I can't disagree. I love Gitlab but it would be hard to take a > 50% pay cut if I were to work there.
That being said, I have full confidence in Gitlab and know they'll continue to improve these things!
Oakland is almost that low and it's a 10-minute BART ride from downtown SF. It's ridiculous to have that much differential within a short commute distance, not to mention the variety of neighborhoods even within cities.
We might make an adjustment for Oakland since it is a fast growing city and market rates there tend to be higher.
Why do you pay based on rent instead of market rate in the first place?