Report says Sillicon Valley economy is sputtering:PT2:case study

As for relocating, we need to kep the jobs in the US.

I support relocating to cheaper areas.

Disclaimer: I am in no way biased towards any company I feature on this site.


Case study: GPS companies: Garmin VS magellan navigation:

Garmin is the most successful GPS manufacturer out there. They have very good routing engines and have been enjoying HUGE successes in the GPS sector, They have expanded product lines and even have sponsoship with events. This company is growing and very stable and has increased thier marketshare in the GPS sector by 6% this year.

magellan navigation on the other hand has passed hands 4 times and thier marketshare has dropped by 5-10% this year in the GPS sector. They have also dropped one product line and slimmed down the other. They have also dropped support for explorist label products for driving directions and made such units topo only. This company has confusing product ranges and inconsistancies.

One company is located in Olathe KS

The other is located in Santa Clara, CA.


Garmin is by far the most likely to last in the GPS market then magellan is becuase magellan has to cut corners a little bit to make more profits, also , they are located in a more expensive area, guess what they cut corners with, technical support. They are allgedly hiring people from india and outsourcing more. Garmin has great technical support in the US.

This is evident becuase more californan based companies are reporting losses, while others in more secure areas are doing ok like garmin.
 
let's compare the two areas:
 
This report is pulled from sperling's bestplaces.net :

Obviously the cost of living in Olathe is much lower. If more companies would start up in cheaper areas then they would technically do much better in the long run.

But what about the attractions and stuff that makes living in bigger cities better? Listen, on average only 20% or less of the citiy's population even use all the amenities a city has to offer (those are majorly people who are older and people who do not use computers much, ). Most people are too busy working anyways to enjoy all those. Most people dont bother going to plays anymore becuase better stuff is on youtube and its much easier to view and perform in your home instead of on a stage where only a few get to go on. Most people don't go to museums becuase you can go to google images. Most people don't go to dance clubs becuase they can listen to the same music at home and just have fun with a few friends. Most people don't eat out at fancy resteraunts becuase they prefer homecooked meals becuase of the economy and more exclusivity. With the advent of the internet more and more of these things are obsolete. You no longer need to locate in a "good area" becuase of the entertainment anymore. since all the entertainment you would need is online. Why bother paying for these outdated forms on entertainment you are not going to use.

Also these days people don't care what city you live in. Gone are the days people would hate you if you lived in ohio or kansas. people really judge people for them, not where they are from. Becuase there are good people and bad people in every area. The people that do judge you in the area that you live in are not worth it anyways and are not very good people to affiliate with. This is one part of society that is fading away.

Also with the advent of working from home online you don't even need an office if you are a startup games company, or software company. you can just relax at home and work in your pjs if you wanted to, and what a better place to do it in an area you can easily afford a nice, spacious home to do it in, not a expensive, tiny, cramped, and ugly apartment in SF or NYC.

There are many benifits in living in a cheaper area, especially in todays society.