There are vanishingly fewer 'low cost of living' areas. I'm in the central valley and the prices here (traditionally low enough for working class to own) have

There are vanishingly fewer 'low cost of living' areas. I'm in the central valley and the prices here (traditionally low enough for working class to own) have been going nuts. The problem is that we've opened up real estate investment to professional investors, who have then securitized those investments in risk-adjusted bundles to make them attractive to large investment banks. Money goes in, prices go up. Personal dwellings ought not to be subject to this but hey, anything that increases apparent GDP, right? "Large City in East Europe" - where exactly are you talking about? If it's anywhere near the Russian border I'll pass, thanks. I consider "having my home shelled" an unacceptable risk. Working for Google for 50k USD means being taken advantage of by Google in a really gross manner. Wherever you work you ought to make what you're worth to the company, and 50k for FAANG is ludicrously low.