That's what Taleb explained for his living in NYC: it buys him the option of a Postitive Black Swan to meet great people ("antidotes"?): This makes living in big cities [hubs] invaluable because you increase the odds of serendipitous exposure _ you gain exposure to the envelop of serendipity. p209, The Black Swan, 2007. /Taking maximum exposure to the positive Black Swan p207, Seize any opportunity, or anything that looks like an opportunity. They are rare, or much rarer than you think. Remember that Positive Black Swans have a necessary 1st step: you need to be exposed to them p208