As someone who was present in the so called "Silicon hills" (Austin, TX) and "Telecom corridor" (Dallas, TX) it was hard to find a tech job during the 2008 recession.

These places look great from the outside (cheap, plenty of space, infrastructure etc.), but the job prospects during a downturn are radically different as compared to the Bay Area (I'm only talking about 2008, not the dotcom bubble).