The market has also drove San Francisco based startup valuations to ridiculously high levels - you have to take the bad with the good.
All else being equal, a Silicon Valley/San Francisco based startup is able to achieve a much higher valuation than an equivalent startup outside San Francisco. However, this Silicon Valley/San Francisco based startup has to deal with higher real estate and salary costs.
The author sells equity as a main motivator in joining a startup. But if you believe in equity, you are far better off being a founder than an early employee
Being the first employee (or an early employee) of a startup seems to be the worst possible choice.
* none of the stability of a larger company
* a salary which is likely less than market
* 10 to 100 times less equity than a founder (So, in an exit, you'll make 10 to 100 times less money! Not all startups have billion+ dollar exits.)
* a huge amount of responsibility - might not be as much as a founder, but still comparable
* less influence and decision making ability than a founder
* less insight into the finances of the business than a founder (without that insight, how will you know if that equity is worth anything?)
The only benefit I see of being an early employee is if the founder is a seasoned veteran who has already done this who you can learn from and be mentored by. But the vast majority of ycombinator founders seem to be new to the startup game.
If you are are fortunate enough to have the liquidity needed (E.g.: you've already participated in a successful exit in a startup in your home country), there is always the EB-5 investor visa. (invest a half a million to a million dollars and create 10 jobs)
Obviously not an option for everyone, but if it is available to you, it may be one of the easiest ways, as you can get a green card relatively quickly via that route.
All else being equal, a Silicon Valley/San Francisco based startup is able to achieve a much higher valuation than an equivalent startup outside San Francisco. However, this Silicon Valley/San Francisco based startup has to deal with higher real estate and salary costs.