Perhaps I came across wrong...I meant post-boom but not necessarily "bust". Bay Area is a beautiful and pleasant place to live in my opinion. Without the massive tech influence I think it will still be very attractive to people.
San Jose already has rising criminality and lousy infrastructure (at least when it comes to public transportation), regardless of the wealth of the software industry. I'm skeptical that it's such a "fantastic place to live" when that wealth doesn't seem to be paying for it to be better.
The software industry is clamoring to make the situation better... and are willing to pay for it. It seems like NIMBY homeowners (or at least, the city councils they elected) are actively thwarting progress.
Judging from 2008, much emptier BART trains and reasonable traffic on the freeway.