I&#x27;m glad to see someone else making this kind of economic argument, I&#x27;ve often said similar things to friends questioning whether the salary gains in a place like NYC are worth the cost of living - housing costs are extremely variable nationally, but most consumer goods fall into a pretty narrow range.<p>Of course, I haven&#x27;t ever actually done the math to confirm that this theory checks out when looked at as percentages of available income <i>after</i> dealing with the extreme costs like housing... but I&#x27;d guess it still holds.