standpoint of an American citizen. Yes, remote work will obviate the need to live in Silicon Valley for many engineers. I'm also concerned that the shift to remote work may be used as justification by anti-immigration politicians to reduce immigration on the grounds that highly-skilled immigrants could work remotely for American companies from their home countries. However, engineers in America still need to live somewhere. Silicon Valley is very expensive to the point where $500,000 won't purchase anything except for maybe a one-bedroom condo, but unfortunately many other coastal metro areas in the United States are not affordable, either; Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston are expensive places. While I see some engineers moving to more rural parts of America as well as other less expensive portions of the country such as the Midwest, the South, and the "Rust Belt," for some engineers who grew up in or near America's coastal metro areas it's going to be a major adjustment moving to the places I listed due to the differences in cultural values and politics. For these reasons I can see many engineers still opt for living in or near Silicon Valley despite the major challenges regarding housing prices. For these reasons I think Silicon Valley is still going to remain a desirable place to live for some engineers for many years to come.