I feel similarly but I find it to be the Bay Area that's the problem rather than FAANG. All those startups and unicorns being in one place makes people see the

I feel similarly but I find it to be the Bay Area that's the problem rather than FAANG. All those startups and unicorns being in one place makes people see the Bay Area as some kind of software engineering Mecca and I think engineers based there subconsciously see themselves as superior for being a part of it, especially given the high pay. If you go to another city or even better another country, even in the same company, things are very different. Having done so, I would never return to the Bay Area except for the reason you mentioned: to pile up enough money to leave it again.