Thanks for posting the link to that essay, it's one of PG's that I missed and I enjoyed it. I like the observation that marginal space matters. That is one of

Thanks for posting the link to that essay, it's one of PG's that I missed and I enjoyed it. I like the observation that marginal space matters. That is one of the reasons why I left the Boston area, after staying there a while after school. I would add that other factors include "marginal time" and "marginal income" -- places where people work 80 hours a week, and places where rent is half your income and no one saves any money, are also unlikely to produce revolutionary startups. You can heat a leaky garage in Chicago for less than it takes to rent a garage in balmy California. You will probably have to spend $100 on insulation -- get the rolls encased in plastic by Johns Manfield so you don't fill your workspace with itchy fibers -- and you will still have to wear a sweater in there. The garage door itself will basically be a seive, but there is this blue colored, flexible foam sheet product, that they use as a house wrap like Tyvek, that you can staple over it on the inside. If you really want to do a startup, a Chicago garage can be made "good enough". Or better yet, if your startup does not involve hardware assembly, just rent a 3 bedroom house in some other part of the country for the cost of renting a garage California, and work inside.