Just want to throw it out there. Sure, you have a sub-six-figure salary in different parts of the country, but your rent/mortgage for a similar sized home is a third. Compared to Cali, your taxes are less too in most states.

While your absolute salary is less, your purchasing power is far greater compared to SV, SF and LA. I know someone is going to pick some outliers like NYC, Seattle and so forth. There's still more places to live than that.