The Next Silicon Valley Is … Los Angeles?
Only Southern California has the entrepreneurial talent and culture to match that of Northern California.
Could the new Silicon Valley also be in California?
Photographer: David Livingston/Getty Images North AmericaI was in San Francisco last week, and most of my conversations eventually turned to the same topic: Could some other region supplant the Bay Area as America’s tech hub? San Francisco, after all, has sky-high rents and taxes — not to mention dirty streets, unpleasant strip clubs and numerous homeless. The towns of Silicon Valley are more livable than San Francisco (though rents are still high), but they are dull and not ideal for attracting highly educated young singles.
I have a nomination for a potential rival for America’s main tech hub: Los Angeles. Increasingly, I am beginning to wonder whether the Bay Area’s position is truly secure.