[clem]

So how valuable is it to move to a strange city where you don't know anyone versus staying in the less optimal city where you actually have friends and connections? It's great that Silicon Valley and Boston have this bubbling startup culture, but if you didn't graduate from school there it seems less likely you'd be able to tap into that resource.

[pg]

That is a good point. Off the top of my head, at 25 you should move, while at 35 connections might be enough to compensate for the difference between, say, Boston and SV.

[PeterBell]

I'm 37. I have set up businesses in London, Houston, Chicago, NYC, Edinburgh and (soon) Sydney. You can hook into a city in just a couple of months, being from elsewhere sometimes helps in creating interest, and the people who will be of most use to you in a start-up are likely to be very open to new people if they've got the skills, drive and charisma needed to succeed. Just my 2c.

[mulcher]

I dunno.. even in biotech startups tend to cluster around specific areas (and universities).. A lot of state govts want to attract business, but have yet to achieve critical mass.

Without a doubt, you have to be near a university.

[piaw]

Schools in Silicon Valley don't automatically give you a network. You're at no more of a disadvantage than someone who graduated from Berkeley (definitely outside Silicon Valley). What's very important is your openness to meeting people and talking to people. If when you get a call from a recruiter you just hang up you will never get a chance to make a connection. By answering my calls and at least talking to the next fly-by-night internet startup, I have ended up at very lucrative ventures, and now have a network of friends that encompass early to mid-stage startups and post-IPO companies. It's taken 15 years to have a network that rich, but the first step is to be in a place where you can have that network in the first place.

[taoofjoe]

Stay home and go as far in life as those you know at home or go somewhere new and in short order it is YOUR HOME and go as far in life as your new circle of acquaintances and chances are much better if your new circle is in SILICON VALLEY.