One does not have the "same material standard of living" in identical houses independent of where the houses are located. That's why the costs are different in

One does not have the "same material standard of living" in identical houses independent of where the houses are located. That's why the costs are different in the first place. You're imagining that the real estate can be valued in the abstract, independent of its location. But it can't. If you have two identical houses, one in Manhattan and one in suburban Arizona, the one in Manhattan represents a vastly higher material standard of living.