I cannot speak for all of California, but I know a bit about Silicon Valley and the tech industry.
One of the primary 'draws' to California has always been the weather. Nearly always mild (except in the Central Valley), no tornados, hurricanes, lightning, bugs, humidity, etc. Always a pleasant 72 degress. :)
However, another big 'draw', especially in the tech industry, is in fact the diversity. There are many enclaves of expatriots from many countries. There are a large variety of restaurants from many cultures, as well as stores and events targeted towards a good number of cultures.
This diversity promotes not only familiarity, but comfort, for many people who may originally be from outside the country. The combination of opportunity and diversity make SV a tech, well, heaven, that has not yet been duplicated. Many have tried, and have assumed that low prices and/or educational opportunities are the key. But, the key is really a mixture of the wide variety of challenges and opportunities, and the 'melting pot' nature of the area.
The reason you don't hear about this a lot outside of the valley is twofold: it sounds elitist, and it is a 'secret weapon'. I'm not saying that Utah, or Austin, or Raleigh, or Boston, are not filled with oodles of nice people, it's just that they are all someone homogenous.
Btw: I agree with the article and the spending issue. Although I agree with AS that we were robbed of upwards of $20billion, we also overspent, and now are in a fix. |
