Silicon Valley Is Over, Says Silicon Valley - I can believe this. Head for the M

[Texacon]

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210871362

Silicon Valley Is Over, Says Silicon Valley - I can believe this. Head for the Midwest!!!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/04/technology/silicon-valley-midwest.html

“Oh my god, this is so cute!”

Robin Li, an investor with the San Francisco venture capital firm GGV Capital, was standing in the lobby of the Madison building in downtown Detroit. Built in 1917 as a theater and refurbished several years ago as a tech co-working space, the Madison checks all of the aesthetic boxes of hipsterdom: reclaimed wood, exposed brick walls, pour-over coffee served by tattooed baristas.

“This is nicer than San Francisco,” Ms. Li concluded.

Last month, I accompanied Ms. Li and roughly a dozen other venture capitalists on a three-day bus trip through the Midwest, with stops in Youngstown and Akron, Ohio; Detroit and Flint, Mich.; and South Bend, Ind. The trip, which took place on a luxury bus outfitted with a supply of vegan doughnuts and coal-infused kombucha, was known as the “Comeback Cities Tour.”

It was pitched as a kind of Rust Belt safari — a chance for Silicon Valley investors to meet local officials and look for promising start-ups in overlooked areas of the country.

These investors aren’t alone. In recent months, a growing number of tech leaders have been flirting with the idea of leaving Silicon Valley. Some cite the exorbitant cost of living in San Francisco and its suburbs, where even a million-dollar salary can feel middle class. Others complain about local criticism of the tech industry and a left-wing echo chamber that stifles opposing views. And yet others feel that better innovation is happening elsewhere.

“I’m a little over San Francisco,” said Patrick McKenna, the founder of High Ridge Venture Partners who was also on the bus tour. “It’s so expensive, it’s so congested, and frankly, you also see opportunities in other places.”

Ok so they’re fleeing the state because they messed it up so badly no one wants to stay. They can’t afford what they’ve voted in. What do they think about that?

comradebillyboy
2. I really don't expect an exodus of talent moving
from California or the East Coast cities to the mid-west. They like functioning infrastructure and functioning government.

Yeah, the Midwest is a shithole no one would move to ...

Downtown Hound
10. 60% of my paycheck on rent or 20%? Where do I want to be?
You can wear a jacket in the snow and crank the heat up. And you'll actually have money to afford both of those things because nearly every penny you make isn't going

Well someone gets it.

Downtown Hound
8. I've lived in Norcal for more than 30 years
And I love this state. There are few places on the planet more beautiful. But even I'm thinking about leaving. The cost of living here has gotten beyond insane. People making $100,000 a year are struggling. If California does not do something about its housing crisis, you will see an exodus from this state. It's inevitable. The ironic thing is that might not be a bad thing for us Democrats on a national level. If we start resettling in other parts of the country, that electoral college advantage that Republicans currently enjoy will start to go away. That's what happened in in formerly red Nevada. California Dems started moving there due to cheap housing and plenty of jobs, and we turned the state blue. We could easily do that to other states, and we've got millions of Dems to spare here.

Yup, he REALLY gets it, but offers the wrong solution. Why do they not understand their taxes to pay for stuff for others are at the root of the problem?

Why does this person want to bring their voting habits to red states?  If you mess up your state don’t leave your problem and bring it to my state.

More at the link.

KC

[Ausonius]

Who says liberal leftists are NOT stooopid?!  California is a mess specifically because of what rich, guilt-ridden leftists have demanded of government: nanny-state infringement of freedom and confiscatory taxes. 

So, the Leftist idiots get exactly what they want...and then decide things are awful and it is time to move away...and repeat all the same mistakes in the Midwest!!!

We have relatives who lived in San Francisco, and then escaped to Fresno, which was better, but they are somewhat trapped by their own bad decisions and fear of change.

When we visited them in San Francisco a few years ago, the mother of the clan was crying to us, after another homosexual, completely naked, and uncircumsized male couple (except for hats and sandals) had sauntered by us and her grandchildren.  "I would love to move to Ohio: I HATE this town so much!  But...I don't know if we could get jobs there..."

