Can I just say: Cost of living ONLY matters if you&#x27;re compensated from out of state.<p>A lot of people look at CoL and think &quot;wow for the $120K I make in NYC I could live like a king in Oklahoma!&quot; But the reality is that places with lower CoL also have lower salaries, so a $120K NYC salary might be $60K in other states, with the same job, same responsibilities, etc. It is relative.<p>Oregon has a lowish CoL and a low amount of snow. Ditto with Ohio. No clue on startup culture. Utah (yes, that one) seems to be an up-and-comer in terms of startup culture, and while it does get a lot of snow, they&#x27;re very pro-active in clearing it which is nice.