'Rich people leave, artists and queerdos return': is San Francisco's tech exodus real or a fantasy?

Widespread adoption of remote work amid Covid could reshape a city that has become unaffordable

Through free massages, decompression capsules, and limitless nitro cold brew, San Francisco's tech companies spent the last decade making their offices considerably comfier than the average cubicle farm. Beyond making the workday pleasant, they attracted workforces whose six-figure salaries altered the city's demographics, spurring widespread displacement and years of head-scratching over the exact moment San Francisco lost its bohemian soul.

Now, nearly six months after the Covid-19 crisis began, those same startups and tech giants have started to dangle the ultimate perk: the ability to work remotely, indefinitely.