Why not? I'd argue that a single open source standard would spur development of new features, performance enhancements, and bug fixes at an incredibly fast rate.
A few things I've noticed as I've read about other peoples' experiences:
- Most startups are B2B, as opposed to those in Silicon Valley, of which the vast majority are B2C.
- Things move a bit slower - there's more planning, less hackety-hacking. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and doesn't mean that you'll be twiddling your thumbs.
- Cost of living is much, much lower, as you might imagine.
- Tech scene is smaller, but more tight-knit. There aren't a vast array of VCs and companies like in the valley, so chances are you'll bump into the same people over time, and be able to build more personal connections within your network, which is probably better than having a larger, more impersonal network.
- A lot of big companies have satellite offices around Austin, like Apple, Intel, IBM, etc. You aren't necessarily locked into working for an "Austin company", if you don't want to.