[BobbyTables2]

Always hated how every startup sets up office in downtown San Francisco or similarly absurd cost of living area…

Could pay people well but half as much and have nice office in Colorado mountains, Vermont, or somewhere else beautiful…

Of course, startups rarely seem interested in saving money…

[alpha_squared]

It's a little unfair to blame startups, they largely just set up shop where the capital is. Most VCs required startups to be headquartered near by for easier management/communication. The tech scene in SV had such exceptionalism that it quite literally viewed any startup not in SV as an inevitable failure. Even YC mandated startups be in SV.

[csomar]

Not sure why you are down voted. This is a requirement for many of the VCs in the valley. You have to be both US-based and “nearby”.

[rpcope1]

Most of the real estate "in the mountains" here in Colorado is basically SF prices, with a whole extra set of challenges. Even the front range I think has even worse home price to median income than a lot of the other places people think about when bitching about housing affordability.