I agree with much of what you've said. I've lived in the bay area for 7 years, and SF for 3. I like a lot of the people here. I like a lot of the companies here. I like the weather. But if I had no obligations, I would move tomorrow. I've lived in a half-dozen states and two countries. The state and local governments here are the second-worst I've lived under.[1] SF is unbelievable. There are insane violent vagrants roaming around Market street and the Tenderloin. MUNI is a nightmare, and BART is noisy enough to cause hearing damage.[2] Almost any public area is extremely dirty. One can't walk more than a block without encountering the smell of waste.

The biggest thing preventing tech workers from moving is that some interactions simply must be done in-person. Often this requirement is due to culture, not technological limitations. Still, there are significant advantages to in-person interactions. People are much more likely to pay attention to each other. There can be interesting and beneficial chance encounters. And of course, the likelihood of anything getting recorded or leaked is lower.

I think that as remote work becomes more feasible (both technologically and culturally), more tech workers will move out of the bay area. There are simply too many incentives to leave.

1. The worst being Guam, which couldn't keep electricity running for more than 12 hours a day. Great beaches, though.

2. Oh, and who had the bright idea to put cloth seats on BART? That person has probably caused the spread of more disease than Typhoid Mary.