I generally agree with most of what you said and yeah, the weather and salaries are generally what attracts people to the bay area. You also get the bonus of being around the brightest folks from around the world and that provides great mentorship opportunities.
As the other child comment on your post said, I think it would be wise to consider how important Vancouver's more mild weather and being in the same timezone as SV would be beneficial for those looking to move out of the US.
> You also get the bonus of being around the brightest folks from around the world and that provides great mentorship opportunities
This is actually the biggest advantage for me. I moved to the Bay Area after school because I am a technical person, but stayed because of the culture (capital and lowercase) and the large numbers of very smart people. Have lived in NYC and Bremen, but the Bay is home. While the money and weather are great, it really is ready availability of top-tier folks. (In a coffee shop on Mission St., I literally tripped over a person I later came to realize is probably the single most accomplished programmer in a particular domain, not to mention a great person to talk art with.)
As the other child comment on your post said, I think it would be wise to consider how important Vancouver's more mild weather and being in the same timezone as SV would be beneficial for those looking to move out of the US.