The cost of living thing is a mess. I think it will get sorted out as it becomes clear remote workers can and do still get offers. The current thinking seems to be “if you live in a low cost area, that means there is no competition for you”. Which used to be true, and is not true.

And there are tons of just dumb things in remote work policy today. My company does cost of living adjustment based on the state you’re in. So if you were to move to a high cost city in a low cost state (Bozeman, MT), it’s a brutal effective pay cut. But if you move to low cost city in an expensive state (Yreka, CA), it’s a huge effective pay raise. Despite, theoretically, the employer getting the same value.

I think these will sort themselves out over time, but it’s annoying in the short term.