More than half of Silicon Valley residents want to leave

[Hydrogen]

More than half of all residents in the Big Tech hub of Silicon Valley are planning to ditch the region due to spiraling costs and quality-of-life issues, according to the results of a poll released this week.

A whopping 64% of residents in Silicon Valley, home to corporate heavyweights such as Google, Meta and Apple, say they are concerned the region is on the wrong track, according to the 2022 Silicon Valley poll conducted by Joint Venture and the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies.

Meanwhile, 56% of respondents said they were likely to move out of the Bay Area “in the next few years.” The figure is even higher for working-age residents, with 59% of adults aged 18 to 64 indicating they were likely to seek greener pastures.

Among individuals who plan to leave, 67% cited housing costs, while 47% pointed to a falling quality of life and 43% were sick of the area’s high taxes.

“There’s a mood out there – the mood is gloomy. The mood is darkening,” Russell Hancock, the CEO of Joint Venture and president of the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, said during a briefing on the poll’s findings.

“The folks that are working in Silicon Valley think that despite their work, the overall region is losing ground,” Hancock added.

The poll results surfaced during a period in which several prominent businesses, including some based in the Bay Area, have opted to leave California for other states. Firms that have relocated include Tesla, Oracle, Hewlett Packard and Charles Schwab.

Silicon Valley’s high cost of housing was a top concern for residents, with 76% of respondents identifying steep rent and home costs as an “extremely serious problem.”

Other “extremely serious problems” flagged by locals included cost of living, with 72% of respondents using that description, homelessness at 71% and the region’s propensity for droughts at 58%.

Taking into account all factors, 36% of Silicon Valley dwellers who responded to the poll said the Bay Area’s quality of life has gotten worse over the last five years.


https://nypost.com/2022/10/05/more-than-half-of-silicon-valley-residents-want-to-leave-the-mood-is-darkening/

....


This should be concerning to americans. Silicon Valley and its tech sector being backbones of the US economy. One central pillar supporting american freedom, rights and living standards would appear to be compromised.

California by itself was rated the 5th largest economy in the world. If california's GDP is indeed shrinking and "losing ground" as some claim. It could represent a significant loss of american wealth.

While this by itself wouldn't represent a death knell for the US economy. It is possible that silicon valley could relocate to another US state that is more friendly towards innovation and business. To an extent we may have witnessed this trend with Elon Musk choosing to build new tesla factories in texas, rather than california, as may have been the initial impulse for new tech start ups for many years.

Its so strange to see some americans cheer on and support these trends. In the belief that it somehow won't affect them. If it does someday affect us, I hope people remember how confident they were to support everything that led to that eventuality.

[jackg]

I wonder if this is news because it's a problem for the bay area or if it's news because anyone who leaves california for other states likely makes the US more democratic (especially if they leave for somewhere like texas). I was reading earlier that 15 states have the same population as california but a lot more representation in the electoral college system (I assume it's 15x but I'm not certain).

I think this is a good thing but I'm not sure where they'd move to. As long as they can be accommodated in another city then there's probably good reason for them to keep moving to let the US prosper better economically.

California has about 1/7th of the US population too, relocating a lot of these people while keeping the economy as stable as possible will probably help the environment around them recover and for people to feel less condensed.

For a place that's reported high homelessness rates, it's better than what Hong Kong have to put up with too. I doubt the people who've bought property in Silicon Valley will be happy to sell up for a lower cost too and they might reap the rewards of staying there after paying high taxes (that money will still be in the system to help with improvements).

[Zlantann]

While this by itself wouldn't represent a death knell for the US economy. It is possible that silicon valley could relocate to another US state that is more friendly towards innovation and business. To an extent we may have witnessed this trend with Elon Musk choosing to build new tesla factories in texas, rather than california, as may have been the initial impulse for new tech start ups for many years.

Although relocating from Silicon Valley to other favorable parts of the US might be quite challenging for most companies but if these strict government regulations and excessive increases in housing costs and taxes continue, companies would have no other option than to leave.

