My point is that living standard is much more than number of bedrooms and porcelain thrones in your abode of choice. Access to interesting people (in real life, not over the intarwebs), places to go, cultural events, etc. For a computer-tech person, the human aspect of living in the SF area and the contacts made can be a career-advancing g-dsend.

Personally, it not for me, since I love NYC and I’m not a tech-startup jockey (rather a services provider and small time investor), but I can definitely see the attraction for a certain type of individual.