All seems back to normal in Silicon Valley. Businesses are open and there is traffic back on Routes 237 and 101. “I had my first in-person meeting with a client in ages, and the traffic was horrible,” said Ray Wang, CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research. “People are starting to get back to work again.”

在硅谷，好像一切都恢复了正常。商业都开放了，237号和101号公路上的交通已恢复。总部位于硅谷的Constellation Research公司的首席执行官王瑞光说：“我与一位老客户进行了第一次面谈，路上的交通非常糟糕。人们又开始回去工作了。”

Can it be that simple? Is the Center of the Tech Universe back to being, well, the center again? Surely, it’ll take more than one traffic anecdote to tell.

能有这么简单吗？科技宇宙的中心是否又回到了，嗯，中心的位置？当然，这需要更多交通相关的事例来说明。
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However, Wang and others have insights on the changing dynamics in the Valley due to COVID-19 and what it will look like in a post-pandemic world. The consensus? Silicon Valley, ironically the home of tech disruption, will be met with a series of disruptive forces itself post-COVID-19. And it seems more than ever that the crown for America's best tech city is up for grabs.

然而，王和其他人对新冠疫情造成的硅谷和世界的变化的动态颇有见解。有共识吗？讽刺的是，硅谷是破坏性技术的发源地，在新冠疫情之后，硅谷本身也会遭遇一系列的破坏性力量。而且，似乎比以往任何时候都有可能上演一场美国最佳科技城市的桂冠争夺战。

“Silicon Valley is filled with disruptors in tech, but this is the first time the area has experienced this kind of disruption,” said Carter Busse, chief information officer at Workato, headquartered in Silicon Valley-based Mountain View. “At this point, it seems unlikely that it will abruptly return to what it was before. Today, companies need to be flexible to what works for their employees or those people will move on.”

总部位于硅谷山景城的Workato公司首席信息官卡特-布塞说："尽管硅谷到处是科技界的颠覆者，但这是该地区第一次经历这样的颠覆。从这点来看，它似乎不太可能突然恢复到以前的状态。今天，公司需要灵活处理员工的安排，否则他们就会离开。”

Good Numbers, Bad Numbers for Valley

硅谷的好数字，坏数字
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Indeed, U.S. workers are leaving companies at a pace not seen in 21 years — and it’s not just Silicon Valley. Nearly four million US workers quit jobs in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the highest quit rate since 2000.

的确，美国工人正以21年来未见的速度离开公司--而且这不仅是硅谷面临的情况。根据劳工统计局的数据，4月份有近400万美国工人辞职。这是自2000年以来最高的离职率。
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Remote work 15 months ago was a must for public health. Now, though, home kitchens and basements — and the flexibility that comes with remote work — are more appealing than swanky tech offices and long commutes for many employees. This is true even for those in Silicon Valley, which composes San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and includes 3.1 million-people who make an average annual salary of $152,185. Just ask some Apple employees, who spoke up against returning to Cupertino because of newfound advantages of working remotely full-time.

15个月前，远程工作是公共卫生的必须要求。但现在，家庭厨房和地下室--以及远程工作带来的灵活性--对许多员工来说比豪华的技术办公室和长时间的通勤更有吸引力。即使对硅谷的人来说也是如此。硅谷由圣马特奥和圣克拉拉县组成，人口共有310万，他们的平均年薪为152,185美元。只要问问一些苹果公司的员工就知道了，他们最近发现远程全职工作有很多优势，因而反对返回库比蒂诺(苹果总部)。
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However, before we create the “how COVID-19 ended Silicon Valley" narrative, some numbers do suggest otherwise:

然而，在我们创造 "新冠疫情如何终结硅谷 "的叙事之前，一些数字确实展现了不一样的画面：

Innovation is strong: The total number of patents registered in 2020 for Silicon Valley each of the last two years were higher than ever before, and 2020 ended with 24 new Silicon Valley publicly-traded companies, according to the 2021 Silicon Valley Index report by Joint Venture Silicon Valley.

