JDN, I have to jump in and defend the SF Bay Area. Ever since I moved here many moons ago, there has been talk and efforts by companies to relocate elsewhere, because of the cost of living here. Well, guess what, most change their mind, staying headquartered here, and more move in all the time. The result is that there are far more companies headquartered here, en total, or percentage wise compared to any other area in the world, in the high tech industry than ever. Why is that? It's because of the synergy among companies and people here, engineers, etc., loving the idea that they can go down the street and get three offers most any time. Great colleges and universities, professional groups, seminars, weather, you name it, are all the best here. When I moved out from New England, that area was close in high tech to here. Gradually, they lost almost all of it. Name one great tech company back there after EMC. Here, how about Intel, Cisco, Sun and HP, just for starters.
As far as the earthquake, I experienced far more dread commuting on icy roads twice a day for months. I have seen statistics that say that earthquakes have killed an unbelievably low number of people in this country compared with just about any other kind of natural disaster.
Tony |
