Struggling to live in an expensive area is a measure of one’s access to the average opportunities available to others.
Merchants able to transport wealth are an ancient tradition. Many have profited greatly from the endeavor. Many have also died along the journey or been forced to establish a new living standard for themselves in a place of lesser opportunity when they are confronted with an unexpected challenge and can not return. The journey down is easy, but mobility is not symmetrical.
I see arguments like this for why everyone has to go live in cities where a single family home is a million bucks.
It’s categorically wrong. Of course if you go to live somewhere with a cheaper cost of living, there’s going to be a cheaper cost of living. The data does not bear out the idea that a high cost of living also necessarily means a commensurate wage.