Seattle and Austin are totally comparable, even preferable, to NYC and SF in many ways. So yes, all else equal, why not save an extra 10% of your income?
I'm sure we can find ways, Seattle and Austin are wonderful places, and what makes NYC and SF special doesn't appeal to everyone. But really Seattle and Austin are not even close. There's a reason NYC and SF have been centers of culture and business for generations; there's a reason that demand is so high that housing costs are stratospheric.
No, it's just not framing the entire economic question around taxes. There are many, many other factors. You can live in places with no taxes at all, but people don't choose to.
> the cost of living in NYC is hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars per year. For some percentage of people that cost is simply not worth it and they move
They've already moved in that case, but the demand for NYC is enormous.
> For high earners,
Who do you think lives in NYC?