What the silicon valley will look like after 10 years?

"The world is getting more and more flat". This is something we often hear and talk about recently. What's the consequence?

We keep seeing technical job outsourcing from a couple of years ago. First in computer hardware, chips manufacture, then software, from coding to design... More and more engineering jobs are moved to China and India...

"What the silicon valley will look like after 10 years?"

This was a debate topic in a class I attended in college 10 years ago. Some students said, of course, the silicon valley would still be the center of new tech startups and creative ideas, so it would become more and more prosperous. Some other students said the house price and living cost here would go so high that few people can afford, so people and companies would start to move out--eventually, silicon valley would lost its charm.

After exactly 10 years, the interesting thing is that now it looks like both sides are right. We are now facing the challenge everyday: "The same technical position can be filled with just a quarter of your salary in India, why we would hire you here?" "What unique value you can create in silicon valley?"

Thanks for the invention of internet, nowadays people can easily communicate without being limited by the geological condition. The salary level is more determined by your true value than the geological location of your job. Having the same technical job in a high cost area means low competence. In another word, for engineers living in the silicon valley, there are only two choices: either move to a low cost area, or improve your competence.

So, what's the value of the silicon valley? What kind of people will stay here after another 10 years?