[seaneking]

Well on a personal level, I really love living in Australia (in melbourne btw), so I stay. But to answer the other points - in a straight comparison to SF yes it's expensive, but wages are also good so it tends to even out. Internet speeds are a joke, but most commercial buildings and all co-working spaces have 100mb cable, so it's a non-issue for work. As for the government, well, "not particularly technologically minded" is about the kindest thing you could say about the current party, but it's not a factor in my day-to-day work, and not enough reason for me to pack up and leave the country.