It's beyond me how you can think this makes even an ounce of sense. Contrary to your assertion, owning a home in a city isn't the same thing as working in one

It's beyond me how you can think this makes even an ounce of sense. Contrary to your assertion, owning a home in a city isn't the same thing as working in one (I can't believe I have to say that), as should be made obvious by the fact that there are tons of employed renters and retired homeowners in cities. There are plenty of situations where the dynamic runs precisely counter to your claim: the obvious example being assetholders of real estate in a booming city extracting rents from the newly-arriving people whose work is "highly rewarded". Work in cities is "highly rewarded" through high salaries (obviously). High house prices is (part of) how work in cities is _taxed_, which is pretty much the exact opposite of rewarding.