As a life-long East Coaster I'd also add this:<p>There's an optimism that permeates and reinforces the entrepreneurial spirit in the bay area that the East doesn't have anymore. It's a kind of frontier, the world is my oyster, I can do anything kind of thinking, that's needed in this kind of highly speculative industry.<p>On the downside, coming from the East Coast, it <i>feels</i> weird at times, interacting with SV folks. Bringing up obvious concerns or problems is met more with a "why are you poo pooing my optimism buzz?" more often than valid concerns taken as a serious consideration. The hyper-optimism is <i>socially</i> reinforced, I have <i>my</i> head in the clouds, you have yours, it's rude to bring anyone down.<p>As an outsider, it seems to explain certain bizarre behaviors I'd encountered when dealing with West Coast firms, usually centered on outrageous and unjustifiable expenditures of their VC money before the company has made any sort of sniffs at being profitable.
Offtopic, I know, but in fact I'm most interested how this guy becomes a VC 2 years out of university after being a telecom banker, and "advices startups". Does this mean he's nonsense (e.g. no startup experience), or am I missing something fundamental?<p>Needless to say, deep inside I'm just jealous.
I'm a software guy in DC with friends in different industries, and I don't find myself talking politics any more frequently than when I lived in Boston. Something tells me that would be different if I was a staffer/intern on the hill though.<p>The author is a bit over confident in his opinions for me, but a summer schmoozing in SV sure sounds nice.
I'm not familiar with the NYC or Boston startup scene, but I think that arguing that <i>any</i> city is going to overtake SV anytime soon is naive (as the OP found out himself).<p>SV or, more correctly the greater Bay Area, is to tech entrepreneurship as LA is to movies. Sure, you can become a star in NYC or somewhere else but everybody just <i>knows</i> that if you want to increase your chances, you've gotta go to LA. As Shawn Mullins says in <i>Lullaby</i> for LA:<p><pre><code> it's hard to play a gig in this town
and keep a straight face
seems like everyone here's got a plan
it's kind of like Nashville with a tan
</code></pre>
Well, SV is "kind of like LA with a pwn" (I'm trying to rhyme, too). Just as any waiter or waitress and everybody's neighbor in LA wants to make it big in the movies, so it is in SV. The buzz of ambition in the air can be unsettling to many people.<p>Interestingly, the movie industry started in NYC, then moved to LA in the 1910s and 20s (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_the_United_States#Origins" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_the_United_States#Ori...</a>). Read that part of the Wikipedia article carefully, as many of the reasons for SV's dominance are pretty much the same.
If you want to get out of the echo chamber your best choice might be "none of the above". Both NYC and the bay area are fishtanks.<p>You see ads for location-based services and you always see a map centered on SF. Well, I can say I never felt dumber than the day a friend and I were using a "smartphone" to look for lunch in SF and it kept sending us to places that were closed and we kept walking past places that were open.
As an East Coasters I get the feeling there are two distinct groups in Silicon Alley (NYC). One group is represented by people like the author of this article, who has a limited knowledge of Silicon Alley, and write articles based on their limited experience. The other group are highly involved in SA activities like these :<p><a href="http://www.betabeat.com/2012/01/30/the-best-tech-events-this-week-aarrr-edition/" rel="nofollow">http://www.betabeat.com/2012/01/30/the-best-tech-events-this...</a><p><a href="http://generalassemb.ly/events-page" rel="nofollow">http://generalassemb.ly/events-page</a><p><a href="http://www.betabeat.com/2012/01/29/art-hack-day-brooklyn-319-scholes/" rel="nofollow">http://www.betabeat.com/2012/01/29/art-hack-day-brooklyn-319...</a><p><a href="http://www.wixlounge.com/#!calender" rel="nofollow">http://www.wixlounge.com/#!calender</a><p>There are plenty of smart people who spend think about tech night and day, and disagree that the best and brightest are primarily in fiance. To many people fiance are causing more harm to the country then good.
"even soccer moms in Starbucks with their toddlers were talking about the latest apps on their iPhones."<p>This is happening everywhere. My 64 year old mother in law from Florida loads apps on her iPhone.
The author wrote a post about how NYC will overtake SV after only visiting SV for job interviews. They are an "aspiring VC" and think Sand Hill Road is underwhelming. I am still blown away by SHR, and the density of power. It's also a lot different when you're going for crucial meetings on SHR, and not just driving through.
He had me until "Cameron Indoor". Come on: Dean Dome FTW, Cameron's a dumpy high school gym.<p>Anyway, as someone who has spent ten years on each coast, it's impossible to disagree with his overall sentiment. There's an energy and vitality in the bay area that is completely lacking in other places.<p>People love to talk about their local tech community, and I've found myself talking up Raleigh and Durham and the American Tobacco Campus and whatnot, but I know it's just a pale imitation.<p>Take some meetings with VCs in each location; the difference is eye-opening.
FTA: "The commute between SV and SF is absolutely brutal. If the West Coast had NYC’s density of startups and investors, I don’t think NYC would ever have a chance of catching and passing SV."<p>I thought it was one of the most beautiful commutes in the world personally.
~ "I thought my city would win over Silicon Valley, and then I visited the place. Ooops"<p>A plea: next time you hear someone comparing their city to SV, take them aside privately and tell them to book a ticket on the next plane going to the Valley.