Very thin bit of content, there. I don't think anyone can be more exhausted by the douchiness of the valley than people who actually work here. But this post s

Very thin bit of content, there. I don't think anyone can be more exhausted by the douchiness of the valley than people who actually work here. But this post smacks of contempt prior to investigation – OP is from Minnesota. > It’s amazing to me that people covet having millions of dollars, a downtown loft and private jets. Everything comes at a price and those who live that life are empty, work most of the time, and don’t have meaningful human relationships. It's a compelling straw man, here. I'm not sure I know anyone who covets millions of dollars or a private jet. I do know people who covet an escape from debt, a chance at a self-directed life, or an opportunity to make something cool without a PHB distracting them with bureaucratic nonsense. OP seems to have a cartoon vision of greed and hubris. And maybe that exists here, somewhere. But as a guy who's been working in the neighborhood for three years, this level of avarice isn't a frequent topic of conversation among people I know – actual, living, breathing millionaires included. (Incidentally, having single digit millions of dollars would be insufficient to afford a private jet.) A compelling argument against the VC system could be made – they are certainly an interesting breed and their expectations can definitely pollute the potential for solid, long-term businesses. But no such argument was made here. > Sure, I like to make things. Yes, I might not always think about my products all the way through. I may never be rich. But, damn it, I will have had fun. I will have had passion for the things I get involved in and I will love my family and my friends to the death. This is where shit gets uncomfortable for me. It would seem that OP is rationalizing his lack of prosperity or outsize riches – or something – as a result of his principled distaste for and avoidance of that dreadful hive of scum and villainy in California. Silicon Valley has several things going for it. Ample venture capital. Local concentration of engineering and design talent. Terrific weather. If you live in San Francisco, you even get a world city into the bargain. Like anything, it has its downsides. You can take it or leave it. OP chooses leave it. Which is fine. But the image depicted by the post has puzzlingly little relation to what I would say is reality.