I assume you're talking about the not wanting to afford the area. You can run the numbers on rent vs rent + hotel + airfare, or I can type that out later if interested.

The median rent for a one bedroom place in SF in January of this year was 3400. (http://sf.curbed.com/2016/1/5/10849608/whoa-sfs-median-rent-...)

Now, when you graduate from college, getting 100K+ a year sounds exciting, except when you're plowing 40K (after taxes) a year into rent.

I can't speak to the value of making connections, but I'm already pretty advanced in my career and have plenty of connections (not a humble brag, just stating a fact). Maybe when you're just starting out, it helps a lot to be surrounded by a zeitgeist of tech, where everybody knows a least a little something about software and startups, just for an initial career boost.

I'd rather take a smaller check and save money for retirement. Or, you know, blow it on ponies and whiskey - just not live hand to mouth, worrying about every little expense you're incurring. What's good about living in San Francisco when you're worried about affording everything?