[ghaff]

That's the big issue. Multiple $Ks/mo in rent, if you haven't already built up a nice nest egg, make it really hard to ride out a period of unemployment. (And, indeed, make it really risky to bet on something coming along if there's a general downturn.)

I'm less convinced of the uniqueness of SV and the role of labor laws. Places like Massachusetts are doing pretty well these day. (And, indeed, housing near the city isn't cheap either.) This in spite of EMC and certain other employers torpedoing anti-non-compete legislation. But, then, a lot of Boston-area employers don't necessarily put non-compete's in place even though they're more enforceable than in CA.

[dredmorbius]

Noncompetes and a great many issues, along with a general sense of disgust at the tech world, and a growing sentiment that it's not delivering on addressing Big Problems[1], all have me sitting out for now.

But the thought of dealing with any of a number of hassles, ranging from commutes to housing frustrations to highly uncertain employment to outright labour-hostile legal codes (and even in light of those, vastly worse employment contracts) has me reduced to essentially zero interest in even considering the game.

Massachussets, New York, Texas, and North Carolina have all done an exemplary job of eliminating themselves from any and all consideration. California's simply not affordable where there's work, and there's no work where it's affordable. Europe's a mess.

Altair IV is looking pretty good.

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Notes:

1. See for example, https://www.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/38skua/what_ar...