强劲的创新势头：根据硅谷联合投资公司发布的2021年硅谷指数报告，硅谷在过去两年中每年注册的专利总数都高于以往，2020年结束时有24家新的硅谷上市公司。

Trillion with a 'T': In aggregate, researchers found, Silicon Valley and San Francisco companies increased their market capitalization by 37%, reaching nearly $10.5 trillion by the end of 2020.

过万亿的市值：研究人员发现，硅谷和旧金山公司的总市值增加了37%，到2020年底达到近10.5万亿美元。
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Record year for funding: 2020 was a record year for venture capital ($46 billion), which fueled a record 67 mega deals in Silicon Valley and 41 in San Francisco. The region is also home to an elite-eight of 12 US Decacorns, private companies valued at more than $10 billion.

筹资创纪录的一年：2020年是风险资本创纪录的一年（460亿美元），这推动了硅谷创纪录地达成了67笔巨额交易，41笔交易在旧金山。该地区也是美国12个市值过百亿的初创公司中的8个精英企业所在地，这些私人公司的估值均超过100亿美元。

Still, California and Silicon Valley did not come of the pandemic unscathed. The state’s Employment Development Department reported in May California had regained 1.3 million jobs, or 48% of the 2.7 million it lost in March and April of 2020. Silicon Valley’s unemployment rate nudged slightly lower in April to 4.9%, though month-over-month declines are tapering off as the region slowly emerges from the pandemic crisis, according to the Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies report in May. As of mid-April, approximately 70,400 people in Silicon Valley’s labor force remained unemployed (20,500 in San Mateo County, and 49,900 in Santa Clara County). This compares to 42,900 pre-pandemic (March 2020, revised down from 48,000).

然而，加州和硅谷也并未毫发无损地度过了这场大流行。该州的就业发展部在5月报告说，加州已经重新获得了130万个工作岗位，也就是2020年3月和4月失去的270万个工作岗位的48%。根据硅谷合资企业区域研究所5月份的报告，硅谷的失业率在4月份略微降至4.9%，尽管随着该地区慢慢从大流行危机中走出来，月度环比降幅正在缩小。截至4月中旬，硅谷的劳动力中大约有70400万人保持失业状态（圣马特奥县有20500万人，圣克拉拉县有49900万人）。相比之下，大流行前为42900人（2020年3月从48000人下调后）。

Will People Come Back to Silicon Valley?

人们会回到硅谷吗？

Sure, some numbers look great. Some don't. But how will Silicon Valley itself actually look with remote work in play? How does Silicon Valley do post-pandemic? Will Silicon Valley have the same appeal to actually work for a company there, and live there? Can the innovation continue, and will tech workers return to offices and campuses for a revival of in-person work?

当然，有些数字看起来很漂亮。一些不尽如人意。但是，随着远程工作的开展，硅谷本身究竟会是什么样子？硅谷在大流行之后的情况如何？硅谷是否会有同样的吸引力，让人真正为那里的公司工作，并在那里生活？创新能否继续，科技工作者是否会回到办公室和园区，以恢复面对面工作？

It won’t necessarily be an easy sell for those who left during the pandemic to return. Price point's always an issue. A one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco goes for $4,526/month compared to $1,329/month in Austin, Texas, according to a 2021 report on US Tech Hubs by Built In.

要让那些在大流行期间离开的人回来，未必是件容易的事。价位始终是一个问题。根据Built In公司2021年发布的关于美国科技中心的报告，旧金山的一室公寓价格为4526美元/月，而德克萨斯州奥斯汀的价格为1329美元/月。
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“Living costs have always been a huge issue in Silicon Valley, and it continues to be,” Workato’s Busse said. “That is probably the most common reason people left, but there are many other factors that draw people away from the area: pace of life, family, lifestyle and more."

