Silicon City

San Francisco in the Long Shadow of the Valley

Cary McClelland 2018 Beaverton 979.481 MCC

Cary McClelland considers himself "middle class", and cannot afford to live in San Francisco because the city is filling with tech workers "in the long shadow of the valley". Well ... San Francisco is a finite resource, as is Bay Area real estate, so the influx of tech workers from the entire planet leads to bidding wars, with prices rising until people stop immigrating to the region. Prices are skyrocketing in Fremont and Oakland, and always were high in Palo Alto, Berkeley, and other professional meccas.

The same is true in Portland and Hillsboro and Seattle and Phoenix. If you want inexpensive, move to the Southeast U.S., where McClelland (and the neighbors McClelland prefers) probably don't want to live. Except maybe Atlanta, which also has rising prices. Fashion costs extra.

The "high value" states have semiconductor fabs: ( CA 20, AZ 17, TX 14, OR 12, NY 9, MA 7, NC 4, VA 3, FL 3 ). Idaho and Maine are anomalies, "low cost" states with 3 fabs each.