yes, but those options almost invariably result in having a significantly less income. Believe me, I am working hard to make the location/salary arbitrage work

yes, but those options almost invariably result in having a significantly less income. Believe me, I am working hard to make the location/salary arbitrage work, but employers are not stupid. The only way to "guarantee" it is to work for yourself, but if you leave the high-cost-of-living area, your network gets drastically smaller and you risk losing work.