I think it makes sense for programmers or anyone else in this universe to do what they love to do and want to do. If moving to SF is the best way for you to do

I think it makes sense for programmers or anyone else in this universe to do what they love to do and want to do. If moving to SF is the best way for you to do that, then sure, move there. But I don't think it is. A place with much lower cost of living might give you much greater freedom to explore your interests and hone your skills, develop your talents, let you wander through your own ideas, implement your own projects, grow as a developer in a way that working for a company would not. I'm a believer that more interesting things get done when talented people are left on their own to explore. Maybe down the line you get a job in SF after all that exploration is over. But I'm not sure that exploration ever really ends.