Workato的布斯说：“在硅谷，生活成本一直是个很大的问题，并且这个问题还会继续。这可能是人们离开的最常见原因，但还有许多其他因素导致人们离开这里，如生活节奏、家庭、生活方式等等。”
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Historically, Busse added, what has drawn talent to Silicon Valley is economic opportunity. While the cost of living is high, the potential economic upside is also high. "What will draw people back to the Bay Area will be if they feel a few years down the road that the economic opportunities of living in Silicon Valley outweigh whatever benefits they gained by moving away," Busse said. "Regardless, it will be more incumbent upon employers to create environments that suit employees’ needs wherever they may be located."

布斯补充说，“从历史角度来看，吸引人才到硅谷的是经济机会。虽然生活成本很高，但潜在的经济上升空间也很高。布斯说："吸引人们回到湾区的原因是，如果他们在几年后觉得生活在硅谷的经济机会超过了他们搬走时获得的任何好处。无论如何，无论员工在哪里，雇主将更有责任创造适合员工需求的环境。"

San Jose Councilmember: They Won’t Come Back

圣荷西市议员：他们不会回来了

Most Silicon Valley residents who left during the pandemic will not come back, according to Pierluigi Oliverio, three-time elected Councilmember for the City of San Jose who is currently the San Jose planning commissioner. “They enjoy a great quality of life in rural areas and low-housing costs. Some will come back since they pursue leadership positions. However, since most employees are not executive management, it is not necessary.”

三次当选为圣何塞市议员、目前担任圣何塞市规划委员的皮尔路易吉-奥利弗里奥表示，大多数在大流行期间离开的硅谷居民将不会再回来。他们享受农村地区的高质量生活和低住房成本。有些人将会回来，因为他们追求领导职位。然而，由于大多数雇员不是高层管理人员，所以没有必要"。

According to Wang taxes play a role here too. Areas outside of Silicon Valley enjoy lower tax rates and oftentimes no income tax at all. Austin, Texas, a growing tech economy, has no income taxes, as well.

据王先生说，税收也是其中一个因素。硅谷以外的地区享有较低的税率，而且往往根本没有所得税。德州奥斯汀是一个发展中的科技经济中心，并且没有所得税。

Most regions of California have seen the arrivals from Silicon Valley who are now working remote from their new home. In addition, they moved to places such as Bend, Ore., Boise, Idaho, and Bozeman, Mont., according to Oliverio.
“The ability to attract talent is still there, but now that people have gotten a taste of remote work and living elsewhere individuals will have more flexibility to not live near the office,” Oliverio said. “The pandemic has proven remote work is possible, and it will continue. Work will be permanently hybrid with SV building back up but not to the level it would have without the pandemic. This new reality means there will be no need for billions of dollars in tax increases for housing and transportation.”

加利福尼亚州的大多数地区都有来自硅谷的新居民，他们现在在自己的新家进行远程工作。此外，据奥利弗里奥说，他们还搬到了俄勒冈州的本德、爱达荷州的博伊西和蒙大拿州的博兹曼等地。
奥利维里奥说："硅谷吸引人才的能力仍然存在，但现在人们已经尝到了远程工作和生活在别处的滋味，个人将有更多的灵活性，不在办公室附近居住。大流行已经证明远程工作是可能的，而且将继续下去。工作将进入永久混合的模式，硅谷的办公室作为备用，但使用频率不会达到大流前的水平。这一新的现实情况意味着将不需要为住房和交通增加数十亿美元的税收"。

Whattaya Get for $2.5 Million?

