[lotsofpulp]

You don't need to contain the cost of living, you just have to increase income faster than your costs. And therein lies the rub. There is such a vast difference in probability of potential future income between certain urban areas and the rest, that it makes it worth it for many to gamble on achieving it, especially because of "who you know, not what you know" means rubbing shoulders with the right people can really launch you. If that's what you want.