These "Silicon Valley of [insert city]" articles are tiresome. Notwithstanding the fact that Silicon Valley doesn't represent the same thing to everyone, these

These "Silicon Valley of [insert city]" articles are tiresome. Notwithstanding the fact that Silicon Valley doesn't represent the same thing to everyone, these articles tend to gloss over a number of facts: 1. "Silicon Valley" basically covers the area from San Francisco to San Jose. There are also a growing number of companies in the East Bay. "Silicon Valley" is not a city, it's a sizable (and effectively growing) geographic region. 2. While startups are a prominent part of "Silicon Valley" lore, most startups fail and are incredibly vulnerable to economic cycles. Dozens of large companies are the glue that hold Silicon Valley together. There is a revolving door between these large, established companies and startups and it provides a talent pool to startups and safety net to tech workers that no other region can currently match. Attracting "startups" to your city is the easy part; attracting (or organically growing) the big companies is the hard part. 3. Not only is there more money for tech investment in Silicon Valley, there are more sources of it. One side of Sand Hill Road probably has more venture firms ready to write checks to technology startups than most cities have in total. That's not going to change any time soon. 4. While the percentage of total employed persons in the Bay Area who work in tech is much higher than the national average, it's still below 10%. The economy here is incredibly diverse and there are plenty of people earning good money in other industries like law, finance and medicine. In fact, a lot of folks working in these fields in the Bay Area make more than the average tech worker. Without this kind of strong broad-based economy, a city or region won't be able to replicate "Silicon Valley." 5. California's weather can't be beat.