Also, a few years ago I had teams in multiple countries (South East Asia, India, Easter Europe, Western Europe, East and West Coast), all well paid (but not at FAANG levels). While their capacity was roughly similar, the West Coast ones were by far the more expensive ones, but also quite stressed out to make ends meet (buying a house, having a kid, putting them through school) compared to the other teams.

Eastern Europe was a place to find hidden gems (very cheap - but not so now), and some brilliant people (but not all of them). Western Europe was consistent, solid moderate quality at moderate costs vs US. So in line with your views