So I have an anecdote here. I work for Google in the New York office. For those of you that don't know, several years ago Google bought the former Port Authori

So I have an anecdote here. I work for Google in the New York office. For those of you that don't know, several years ago Google bought the former Port Authority building in Chelsea for ~$1.9B. It is I believe the second largest office building in Manhattan by square footage of usable area. Google's presence here has steadily grown in the almost 5 years I've been here at least tripling in size. I live in the area and honestly it's amazing. Having no commute of any kind (unless you count a 5 minute walk a commute) is life-changing. Being in a dynamic, interesting area is a gift. For those that want more suburban lifestyles, there are a plethora of options <1 hour from the office in Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester. Most people I know who are married and do this have just one car since public transit is sufficient to get to and from work (only a madman would choose to drive into Manhattan). Contrast this with our headquarters in Mountain View. Actually, it's not even accurate to say that anymore as it now encompasses some of Sunnyvale and I believe we have or will have a presence in Redwood City and other places. All of this is essentially low-to-medium density office parks surrounded by a sea of parking space. Some commute in on Google buses. Those who want a more urban lifestyle life in SF and spend as many as 3 hours a day or more on the bus for the privilege. Living near campus is expensive and, well, boring. There are no cheap options. Compare this to NYC where you could buy a cheap (<$200k) apartment in say Jackson Heights or Sunnyside (in Queens) and be 30-40 minutes from the office. Because there are thousands of people in the NYC office, certain things become possible. You get a wider range of cafes (there are more in MTV but they're far more spread apart). Certain social activities can thrive within the office that seem to falter in MTV due to the much lower density. So it's actually an amazing office to work in and honestly I'd probably have to kill myself if I were forced to relocate to MTV (well OK, maybe I'd just quit...). My point here though is that office parks are a depressing and unsatisfying experience for any company or employee. They're not desirable in any way, even the high end tech campuses of Silicon Valley are just glorified office parks when it comes down to it. Honestly I don't know how any in the Valley does it. Maybe it's different if you get to work in SF but even then you have to contend with finding and paying for a place in SF. And if you need a bigger place (eg you have a family) then you just don't have the options you do in NYC. As for the lower end of office parks, technology has to be a factor here. With the ever-cheapening cost of bandwidth it becomes even easier to chase ever-cheaper real estate with ever-more-mobile low-paid office jobs doesn't it?