While housing prices are quite high, working in technology you are certainly able to afford the higher rents. The problem is when you don't work in tech and live here.
My findings were that startups there are extremely busy. They are slow to respond to emails, meetings and interviews are often missed/rescheduled, and salaries are relatively low (<100k). When talking to execs it became clear that they demand 45+ hours a week.
Compare that to Austin, Seattle, DC, Chicago, and Portland, who all have thriving startup communities that often match SV wages, and SV starts to look less appealing.
SV working conditions are not something a college grad should strive for. They should focus on locking down a nice salary with relatively cheap living costs, clearing themselves of debt, and growing their personal worth with side projects.
Also, the wages here in SV can not be matched anywhere else. It's economically impossible to pay someone a SV wage anywhere else. Economically impossible because if you're a business that has intentionally based your company in say DC then why would you continue to pay your engineers SV-sized wages. You'd be amongst the wealthiest people in DC if you were paid what a typical engineer is offered here.
>...your company in say DC then why would you continue to pay your engineers SV-sized wages.
Because you value great employees? I mean think of it this way. A lot of people can't just pack up ship and move to SF. But a lot people can! Companies keep their salaries on par with the valley to keep up. Granted the numbers aren't a science. It is hard to compare salaries in different areas but It has been my experience that SV wages are not that much more than any other city in the US.
> You'd be amongst the wealthiest people in DC if you were paid what a typical engineer is offered here
This is just blatantly false. Do you know how much government workers and politician minions make? It makes engineering salaries look laughable.
1.) http://www.indeed.com/salary/q-Web-Developer-l-Washington,-D...
2.) http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=Web+Developer&l1=San+francis...
I do think that a developer getting paid 300k (not unheard of for top talent at top companies) in a place like Austin would be ridiculous.