She was paying $3500. a month to live in a 2-bedroom slum apartment, where her two incompetent 30-something children were living with two grandchildren.  We told her it would be easy to find jobs, and they would not be living in poverty, given the much improved cost-of-living.

But her children did not want to leave "all their friends."  They ended up in Fresno, where at least homosexuals do not walk around naked.

Yes, they vote Democrat! 

[Delmar]

Response to RKP5637 (Original post)Sat Jul 14, 2018, 05:07 PM
comradebillyboy (3,877 posts)
2. I really don't expect an exodus of talent moving

from California or the East Coast cities to the mid-west. They like functioning infrastructure and functioning government.

Mapping San Francisco’s Sidewalk Pooping Problem
ARIA BENDIX  OCT 8, 2015
Watch your step.

San Francisco is dealing with a number of crises right now: congestion, affordability, gentrification, public transit funding—the list goes on. But a new interactive map suggests public pooping is a pretty big problem as well.

Over the last few years, the city has seen more and more human waste crowding its sidewalks, so much so that one Medium writer dubbed the city “Shitty San Francisco.” Back in 2014, web developer Jenny Wong created a map of all the public reports of excrement sightings made that year. The result was a startling image of a city inundated with filth, particularly near the financial district—a popular tourist locale.

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2015/10/mapping-san-franciscos-sidewalk-pooping-problem/409561/

In the midwest we have flush toilets--that could be a selling point to attract people to come.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Sounds like "Aging hipsters' tour of Blue shitholes that desperately need money."

There are a lot of Midwest places much nicer than those, and that are currently prosperous without an infusion of Libs.  Money is nice and there may be some hope for some that actually understand their own ideology is what's killing California, but I'd rather not take a chance on importing a bunch of smug dweebs who can't think  through the future consequences of their social agenda.

[zeitgeist]

Sounds like "Aging hipsters' tour of Blue shitholes that desperately need money."

There are a lot of Midwest places much nicer than those, and that are currently prosperous without an infusion of Libs.  Money is nice and there may be some hope for some that actually understand their own ideology is what's killing California, but I'd rather not take a chance on importing a bunch of smug dweebs who can't think  through the future consequences of their social agenda.

Sounds like what Native Americans did when the wind changed.     (Never walk barefoot through the barnyard or San Francisco)

[zeitgeist]

Of course a reckoning is coming for lots of liberals who have gotten use to deducting those outrageous property taxes 
Just a snip from an article I was reading earlier today.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-much-house-do-you-really-need-in-retirement-1531230767



We’re standing in a house the size of a small hotel with a stunning view of Manhattan.
The thought of living here petrifies me. My wife, Clarissa, is enthralled.
Then the real estate agent informs us that the family room—which was sliding down a hillside—has been repaired. That’s supposed to make us buy this place?
Our kids are grown up, we live in one of the most expensive areas in the country, and we are looking for another house.
Downsizing? No way. Clarissa says she always dreamed of a bigger house to entertain out-of-town visitors.
I have tried to talk her out of it. I retired from The Wall Street Journal earlier this year after 29 years. I’m freelancing while I look for another full-time job. Hardly the time to be getting a more expensive home, I say.
If not now, Clarissa replies, then when? We each inherited some money. We can afford to buy a bigger house without taking out a mortgage.
I would prefer to stay put in our current house and sock away the inheritance in the bank.
Northern New Jersey is—gulp—expensive. We live in a pleasant but hardly luxurious three-bedroom house worth perhaps $750,000. Our property tax bill is more than $17,000 a year. Oh, the price we pay for an easy commute into New York City.

A bigger house could run $850,000 to $950,000. Property taxes are likely to hit $25,000 or $30,000 a year. OMG! That’s more than people in most parts of the country pay each year in house payments.

Um, 30K in taxes?  Yeah that is more than a lot of people make a year.

[Zathras]

That's why I call the city by the bay San Francesspool. Because that's what the liberals running the place have turned it into, the world's largest open sewer.

[Texacon]

Of course a reckoning is coming for lots of liberals who have gotten use to deducting those outrageous property taxes 
Just a snip from an article I was reading earlier today.

Um, 30K in taxes?  Yeah that is more than a lot of people make a year.

