> The obvious first argument is reduction in the standard of living would cause the talented to refuse. I'm sensitive to this, but also skeptical. People making 150 in Kingman would improve their SOL.
There are two problems with your reasoning here:
1. What counts as standard of living or quality of life varies according to the individual.
For example, the bay area has excellent weather, a ton of ethnic/cultural diversity, very solid restaurant scene, lots of interesting nature nearby to explore, the area around SF has passable public transit, some bits have decent biking/walkability, and there's excellent options for international travel. Never heard of Kingman, but based on it being in Arizona and cheap, it's probably substantially worse on all those metrics.
Sure, you'll be much more easily able to afford a nice big house in a good school district, and for some people that's of paramount importance. But not everyone; some people value the things I listed above more, and don't mind living in an apartment.
2. You also have to think about it from a long-term perspective. If you settle down in the bay area, yeah the housing situation is awful, but you don't have to worry too much about your particular company going under or treating you like garbage one day, because there are a ton of other tech companies you could switch to.
If you move to a random non-techie city where your current employer is the only employer of note, then that means settling down there puts you in an awkward situation: you're now tied down to them. Switching companies may well mean moving again, which could be awkward if you've put down roots.
There are two problems with your reasoning here:
1. What counts as standard of living or quality of life varies according to the individual.
For example, the bay area has excellent weather, a ton of ethnic/cultural diversity, very solid restaurant scene, lots of interesting nature nearby to explore, the area around SF has passable public transit, some bits have decent biking/walkability, and there's excellent options for international travel. Never heard of Kingman, but based on it being in Arizona and cheap, it's probably substantially worse on all those metrics.
Sure, you'll be much more easily able to afford a nice big house in a good school district, and for some people that's of paramount importance. But not everyone; some people value the things I listed above more, and don't mind living in an apartment.
2. You also have to think about it from a long-term perspective. If you settle down in the bay area, yeah the housing situation is awful, but you don't have to worry too much about your particular company going under or treating you like garbage one day, because there are a ton of other tech companies you could switch to.
If you move to a random non-techie city where your current employer is the only employer of note, then that means settling down there puts you in an awkward situation: you're now tied down to them. Switching companies may well mean moving again, which could be awkward if you've put down roots.