[kelnos]

It's probably safe to assume that the largest reason the parent doesn't feel financially secure is because of the cost of housing.

So, sure, the parent could make a different choice, and move to a lower cost of living area, but then they'd be making significantly less, and might still not feel particularly financially secure.

Even now, with many companies realizing that remote work is ok, and planning to allow some form of it permanently, many also plan to change (lower) people's salaries based on where they end up deciding to live, even if they do the exact same work.