The calculus is a bit more complicated than you make it out to be. People have to live where they can afford to live -and- get a job. Many lcol areas do not hav

The calculus is a bit more complicated than you make it out to be. People have to live where they can afford to live -and- get a job. Many lcol areas do not have many jobs. Especially if you have an expensive education that you are trying to pay off. Some people might be able to take a pay cut and move somewhere cheap and come out ahead. But those options don't always exist. If you have $200k in student loans and a degree in biotechnology, good luck finding a job within 100 miles of cheap housing. More remote work opportunities might change this, but at least in the past, those were very rare. Housing is expensive in hcol areas for a reason. It's because there are lots of good paying jobs nearby. There is also a reason some areas have very cheap housing.