[xyzzy_plugh]

I lived in SV for a decade and worked in SF for most of that.

> WFH might not stick widely

If the vast majority of workers demand it, then I don't think employers will have a choice here. Leaving now is a vote with your feet.

> unenforceable non-competes

Very few of my peers have ever cared about this in practice. I don't think this is remotely a major benefit compared to e.g. state taxes.

> fantastic weather and surroundings

The surroundings, I'll give you, but the weather is "fantastic" in a small number of communities only. SF weather is far from fantastic. I don't miss it. Sunnyvale or RWC, on the other hand... But still. The weather is boring.

What I don't miss are the fires and smoke-filled skies, and the drought.

> an educated and diverse population

The "native bay area" population? Or the migrants and immigrants? The vast, vast majority of people I worked with over the years were from elsewhere. We used to joke that it was rare to hear someone was born in the Bay Area. There's not much weighing people from elsewhere down preventing then from leaving, and there is less and less weight each passing month this year.

> cultural activities

I actually cannot think of anything unique to the Bay here...

> very high compensation

True, but I know plenty of people who have moved to Seattle and New York who make just as much. And I know of several fully remote (pre-pandemic) workers who are making 90% of what they would earn in the Bay Area -- I know, this isn't common, but it's possible.

Honestly, SV has done this to themselves. NIMBYism, insane housing, terrible transit, high taxes. I have no doubt SV will recover, but the rest of the world will prosper at the valley's expense.

[codemac]

> Very few of my peers have ever cared about this in practice. I don't think this is remotely a major benefit compared to e.g. state taxes.

Well, while working in RTP I saw many suits filed for my coworkers for non-compete clauses.

If you're ~director or above, this matters a lot and the bigco's basically auto file the lawsuit in any jurisdiction where enforceable. At least one exec I reported to had to take a year off as a result of these lawsuits.

IMO it's a huge deal for the HQ execs of many companies, similar to how tax benefits are a huge deal to the rank-and-file.

[ska]

> At least one exec I reported to had to take a year off as a result of these lawsuits.

Yes, it is a bigger issue on both sides of the table when you get to director+ level. The company often has much more to lose, and the employee often has far fewer potential new homes. These things tend to balance out; I've seen contracts with non-compete timeline matched or exceeded by severance timeline for that reason.

[TheCoelacanth]

Workers don't care much about non-competes, but it matters a lot to people starting companies.

[mdgrech23]

Employers really don't care what the workers want or think. I can't see employees having the leverage to make much of a dent here.

[Apocryphon]

Employers aren't a monolithic block. Some companies will switch back to in-person, others will continue WFH policies. If more workers depart for the latter, the former will take notice.

[whimsicalism]

I mean, employers respond to labor market pressure just like employees do.

[some-guy]

> If the vast majority of workers demand [WFH]

I don't know what percentage of the workforce here has both family and enough personal connections to where leaving the area doesn't make sense, regardless of a WFH policy. It may be that they want a better commute but still want to stay in the area for the aforementioned reasons (I am one of these people).

[microtherion]

> > cultural activities

> I actually cannot think of anything unique to the Bay here...

https://kfjc.org/events/psychotronix

[omgwtfbyobbq]

I actually cannot think of anything unique to the Bay here...

https://kofytv.com/dance-party/