"Not in the Bay Area" strongly implies "low valuation" for a variety of reasons. #1 on the list is the lack of competition by overfunded VCs throwing cash at startups, driving up valuations. Since an investor's returns are strongly influenced by entry price, investing in the Bay Area raises a higher hurdle for exits than similar deals elsehwere.
Outside the Bay Area, since it's harder to get VC funding for even good companies, fundable ideas are more likely to be "real" companies. Outside the Bay network it's going to be impossible to flip a photo site for 9 or 10 figures, but there are always buyers for profitable & growing tech businesses.
It's likely that investing outside the Bay Area is a competitive advantage for investors of all sizes.