I don't know if Washington DC is a startup hub (it generally doesn't feel like it). Even though we're close to northern VA, we just don't get the same vibe of internet culture. It took the community quite a long time to host a Barcamp here. My complaints have been: It's tough because it's sometimes lonely because we can't share that experience with many others because there just aren't as many web startups.
1) East Coast is oddly dominated by families with control over media empires. So talking about equity is just weird with them because they don't want to give any up (no matter how much their website looks like Geocities).
2) I hate having to explain the "long tail" over and over when I'm trying to explain a wholly different concept. The buzz takes time to reach the East.
3) Although accessibility to capital is generally based on good referrals, it's more difficult in the East because those circles are much tighter.
4) We heard from a good advisor that just being in the Silicon Valley will always improve your chances of success, but we moved out to DC because we're working in the "political sphere." I don't have any reference for comparison, so I don't exactly know what to say about that.
5) That said, since we spend a lot of time inside programming, it probably isn't as different if we were somewhere else. I think as a result of the internet, you can still make quite an impact, but closing a business deal is so much easier when it's in person.
