I was there for about that amount of time when I manged to build enough reputation and connections to get into one of the hot startups at the time. I was 29 at the time. I really wanted to leave Silicon Valley, but I already realized that I had made my big break if I played it right.

If I hadn't gotten into to this startup (now a big company on the NASDAQ), I would have left and moved to Austin.

I continued to hate Silicon Valley more every year, but it made me rich.

I'm hating it after four. Nothing quite like the realization that you can either afford a house or to retire elsewhere.