[yomly]

If you can afford a house in London, you can probably afford a house in XYZ

The reverse doesn't usually follow (unless XYZ is Monaco :p)

So "global" is relative but if in my personal view "global" everyone in SV, or NYC or Dubai or London is competing with you on purchasing power and general access to resources so local quality of life is only half the picture.

Unless of course you choose to completely sign out of the "chase" which is a viable strategy and its own set of tradeoffs

[user5994461]

Nobody is competing globally. If you're Chinese (or wherever) you can only work legally in a few places in the world and you won't be treated as well as the locals (lower compensation too). Moving abroad also means abandoning your friends and family and culture and inheritance, with financial and non financial effects.

Working in an high costs of living area for a few years -if at all possible- is of course a viable strategy to save some money before going back home.