[Kalium]

> The thing is that "comparable opportunities" equates to (perceived) Bay Area salaries which are more or less equated to higher-end FAANG salaries

In my experience, people mostly look to preserve their financial position rather than take a jump up. Just because rent's cheaper somewhere else doesn't mean I want to take a proportionate pay cut. I've watched people turn jobs down flat when offered 50% of their pay in NYC because rent is half of NYC's.

Salary history matters a lot of negotiating power in the future. Salary matters for building up a financial cushion in case this job elsewhere doesn't work out and now I'm somewhere that has a lot fewer options on offer.