[MagnumOpus]

It is a huge bargain, because most of what people really want out of life are positional goods - the nicest house in the neighbourhood, status with the higher-class local women whether for tinder dates or relationships/marriage, cheap local staff to perform services (child care, cleaners, gardeners, drivers, cooks).

You can afford none of these earning $100k in SV, but most of these earning $30k in Bucharest or Minsk.

Of course if you are after material goods, the opposite is true - if you don't care about a nice house but want a new Tesla, a new iDevice every year, Hermes bags and a Cessna instead, then you are better of living in a flatshare or a shoebox in San Fran or the Valley.