What “enables” companies to pay more is profits, but what forces them to is the labor market. SV pays more because as an IC you can get a $150k job at thousand

What “enables” companies to pay more is profits, but what forces them to is the labor market. SV pays more because as an IC you can get a $150k job at thousands of other companies within commute distance. Of course it is possible to set up a tech company elsewhere and have lower operating costs—there are plenty of examples—but that doesn’t it’s a slam dunk; remote work is a trade off that does not work for every person or company, and talent pools and ecosystems matter a great deal.