From reports , the most convenient part of the US they are targeting to move to is Austin Texas. According to the Austin Chamber of Commerce, about 35 companies relocated to open new facilities in the Austin area in 2020 alone. Austin has lower taxes, an affordable cost of living, and wonderful weather. Florida also has the same qualities as Texas and some companies are also moving to the state.

This movement has both negative and positive effects. The state of California would lose a major part of its income from tax if these companies leave, But it would also lead to a decrease in population and crime rate and lead to a cleaner environment. It could also lead to a transfer of knowledge, technology, and income to other parts of America. As long as these firms are not leaving the US, I think there is no much cause for alarm.  

[Husires]

How much is the cost of living in Silicon Valley, which seems to be the main problem besides the high taxes, which represent 67% housing costs and 43% are tired of high taxes in the area, which is not a small percentage.

According to this report:

Monthly Rental Prices in Silicon Valley

    1 bedroom flat (apartment) in City Centre: $2,200+
    1 bedroom flat outside the City Centre: $1,800+
    3 bedroom flat in City Centre: $3,362.50+
    3 bedroom flat outside the City Centre: $2,900+

which is

US:

New York 19.89% higher
Los Angeles is 19.65% cheaper

Outside:
London is 16.47% cheaper
Toronto is 52.29% cheaper
Paris is 48.41% cheaper
Dubai is 12.43% cheaper


Source: https://moverdb.com/moving-to-silicon-valley/



If we add this to higher taxes, it is enough reason to think again about staying with the changes that have occurred with Covid19.

[Gyfts]

...

COVID-19 accelerated the flights to Texas and Florida of California residents fleeing their miserable state. California went heavy with the lockdowns and restrictions, people got tired of it. CA can't really handle their debt anymore either, while Texas and Florida have a balanced economy.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/debt-by-state

Texas and Florida have the least debt out of all states. And if I'm not mistaken, both states do not collect income taxes either. Lower tax burden than California, and it's safer.

California will continually blame corporate greed for their horrid economic policy of high taxes and high regulations, and it'll drive even more companies out to relocate.

[so98nn]

That’s complicated situation for sure considering the importance of silicone valley area. I am wondering why this is happening opposite way since tech giants should be calling for bigger employment in the area and thus the city should keep growing at higher rates and thus should give larger areas to spread and develop.

One more reason could be that Texas is calling High tech peeps as Elon Musk calls for mega employment drive. In addition to all, the cost of living needs to be brought down so that bigger families can sustain freely and live good life. May be Silicon Valley is slowly missing the charm of the same.

[LoyceV]

Taking into account all factors, 36% of Silicon Valley dwellers who responded to the poll said the Bay Area’s quality of life has gotten worse over the last five years.

I don't think this is unique to Silicon Valley. Many places got more expensive and with that less attractive.

Its so strange to see some americans cheer on and support these trends.

I don't even think it's a bad thing if companies move to cheaper places. Why burden your exployees with a high cost of living if they can have a better life elsewhere?

I just looked around on Streetview in Silicon Valley, and I love the place! The weather is great, houses are big, lots of space and lots of nice coastal areas. But those overhead cables look poorer than Belgium, and real estate prices are terrible. If enough people leave the place, prices will drop again. I don't think it's turning into Detroit any time soon.

This movement has both negative and positive effects. The state of California would lose a major part of its income from tax if these companies leave, But it would also lead to a decrease in population and crime rate

I don't think the highly paid people who live in Silicon Valley are the ones adding to the crime rate.

Monthly Rental Prices in Silicon Valley

    1 bedroom flat (apartment) in City Centre: $2,200+
    1 bedroom flat outside the City Centre: $1,800+
    3 bedroom flat in City Centre: $3,362.50+
    3 bedroom flat outside the City Centre: $2,900+

I get that it's expensive in City Centre. But I expected lower prices outside the cities. I often see comparisons with 50 years ago, when one salary was enough to buy a house in the US. Or everywhere in the West for that matter. How did we all move from affordable houses to expensive houses in 2 generations? I think that's a much bigger threat that leads to the destruction of middle class than a few large corporations that move to cheaper areas.

[dothebeats]

It's about time that people learn to disperse somewhere else. The US is a huge country, and there are a lot of states offering great career opportunities in the tech sector. California may have been the center of wealth and tech in the US for decades, but as a worker, the cost of living is nowhere near comfortable, and may hinder financial growth in the long run if the work doesn't pay enough.

