[lmm]

> Do I suddenly become better if I move to SF?

You probably do - you're probably hanging out with other programmers more, maybe you can meet up with colleagues sometimes - or, even better, suppliers and clients.

And you have more options for other employers, so you can capture more of the spread as producer surplus rather than consumer surplus.

[SamReidHughes]

Also, with a large pool of developers, employers get better matched with employees, creating more value. (At least this is true hypothetically. Maybe it was true before 2012.)

[boredtofears]

Yes, the bay is the only place you can hang out with programmers or meet with suppliers and clients.

[lmm]

It's exponentially better at it.