One of the really nice things about states like Texas and Florida. You can earn millions per year without being penalized by state income tax. Yes, our property taxes are high to offset that, but if you choose to live in a smaller home it won’t affect you.

Now looking at this NJ must be insane!  A million dollar home in my area will not run $30k/year in taxes. More like $25k.

[GOP Congress]

This development is expected, but dangerous. The problem is now that California is completely in the category of Trump's shithole country category, the technerd virusheads will now infiltrate red and magenta states, turn them purple and ultimately blue. We must make sure that the state legislatures in these expected receiving states ensure that businesses are welcome, but not socialist wage controls or free bennies to non-producers. In Texas, for instance, I meet with the local state Senator and reps at least once every two months. They appreciate my input as a California emigree and business owner and employer to understand the difference that out of state emigrees bring to the table. Florida is getting hammered by liberal millionaires who leave New York for cheaper digs in Florida, then turn right around and press for socialist policies in Florida. Here in Texas, the only problem we have is direct illegal alien invasion (NOT "immigration," illegal or otherwise!) from Texas and New Mexico, but so far the vast majority of emigrees from California and New York have been producers with CONSERVATIVE values.

[Old n Grumpy]

[quote the Madison checks all of the aesthetic boxes of hipsterdom: reclaimed wood, exposed brick walls, pour-over coffee served bygay transgender tattooed baristas.

“This is nicer than San Francisco,” Ms. Li concluded. There are no bums crapping on the sidewalk or old men walking around naked.

Last month, I accompanied Ms. Li and roughly a dozen other venture capitalists on a three-day bus trip through the Midwest, with stops in Youngstown and Akron, Ohio; Detroit and Flint, Mich.; and South Bend, Ind. The trip, which took place on a luxury bus outfitted with a supply of vegan doughnuts  and coal-infused kombucha WTF is that shit?, was known as the “Comeback Cities Tour.” ][/quote]

If the people in the cities you are going to visit know who you are your tour may turn into the " Get the F**ck out of our cities tour" They don't want your liberal lifestyle screwing up another part of the country like the places you are escaping from.

[freedumb2003b]

Another reply to the snotty West Coast uber alles:

Response to comradebillyboy (Reply #2)Sat Jul 14, 2018, 06:12 PM
sarisataka (9,266 posts)

19. Infrastructure around here is fine

I had to take the Buckboard into town today and didn't even bust a wheel with the pot holes mostly filled in now.

They even got a new bucket for the town well...

[SVPete]

1. San Francisco is not Silicon Valley ... it's not even in Silicon Valley.

2. Silicon Valley is part geographic, part PPE, part people/talent. The PPE and people are not as mobile that twit imagines.

That said ...

comradebillyboy
2. I really don't expect an exodus of talent moving
from California or the East Coast cities to the mid-west. They like functioning infrastructure and functioning government.

There is quite a bit of tech in MN, CO, UT, and TX. And Foxconn is building a large new facility in WI. There are quite a few tech companies in Research Triangle Park in NC.

But as my signature line says,

[docstew]

One of the really nice things about states like Texas and Florida. You can earn millions per year without being penalized by state income tax. Yes, our property taxes are high to offset that, but if you choose to live in a smaller home it won’t affect you.

Now looking at this NJ must be insane!  A million dollar home in my area will not run $30k/year in taxes. More like $25k.

And a million dollar home in your area will have more than 3 bedrooms, unlike those places in CA, NY, or NJ.

[Texacon]

And a million dollar home in your area will have more than 3 bedrooms, unlike those places in CA, NY, or NJ.

A million in my area will get you 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 3 car gage, 1 acre waterfront with a 2-3 boat boathouse.

KC

[Old n Grumpy]

We’re standing in a house the size of a small hotel with a stunning view of Manhattan.  Wait untill the smell blows over!
The thought of living here petrifies me. My wife, Clarissa, is enthralled.

You wife sounds like a social climbing, spoiled bitch. Dump her and go be a beach bum and enjoy life, not killing yourself for a bunch of material crap.

[FiddyBeowulf]

Response to comradebillyboy (Reply #2)Sat Jul 14, 2018, 06:12 PM
sarisataka (9,266 posts)

19. Infrastructure around here is fine

I had to take the Buckboard into town today and didn't even bust a wheel with the pot holes mostly filled in now.

