All the "prestigious" large tech companies will also have offices in half a dozen (or more) other US cities. And most of them still allow remote work especially

All the "prestigious" large tech companies will also have offices in half a dozen (or more) other US cities. And most of them still allow remote work especially for senior folks. The only benefit I see to being in the Bay Area is if you want your entire career to be Employee #1 of newly-VC-funded startups, not because of the VC funding necessarily but everyone who is trying to get that funding spends at least some time in SF.