Do you think my age is a positive or a negative signal for people in SF? And what about other places?
Part of the reason companies prefer to hire younger people is their energy and enthusiasm, but another part (that they can't and won't spell out) is that older people have families and commitments and may want to actually have a work-life balance and not just hear about the company's "committment" in some HR feel-good speech.
Youth is definitely more a plus than a minus in SF/Silicon Valley but you need the experience, some solid accomplishments you can point to. Or you need good contacts that can tell you about the unadvertised jobs (which are most of the available jobs) and get you in the side door.