In 2020, the U-Haul became symbol.
VCs, founders, engineers - people who once swore allegiance to the Valley - loaded up and left. Some went to Miami. Some to Austin.
It looked like abandonment.
It felt like betrayal.
But it wasn’t.
It was recognition.
They saw what others were afraid to admit: that innovation dies when the cost of building exceeds the will to build.
So they moved.
People love to mock. the exodus now.
“Miami didn’t work”
“Austin’s overhyped”
“Everyone’s back in SF”
But here’s what those critics don’t get:
The move wasn’t about winning. It was about reclaiming surface area - mental, physical, ideological.
It wasn’t about replacing Silicon Valley. It was about proving you didn’t need to be trapped inside it.
That’s the point.
Even if none of those cities become the next tech capital, the act of leaving created the permission to build differently.
And once people realize they’re allowed to leave broken systems, they usually don’t go back.
The U-Haul wasn’t the mistake.
Staying stuck would have been.