While you can get banking jobs anywhere, their particular area of expertise will get a job in New York, Chicago, or maybe San Francisco. Note that all are expenses places to live.
This is market forces in action. Look at the Dakotas to see it happening now. They are having an oil boom and, gosh oh gee, housing costs have skyrocketed. What a surprise!
It will ALWAYS cost more to live where there are high paying jobs. Their problem is that taxes take a bigger bite the more you make (in general). Here in New Mexico if you make $100K a year you are doing pretty well AND you are keeping more of what you make. I was making $100K in South Florida and barely paying my bills. Here you can live as well on $50K, but of course the jobs that paid $100K in SoFla pay $50K here!
So why move to the lower price area? Income taxes are Federal, so your rate on $50K is less than your rate on $100K. You keep more, as a percentage, living in a lower cost of living area.
There’s no question that people choose to live in high cost areas because of culture, nightlife, jobs lots of reasons. I live in Chicago costs a lot for a place to live but then again I don’t need or want a car. Saves a lot of money. That said all the smugness on this thread may be short lived. Your think the feds are going to stop at $250.000.00 a year..???? LOL. They’re softening it up they want a lot more from all of us. And for those who think because they live in less expensive areas all is well??? Well guess what? The IRS is a step ahead of you. They already have what’s called” maximum allowable expense’s” tagged to where you live. If you don’t think there’re already thinking about it ...Wake the heck up it’s the new normal. You’re going to be taxed more just because you chose to live in a low expense area.