How do people here value the opportunity costs of living in a major tech center? With the lower cost of living of not living in a tech center, you also give up

How do people here value the opportunity costs of living in a major tech center? With the lower cost of living of not living in a tech center, you also give up other non-monetary things. I would think that a lot of innovation comes from being surrounded by like minded people and the access to tech talks and networking events.