Tech CEOs Are Saying Goodbye to San Francisco

Sure, if you're a Musk or a Thiel, and your preferred housing is a compound with a rooftop golf course, waterfront access, and a submarine dock, it's not clear what you were ever doing in SF in the first place. Go buy a walled compound in Atherton, which has a minimal acreage requirement on lots and a prohibition on rentals, and rub shoulders with Steph Curry and Meg Whitman.

SF, for all its wealth, is a mid-tier provincial city with a hidebound city government and a population of residents that are much closer to Staten Island in their outlook than they are to Barcelona. SF has fewer people in it than Columbus does. Its geographical limitations don't really leave a lot of room for a district of opulent mansions (except Sea Cliff, which is pretty small). It is not at all surprising that people who want to live like Dubai princes and never run into the disgruntled rabble would move away.

Paywalled.

I mean, if you are counting "Tech CEOs" like me, who used to live at the top of Nob Hill in a $4,500/mo closet, with 0 employees, then yes... we left. If you are counting real Tech CEOs, the big players aren't going anywhere.