Dropbox CEO moving to Austin, as tech elites continue to pour into the city

The CEO of Dropbox, one of the most popular cloud storage services, is planning a move to Austin.

Drew Houston, whose net worth is about $1.4 billion, has purchased a home in Austin that he plans to make his full-time residence, according to a report from The Information.

Houston is the latest tech mogul to make a high-profile departure from Silicon Valley, a trend that has only accelerated under the pandemic. As remote work policies loosen across the tech industry, executives and workers alike have been pouring into the nation's more affordable interior.

In October, Dropbox announced it would stop asking employees to come into its offices and instead make remote work the standard practice, even after the pandemic ends.

Houston isn't the first Silicon Valley capitalist to hang his hat in Austin. Douglas Merritt, the CEO of software company Splunk, also recently purchased an Austin home. While Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale already lives in Austin, he recently confirmed that the VC firm will also be making the move to the capital of Texas.

Austin has been a growing hotspot for tech startups since Dell's founding in the mid 80's. Tesla's announcement earlier this year of plans to build its next Tesla Gigafactory arrived with a thump, electrifying critics and supporters by accelerating the city's transformation into a tech city. Tesla founder Elon Musk has said he plans to spend more time in the city, even teasing moving the Tesla headquarters to Austin.

The reasons for the exodus from California to Austin can be attributed to costs. California has some of the highest taxes in the nation, and San Francisco is one the most expensive housing markets in the country. The median rental price for a two-bedroom apartment is the highest in the nation.

Austin, meanwhile, has a friendly character that is inviting with Texas' lack of personal income tax.