Some cost of living calculators make $150k in Dallas equal about $250 in NYC. It&#x27;s worth noting that $150k is high for Dallas, but not impossible for people with Principal, Fellow, or Chief in their job titles.<p>It&#x27;s worth noting that using a flat cost-of-living adjustment both overestimates and underestimates things.<p>The kind of place you&#x27;d likely rent in Plano or Addison would cost ridiculous amounts in NYC, given comparable neighborhood qualities and commutes. You can easily afford to have three, four, or more kids. In NYC, one kid is doable, two is a challenge, three is crazy. From that metric, $150k in DFW sounds awesome.<p>Though if your goal is retirement, maxing out your 401k in NYC is <i>much</i> easier. If you plan on moving to a lower cost-of-living area to retire, or are otherwise looking to hit a certain dollar-figure for some reason (paying for kids to go to college), NYC probably has the edge. That is, people usually adjust their <i>total</i> salaries for cost of living but ignore that annual contributions to medium-term and long-term savings generally <i>shouldn&#x27;t</i> be adjusted.