250万美元能买到什么？

Price points have always been a consideration for tech workers, even pre-COVID-19. And when you compare Silicon Valley homes to Austin, Reno, etc. where you can get double the space or more for more than half the price, it's easy to see why people are drawn to out-of-area locations, according to Brett Caviness, broker associate with Silicon Valley-based The Caviness Group at Compass and the president-elect of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

价格点一直是科技工作者的考虑因素，即使在新冠疫情之前也是如此。据总部设在硅谷的房产经纪公司The Caviness Group at Compass的经纪人和硅谷房地产经纪人协会的当选主席布雷特.凯威尼斯说：“当你把硅谷的房子与奥斯汀、里诺等地的房子相比较时，你可以用一半多一点的价格获得双倍的空间或更多的空间，就很容易理解为什么人们被吸引到其他地方。”

“People want a nice home, and you really can't find anything that most would consider exceptional in terms of a home unless you are pushing $2.5 million-plus, and that's still just getting you maybe three bedrooms, and two bathrooms,” Caviness said. “Most of my clients really consider purchasing a home in the Bay Area a relatively short-term investment strategy. They park their money in a ‘house,’ really a piece of land they can live on for a number of years, until they can either upgrade to something they enjoy, or they can cash out and move back home somewhere else in the world, U.S., or just to a new city in the U.S.”

凯威尼斯说："人们想要一个好房子，但你真的找不到大多数人认为独特的房子时，除非你出价超过250万美元，这还只是让你可能获得一个有三个卧室和两个浴室的房子。我的大多数客户真的认为在湾区买房是相对短期的投资策略。他们把钱投入到'房子'里，实际上是一块他们可以居住若干年的土地，直到可以升级到他们喜欢的东西，或者可以兑现，然后到其他国家，美国，或者美国的一个新城市安家。”

It's pretty shocking, Caviness added, when people start the process feeling confident and excited with a $2 million budget, only to find what they can get for the money in the areas they want to live is not at all as exciting as they hoped.“Still there are endless reasons why people do choose to live, invest and thrive in Silicon Valley,” Caviness said. “We should not forget the incredible weather, economic opportunities, world class cities, nature, proximity to airports, sea, mountains, the list goes on and on. So when you get down to it, you really are buying a lifestyle in Silicon Valley that just doesn't center around the ‘home’ you get for the money, but more, the opportunity you acquire buy purchasing property in Silicon Valley.”

​凯威尼斯补充说，当人们开始对200万美元的预算感到自信和兴奋时，却发现在他们想居住的地区，能用这些钱买到的东西根本不如他们希望的那样令人兴奋，这真是令人震惊。"人们仍然有无数的理由选择在硅谷生活、投资和发展，"凯威尼斯说。"我们不应该忘记这里绝佳的天气、经济机会、世界级的城市、自然、临近机场、海洋、山脉，它的优势不胜枚举。因此，当你仔细研究时，你真的是在硅谷购买一种生活方式，只是不以你花钱买的'家'为中心，而更多的是你在硅谷购买房产获得的机会。”

The Appeal Is Still There

吸引力依然存在

But then there’s COVID-19, the first real moment when the working world said, “Yes, we actually can do this remote work thing.” How did the pandemic affect the Valley from a real-estate vantage point? COVID seemed to prove the Silicon Valley market is not only resilient but incredibly in demand, being in the mid-peninsula suburban markets, according to Caviness. Others agree with that contention.

但后来有了新冠疫情，这是职场打工人第一次真正可以说 "是的，实际上我们可以远程工作 "的时刻。从房地产的角度来看，这场大流行病对硅谷的影响如何？凯威尼斯表示，新冠疫情似乎证明了硅谷处于中部半岛的郊区市场不仅有弹性，而且需求惊人。其他人也同意这一论点。

People left cities like San Francisco early in the pandemic but came to other places in Silicon Valley places like Menlo Park, Redwood City and San Carlos to have more space, outdoor space and a central location for future commuting needs, he added.

他补充说，人们在大流行的早期离开了旧金山这样的城市，但来到了硅谷的其他地方，如门洛帕克、红木城和圣卡洛斯，以拥有更多的空间、户外空间和中心的位置，满足未来的通勤需求。

“While I've had a few clients relocating out of state, most of my clients who have moved out of area were already at or near retirement age so they no longer had a need to be in the tech center of Silicon Valley and felt they were better off to cash out and move to a location with a lower cost of living,” Caviness said. “I've had a few younger clients either move, or consider moving, but the overwhelming number of active clients and past clients tell me that if you are in tech — while there are other newer tech upstart hubs like, Austin, Seattle, Denver/Boulder etc. — if you want access to the most opportunities for career movement and growth, you'd still want to be in Silicon Valley.”
Wang cited other American cities are laying claim as the home of tech in certain arenas: Miami for Cryptocurrency, Austin for consumer tech and Seattle for enterprise tech, for example.

