Congratulations on the good fortune but I think your experience is either really recent or atypical. I've been through two major tech job downturns now (2000-2002 and 2007-2009--there have been others before that) and I can tell you things can change very quickly.
I've been working in the field for 20 years. I've seen the same down turns as you. I lived in the heart of the rust belt most of my life. Numerous of my friends have ha the same experience as me, I don't believe it's actually atypical at all.
