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> Maybe this is overly simplistic... eventually the COL in SV will start to equalize with other places in the country like Chicago, won't it?

Chicago with an actual winter will likely never have the demand that California with it's year-round outdoor weather will have.

If costs were completely identical, would you rather live in Illinois or the Bay? How many other people you know would say the Bay?

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Believe it or not, I have no interest in living in the bay area - even if the costs were the same. I personally would like somewhere that didn't get quite so cold in the winter but still has 4 seasons.

I can honestly tell you that out of all the people I know, I can't think of a single one who would move to the bay area even if the costs were the same. Weather isn't everything.

The Bay area is nice and I certainly understand the attraction when I visit. And I probably wouldn't want to live in Chicago; winters are especially brutal in the upper Midwest, there aren't "real" mountains, and I have no connection to the area. But I have no problems with winter generally and I doubt I would move to the Bay Area even if you took money off the table. Silicon Valley is meh and SF is nice to visit but has a lot of problems. Santa Cruz mountains maybe--if one ignores the wildfire problem.

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