A group from We Are the Future, based in Scotland, came to visit us in Los Altos earlier in the summer. They asked 'what's it like to live in the Valley' ?

Answering that question requires pointing out some of the side effects of the stunning commercial success in the Valley - to buy a house, you are competing with people who have had successful exits from startups, to the extent that it's unlikely that you can fund the deposit for a house unless you have already done that.

Mountain View taken from Airship Eureka (2010)

Wealthfront went through a detailed analysis of a likely budget pointing out the requirement for equity just for living in a normal 3 bedroom house - this discussion isn't about buying a mansion in Palo Alto or Los Altos Hills. "If you were to join a mid sized company with momentum, it’s not out of the question you could receive a 0.1% stake that could be worth at least $1 million pre-tax to you if the company goes public. Joining a company that achieves great success will also put you into position to later earn a much larger equity position at a hot startup that could earn you well more than that.

Over 20 years you should have at least five shots at a big outcome. Managed well, one or more of your equity stakes should be able to address the shortfall required to retire comfortably. If you live in Silicon Valley, you have to play the equity game. Not doing so will leave you with a hole too deep to dig out."

When I moved to the Valley I was able to rent a 1 bedroom flat in Palo Alto on the salary a well funded startup was able to pay me. Since then startup salaries haven't gone up much, on average, but rents have, and availability of decent rental property is much tighter.
San Jose had an average asking rent of $2,066 during this year's January-March quarter. Oakland had an average rental rate of $2,187. San Francisco average - $3,057

What can work is renting a bigger property and sharing it with with house mates. Keen moved to San Francisco, rented a house for what was then the whole company, which they used as an office as well as their living space.

If you as CEO are considering moving an existing company to the US to accelerate your growth and obtain Valley VC investors, the founder of Waze (since acquired by Google) has some useful hints.

References

Currently for sale in Mountain View $100k - $2.2m http://www.zillow.com/mountain-view-ca/

Wealthfront https://blog.wealthfront.com/college-vs-retirement-savings-silicon-valley/ Read the comments, too.

Rents http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25573285/bay-area-apartment-rents...

Waze founder https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140429000341-174756-so-you-want...

http://www.wearethefuture.org.uk/