[JacobSuperslav]

I agree with everything you said, except that moving away from SF can only be ideological. To me there are some other advantages:

1. some of the cities here are walkable and cyclable. can't say the same about SF. 2. my kid goes to a free kindergarten and it's been fantastic 3. healthcare doesn't revolve around money, and again, great experience with the public sector, including my wife giving birth here. it's a breath of fresh air when you understand that money is not really a factor when it comes to diagnosing and treating you.

[biztos]

I lived in SF for 8 years and never once drove a car.

I don’t even ride a bike, but most of my friends do.

Why do you think SF isn’t walkable/bikable?

[JacobSuperslav]

That only works if you got a good salary and can afford good location, in my experience.

[0xfaded]

Healthcare is a good point, especially since good insurance outside of an employer is either expensive or requires a significant other with a job with good benefits.

In the scheme of things though, once you've incorporated and put yourself on payroll, health insurance becomes just a cost of doing business. If you're the type that thinks purely think in terms of maximizing lifetime earnings, or even lifetime impact, free health care won't make a dent in that. If that happens to be your thinking and you can afford SF or the bay, you're better off staying where you can maximize your income and impact.

[JacobSuperslav]

I've got a bunch of health problems which can really screw me over later in life (congenital heart defect + autoimmune disorder) and just feel safer knowing that my family will be taken care of even if the money isn't here or something goes wrong with my investments/life insurance.