What benefit does a San Francisco HQ offer if you are not a frontier AI lab?

A Hacker News poster questions whether basing a startup in San Francisco makes sense for companies that are not frontier AI labs, arguing that talent outside those labs and their alumni-founded companies may be no better than elsewhere while demanding a steep "SF premium" and leaving after about six months. The poster suggests other tech hubs such as LA, London, Berlin or Tallinn could offer more value for the money.