It is true that you will spend proportionally more on housing here. It is also most likely true that your total savings will be higher here. EG, you could sav

It is true that you will spend proportionally more on housing here. It is also most likely true that your total savings will be higher here. EG, you could save 50K$/year in the valley whereas you could only save 20k$ a year working in Iowa. The 20K is much larger compared to the cost of living, but you will be better off when you retire if you squirreled away the 50K$. If you want to move to Iowa at that point, all the better, you can now afford a palace. This assumes you can incur the cost of moving and can stay employed.