Ask HN: What makes you love the Bay Area?

Complaints about the Bay Area are well known. I'm interested in hearing about the things that the people of HN like most about the area. What do you think you won't find elsewhere? What keeps you in the area that you don't hear talked about very often?

I'm particularly interested to hear from people that have lived in other cities with healthy tech ecosystems. What made you stay? Or go back?

I'd also like to hear what people here think about the relative benefits of founding a startup in the Bay Area in 2017 against other hubs like NYC, Boston, or Seattle.

Being in NYC, the most common argument I hear against the Bay Area is that it's homogeneous. Living in a bubble. (We have the similar rent and traffic problems, so we have to focus on something else). And certainly, if the number of people working ostensibly in one industry is the measure, it is. But I wonder if it's actually true. A lot of the most intellectually interesting and surprising people I'm aware of seem to live in the area. What is your impression of this on the ground?