Florida and Texas is becoming very appealing as the years go by. Apart from the hurricanes, Florida is actually lenient and forgiving when it comes to taxes and cost of living.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

This should be concerning to americans. Silicon Valley and its tech sector being backbones of the US economy. One central pillar supporting american freedom, rights and living standards would appear to be compromised.

Nah, I don't see this as anything all that serious.  After all, it's just a poll about how a bunch of people, who are most likely wealthy, feel about one relatively small area of California.  If the Silicon Valley region was so bad, real estate prices wouldn't be so high that these people would be complaining.

And if it gets too lousy to live there and the corporations realize it's becoming a problem, I'd be willing to bet they'd start letting employees work from home.  You'd think in the tech industry it'd be relatively easy for workers to not have to commute or even live near the company they work for.

I haven't seen what houses and apartments are going for in the San Jose area lately, but everything around there and in California in general is and always has been super, super expensive.  I've been to CA before, and I remember gas prices being so much higher than in my state, which has always had above-average gas prices.  I'd love to live there, but there's no way I could ever afford it.

Edit:

Monthly Rental Prices in Silicon Valley

    1 bedroom flat (apartment) in City Centre: $2,200+
    1 bedroom flat outside the City Centre: $1,800+
    3 bedroom flat in City Centre: $3,362.50+
    3 bedroom flat outside the City Centre: $2,900+

Whoops!  I didn't read your post until after I'd written mine.  Wow!  I really wonder what kind of jobs those people have who rent the one bedroom apartments, either within or outside the city center.  They might be places to crash (like second-dwellings) for highly-paid tech employees, but I can't imagine all of them are.  That blows my mind it's that expensive to live in the SV area!

[hatshepsut93]

I think you're jumping to conclusions a bit too fast, first that California is the backbone of the US economy - it's certainly is a significant part of it, but it's not like it has 50% of country's GDP, like some other regions in other countries. And second, you think that if half of people don't like living there, it means that it's doomed. But what if people will keep living there despite the problems, because something keeps them there - like high salaries that they get by working at tech companies?

[sunsilk]

Well, the US has big lands in other states that has some potential and cost of living from each state differs and I think in Silicon Valley. Despite those tech companies can manage to stay there, they're cutting cost and the economic situation of what they can see affects their decision of moving.

I think it's still good that they'll just relocate to the other state rather than relocating to another country that has cheaper cost of their operations.

[DVlog]

How much is the cost of living in Silicon Valley, which seems to be the main problem besides the high taxes, which represent 67% housing costs and 43% are tired of high taxes in the area, which is not a small percentage.

You point out the main problem here. The cost of living in that area has become so much high that some people are forced to leave it for a better alternative. Elon musk moving his tesla factories into another state will encourage other companies to follow in his footsteps. This will surely make an impact on the GDP of the USA's 5th largest economical state.

Shifting Silicon valley to another state could be a solution for now to revive its attractions. It's important for the whole country because it plays a key role in the USA's technological advancement militarily.

[burugcrypto]

Now we have the option of working remotely. There are many resources to work remotely.

So wherever available , Employees should opt the option of working remotely and shift to cheaper locations and save the cost of living. With less than half amount they spend in sillion valley or NY, they can live more luxuriously at other places.

Its best option.

[LoyceV]

Now we have the option of working remotely. There are many resources to work remotely.

Of course everyone would like to have a remote job in Silicon Valley paying $400k while they can work from a beach in Portugal. The reality is those are the rare exceptions, most people have to show up at work in the morning.

[el kaka22]

I would assume that it’s not going to be as dire as people claim to be. The only problem here is that we have one centre where all the big budget tech business is done, and what people are hoping for is to spread that around.

You could move out of California, but could still do this business, meaning just because you are in Ohio doesn't mean you can't build a startup, or if you are in Detroit that you can't code something. Instead of giving California all the rights to being tech giants, they want to just leave, live in a cheaper place, and then do the same job anyway, and pay a lot less for it. That would still help USA in the long run even if it hurts California, because it will improve other places.