Yes, angels are the weakest point. Though Boston VCs seem to be much slower off the mark than SV ones too.
I think the weather in CA has a lot to do with it. That and the fact that for so long it's been the new, nice place to move that it has affected the composition of the people here. The Bay Area, in particular, is a place a lot of people have moved to in search of a better life. So it ends up being full of the kind of people who'd move for a better life, and people like that are optimistic.
When I visited Hearst Castle, the tour guide characterized California as a place where over the history of the US, people kept moving west to escape convention, bureaucracy, community standards, and so it became the final destination of weirdos and lunatics. Seems about right.
I think the weather in CA has a lot to do with it. That and the fact that for so long it's been the new, nice place to move that it has affected the composition of the people here. The Bay Area, in particular, is a place a lot of people have moved to in search of a better life. So it ends up being full of the kind of people who'd move for a better life, and people like that are optimistic.