Best thing I ever did in my life was leave Silicon Valley in 2001. I was born in Sunnyvale in 67 and lived in Saratoga from 76-85 and around Mountain View, Santa Clara, Palo Alto, etc until 2000. Moved to Foster City and decided that it wasn't what I wanted for my life. Struggling to make my $1800/month rent. Never being able to get ahead.
Moved to Washington and bought a huge house on half an acre near Seattle for what I'd pay for a crappy 1 bedroom condo in San Mateo. Now I have Puget Sound, Olympic and Cascade views from my gardens and home and I love living here.
My neighbors are wonderful and there are so many great things to do around here. I'm outside every weekend, even in the rain! I wouldn't go back to Silicon Valley for anything. I don't even want to go there to visit my sister, who is still in San Francisco.
