{"id":5992,"date":"2020-11-16T16:50:59","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T00:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maccelerator.la\/?p=5992"},"modified":"2021-05-18T15:08:23","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T22:08:23","slug":"covid-and-the-remote-work-trend-drive-silicon-valley-exodus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maccelerator.la\/en\/blog\/los-angeles\/covid-and-the-remote-work-trend-drive-silicon-valley-exodus\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID and the Remote Work Trend Drive Silicon Valley Exodus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n[ Article updated on May 18th, 2021<\/em><\/strong> ]\n\n\n\n

If given the choice, would you rather endure a vexing commute before sitting all day in a cubicle, or roll over and open your laptop under swaying coconut palms? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would you prefer ludicrous housing costs in a place you don\u2019t want to be anyway, or a higher standard of living somewhere that\u2019s actually affordable? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is your ideal work environment an \u201cecho chamber<\/strong>\u201d of tunnel vision and groupthink, or a vibrant community<\/a> of voices as innovative as they are diverse?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These comparisons may sound exaggerated, but they represent precisely the shifts that a new generation of startups are making. In a post-COVID world of layoffs, recession and remote work, the incentive is stronger than ever to leave the stagnated conditions of the Bay Area in favor of up-and-coming tech hubs like Los Angeles, New York and Austin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more daring digital nomads<\/a> are heading off to exotic global destinations that satisfy their thirst for adventure, even while furthering their careers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, some tech employees simply want to be home with friends and family rather than forced to move to Silicon Valley. The trend toward remote work has thrown wide the doors to either scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Draw of Silicon Valley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For almost a century, Silicon Valley has been a shining beacon of innovation<\/a> of and entrepreneurial promise. A region with a concentration of elite educational institutions and flush with cash, it has drawn the bright and ambitious to come and create. One key characteristic of Silicon Valley and possibly it’s most underrated, is it’s high tolerance for failure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn other places, a failed venture can become this badge of shame that shadows you your entire life,\u201d says Russell Hancock of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. \u201cThat\u2019s just not the case here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, entrepreneurs succeed, fail, and succeed again. The environment is highly favorable for innovators to take risks with some level of security. However, somewhere along the way the region became saturated with some less desirable qualities pushing people away from it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodbye Bay Area, Hello Los Angeles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even before COVID, many in the industry noted that Silicon Valley was starting to collapse in on itself\u2014a victim of its own dazzling success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astronomical living costs resulted in the Mercury News<\/em> headline<\/a>, \u201cIn Costly Bay Area, Even Six-Figure Salaries are Considered \u2018Low Income.\u2019\u201d<\/em> Operating costs have skyrocketed at a similar rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems such as market saturation and insular thinking that stifles innovation have become apparent. Folks are fleeing, and if you\u2019ve been reading our newsletters you know that the number-one outbound destination is San Francisco\u2019s sunny sister to the south: Los Angeles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relocation expert Ryan Carrigan of moveBuddha<\/a> found that 90% of moving searches involving the San Francisco Bay Area were done by people looking to leave. Of those, 15% were headed to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n