MSNBC has a short article about the personal lives / toll of the dotcom collapse in SF:   http://www.msnbc.com/news/813903.asp

I generally think the article is right on:

The thick traffic that clogged roads everywhere in 2000 has noticeably lessened in 2002 

This was the first, most dramatic sign for me -- 101 used to be a gauranteed traffic jam several hours a day, now, even at rush hour, you're still moving at a pretty good clip.   People have literally Vanished.

And, a KEY point made in the article:

These days, high technology is left to the technologists, and people like Tracy are pursing new dreams.

There is still tech being pursued, funded, etc. but it's back in the old school mold of Silicon Valley, the Geek paradise, rather than Silicon Valley, the bizdev/corp marketer's paradise.   From a social standpoint, it's unfortunate that a disproportionate % of the folks who left were the ones who made the parties a lot of fun  ;-)