They even got a new bucket for the town well...

That is some good snarking there.

[Celtic Rose]

I left Silicon Valley because I couldn’t afford to live there. 5 years ago I was living in a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath Duplex in a great neighborhood in Washington state and paying only $50 more a month in rent than my brother was paying for his crappy 3rd story walk up studio in San Jose.

I was thinking of moving back, because I have a lot of friends and family in the area, but even with a great job you are looking at a long commute for housing that is nice and even somewhat affordable unless you have a very high paying job.

[SVPete]

I left Silicon Valley because I couldn’t afford to live there. 5 years ago I was living in a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath Duplex in a great neighborhood in Washington state and paying only $50 more a month in rent than my brother was paying for his crappy 3rd story walk up studio in San Jose.

I was thinking of moving back, because I have a lot of friends and family in the area, but even with a great job you are looking at a long commute for housing that is nice and even somewhat affordable unless you have a very high paying job.

While I don't see a mass exodus in prospect (I've lived in Silicon Valley for 40 years), companies are having trouble recruiting junior engineers fresh from college. My previous employer shut down a division that started as a new company 80 or 85 years ago for this very reason. They moved all that operation to Orange County (CA) or Pennsylvania. For some reason, "You'll have to find housing you can afford an hour and a half or two hours away and will never be able to buy a house much closer," wasn't a compelling recruiting message. More personally, my son and his wife made a choice between a tiny condomonium in a very sketchy neighborhood or moving out of Silicon Valley. Because his job mainly required he be near a major airport, they moved to the San Diego area; she found a new job very quickly.

[FiddyBeowulf]

While I don't see a mass exodus in prospect (I've lived in Silicon Valley for 40 years), companies are having trouble recruiting junior engineers fresh from college. My previous employer shut down a division that started as a new company 80 or 85 years ago for this very reason. They moved all that operation to Orange County (CA) or Pennsylvania. For some reason, "You'll have to find housing you can afford an hour and a half or two hours away and will never be able to buy a house much closer," wasn't a compelling recruiting message. More personally, my son and his wife made a choice between a tiny condomonium in a very sketchy neighborhood or moving out of Silicon Valley. Because his job mainly required he be near a major airport, they moved to the San Diego area; she found a new job very quickly.

You would think some of these bigger firms in Silicon Valley would want to build affordable housing on their campuses to attract and keep employees. Quad Graphics does that in WI and in other areas.

[SVPete]

You would think some of these bigger firms in Silicon Valley would want to build affordable housing on their campuses to attract and keep employees. Quad Graphics does that in WI and in other areas.

The housing scarcity and high prices are government-caused. Regs make building housing expensive and easily blocked by NIMBYs (= risky). Converting existing unused industrial buildings into "lofts" got around some of the government crap, but now that is demonized as "gentrifying", so government will probably clamp down on that as well.

Rolling back regs and permitting to reasonable zoning stuff would probably unleash a building boom, but I cannot conceive of the various state, county, and city agencies having an epidemic of that kind of common sense.

[Old n Grumpy]

Having low cost affordable housing means less property taxes for the politicians to spend and it lowers the price of the over priced existing housing. so there is really no incentive to build it.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Um, 30K in taxes?  Yeah that is more than a lot of people make a year.

Including some of our military folks.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Yeah, the Midwest is a complete shit hole, liberal elites.  Keep telling yourselves that utter bullshit.  Lots of great cities in the Central Time zone, functioning infrastructure, arts, sports, etc.

[Texacon]

Yeah, the Midwest is a complete shit hole, liberal elites.  Keep telling yourselves that utter bullshit.  Lots of great cities in the Central Time zone, functioning infrastructure, arts, sports, etc.

I'll put Houston up against any big town they want as far as things to do and see, and Texas as a whole seems to have it going on.  A lot of companies that are moving here seem to feel the same way.

KC

[SVPete]

I'll put Houston up against any big town they want as far as things to do and see, and Texas as a whole seems to have it going on.  A lot of companies that are moving here seem to feel the same way.

KC

Dell and Texas Instruments seem to like Texas ... several decades of liking Texas. TI may not be a household name, but it's one of the (if not THE) largest semiconductor companies in the world.