[monkeynotes]

Expect to be paid 20 - 30% less outside of the city. That's been my experience. Overall I am financially far worse off with an 'affordable' house in Atlantic Canada. Yes I have a small detached home for ~$250k but I have much less money in my pocket with far less capital gain potential.

An extra $35k salary would easily cover a much larger mortgage, and living expenses aside from the mortgage are almost identical.

The difference in rent or mortgage is easily covered by the city weighted salary, but you still have all the other expenses. Living is just expensive wherever you go, there is no escaping it. I made the decision that at 40 I don't want to be in a condo surrounded by traffic and people any more. It's been a bit of an eye opener and a big adjustment to accept the relatively low salary that comes with that decision.

I have worked remotely and been paid very well which has been good, but startups come and go and when I got to the final round of a more stable position with a large corporation they told me they were downgrading my salary offer by a significant amount because of where I lived.