[Techonomicon]

As an engineering leader who has done a reasonable amount of hiring in the heart of silicon valley, every single negotiation tactic provided by a candidate who received an offer (when we hired for on premises) was along the lines of "I need more / should be given more salary because of Cost of Living".

Some might say there's a power dynamic, and it's just an excuse used by a candidate to negotiate higher - but at the end of the day that is what I heard every single time, without fail, when someone wanted to negotiate their salary.

If that's the case, then it does definitely indicate to me that "where you live" is a variable, and an especially important variable.