Journalists and cynics are always trying to predict the death of the American economy's two most important regions: New York City and Silicon Valley. Every 0.1% decrease in the population of either spot correlates to a 100% increase in journalism coverage on the "floods" of people fleeing the city. And to some degree the point is not entirely misguided: the work-from-home revolution and ever-growing globalization will likely spread out talent and declutter these economic stronghold cities as more adventurous firms attempt to build a second headquarters in Panama City Beach, Florida.
But New York City and Silicon Valley are never dying. At least not in the foreseeable future. As long as Stanford, Berkeley, and well-established tech giants and venture capitalists maintain a presence in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley will stay a Fertile Crescent of innovation. As long as Wall Street, the global media industry, and workaholic college graduates are drawn to Manhattan's electric culture, New York City will remain a go-to trend setter for the world economy. These features are too ingrained in the landscape of these communities for businesses to have any real incentive to plot a new course. The resources these companies have access to as a result of being in these regions is just unmatchable elsewhere in the country.
When a farmer cultivates a plot of farmland every year, we don't assume eventually the crops will stop growing because "that farm's time is up," and we don't assume the farm is doomed after one bad growing season. We just understand that the plot is well-fitted to growing crops, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. Good farmland is good farmland for a reason, not randomly.
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