"虽然我有几个客户搬到了州外，但大多数搬出该地区的客户都已经到了或接近退休的年龄，所以他们不再需要在硅谷的技术中心，并认为最好将资产兑现，搬到一个生活成本较低的地方，” 凯威尼斯说，"我有一些年轻的客户要么搬家，要么考虑搬家，但绝大多数活跃的客户和过去的客户告诉我，如果你是搞技术的--虽然有其他技术新秀城市可选，如奥斯汀、西雅图、丹佛/博尔德等—但如果你想获得最多的职业流动和发展机会，你还是想在硅谷。" ​王列举了美国的一些号称为是某些科技领域的中心的城市，如，发展加密货币的迈阿密、消费技术的奥斯汀和企业技术的西雅图。

“The appeal of Silicon Valley is the wealth and number of tech jobs, opportunity and growth,” Caviness said. “You can move out of the area and work from home in your current position, but you'll have a hard time getting a new job/role/moving to a new company remotely when compared to being local/in office people feel. If you want to grow in your career in tech, this is the place to be, my clients have explained. People like the opportunity of working remotely, but it seems they like the salary offered in Silicon Valley even more, which is often cut if you choose to work remotely and move out of the Bay Area.”

凯威尼斯说："硅谷的吸引力在于科技工作的财富和数量、机会和增长。"你可以搬走，在你目前的岗位上在家工作。但与在当地/在办公室的人相比，你很难在一个新公司通过远程的方式进入工作/角色。如果你希望在技术领域的职业有所发展，硅谷就是你应去的地方，我的客户们已经解释了。人们喜欢远程工作的机会，但似乎他们更喜欢硅谷提供的工资，但若你选择远程工作并搬出湾区，工资往往会被降低。”

Pre-Pandemic Levels Likely Unattainable

大流行前的水平很可能无法达到

Pre-COVID Silicon Valley was firing on all cylinders, from hardware to software. It is well documented that between universities and VC funding Silicon Valley remained the focal point for the world, according to Oliverio.
Now, 15 months later, where does Silicon Valley stand in terms of tech companies and being able to attract talent? How have things changed now having gone through a year-plus of the pandemic? Is the future of Silicon Valley remote, or will it build back to what it was before and still be considered America's tech hotspot?
“The ability to attract talent is still there but now that people have gotten a taste of remote work and living elsewhere individuals will have more flexibility to not live near the office,” Oliverio said. “The pandemic has proven remote work is possible and it will continue. Work will be permanently hybrid with SV building back up but not to the level it would have without the pandemic. This new reality means there will be no need for billions of dollars in tax increases for housing and transportation.”

在新冠疫情之前，硅谷从硬件到软件的发展都欣欣向荣。奥利弗里奥说，从大学到风险投资界，硅谷仍然是世界的焦点，这是有据可查的。现在，15个月后，硅谷在科技公司和吸引人才的能力方面处于什么位置？在经历了一年多的大流行后，现在情况有什么变化？远程办公会是硅谷的未来吗？或者它将会建设成以前的样子，仍然被认为是美国的科技热点？
"吸引人才的能力仍然存在，但现在人们已经尝到了远程工作和生活别处的滋味，个人将有更多的灵活性，不在办公室附近居住，"奥利弗里奥说。"大流行已经证明远程工作是可能的，而且将继续下去。工作将进入永久混合的模式，硅谷的办公室作为备用，但使用频率不会达到大流行前的水平。这一新的现实意味着没必要提高数十亿美元的住房和交通税收"。