[spirographer]

I was in the Boston suburbs (Newton) for 6 years, during which my dad went to MIT for a graduate degree, and I myself went to Stanford for a PhD in CS. When I was an undergrad I sat in on a couple classes at Harvard. The caliber of student you will meet is roughly equal.

I think your undergraduate years are a great time to explore, so I would highly recommend leaving your comfort zone, whatever that might be. Moving away from the Bay Area is a great way to spread your wings. Taking several courses in a field that is different/challenging and potentially a minor field of study is another way to do that.

Use that experience as a lens to focus yourself on a graduate degree/entrepreneurial career. If you leave the Bay Area, and you want to do startups, definitely come back to Stanford for a master's degree, or even a business degree, and then do it. There is really no better place in the world for entrepreneurship.

Don't get fooled into thinking that your undergrad years have to be hyper focused in order to succeed. As a matter of fact, it's the best time to broaden your interests, and get to know understand the people who have the same interests as you. The best entrepreneurs build amazing social skills to complement whatever talents they have. They almost never start companies alone, and they have usually spent years working with friends/team. The most novel startups also usually combine ideas from multiple fields. Your undergraduate years are a great time to put those pieces together.