[sneak]

As soon as more small, smart companies begin taking a holistic approach to recruiting, this is going to become more and more of an issue.

People who work hard and play hard and can live anywhere will choose the places that maximize fun/convenience to cost. It's not a one-dimensional continuum, either - places like Berlin have cheap cost of living _and_ a fantastic nightlife, but government bureaucracy makes it more inconvenient for small businesses here.

It's funny how these pockets of win always seem to work out by chance and circumstance.

In another decade, governments will be playing this game with tax laws for information workers, too. Naturally, the ratio of gross/net income is just as important to the final value of this "happiness equation" as the cost of living, or gross salary.