How does Boston compare to SV and what do MIT and Stanford have to do with it?
There's no reason why the Boston area shouldn't be as much a hotbed of startups as Silicon Valley is. By contrast, there are lots of reasons why NYC is no good for startups. Nevertheless, Paul Graham gave up on the Boston area, so there must be something that hinders startup formation in the area.
Marya: From http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/01/22/paul-graham-and-y-combinator-to-leave-cambridge-stay-in-silicon-valley-year-round/ "Graham says the reasons are mostly personal, having to do with the impending birth of his child and the desire not to try and be a bi-coastal parent" But then immediately after, we see he says: "Boston just doesn’t have the startup culture that the Valley does. It has more startup culture than anywhere else, but the gap between number 1 and number 2 is huge; nothing makes that clearer than alternating between them." Here's an interview: http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/03/10/paul-graham-on-why-boston-should-worry-about-its-future-as-a-tech-hub-says-region-focuses-on-ideas-not-startups-while-investors-lack-confidence/ Funny, because Graham seemed partial to the Boston area, earlier: http://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html http://www.paulgraham.com/siliconvalley.html
Rebecca: I think he's partial because he likes the intellectual side of Boston, enough to make him sad that it doesn't match SV for startup culture. I know the feeling. I guess I have seen things picking up here recently, enough to make me a little wistful that I have given my intellectual side priority over any entrepreneurial urges I might have, for the time being.
