What? That wasn't my impression at all, though I was only there for ~8 months. That thinking seems like making lemonade out of lemons. There are orders of magnitude more angels and VCs that understand the web in silicon valley. That means there are that many more companies and sources of advice and support. You can't really get around that - it really does matter.
Keep in mind that this is coming from someone based in Boston that goes to NYC all the time.
Everyone has their style of how they see early stage startups, and how they do it. I've heard many friends refer to larger tech hubs as 'pressure bubbles' for early stage companies because of all the hype that can snowball around their company.
We really value the beautiful surroundings Boulder has, as well as the vibrant tech scene.
Snowball is certainly a good analogy. In my brief experience, success yields to more success, especially with business development deals. If you're close to a company, you're more likely to do business with it. That makes a big network effect from the number of startups in the area.
So your stress level could snowball, or you might leverage strength over strength. Even if stress were an issue, my happiness is definitely tied more to the direction Tipjoy is going than the excess of companies around me.
Unfortunately, the other side to my original comment was lost. I think TechStars is great, and more people doing startups is great. I didn't mean for this to become a debate about the relative strengths of cities.
Keep in mind that this is coming from someone based in Boston that goes to NYC all the time.