Comment by MountDoom

For senior engineers with some fiscal discipline, it's great, although it's more great to work remotely.

On the more junior end, that $250k goes about as far as $100k in a less expensive region. Keep in mind that the average 1-bedroom rent is $3k+/mo, the average home for a family with kids is $2M, the average PG&E bill for a house is probably $400+, any repairs or remodels will cost you 2x as much as in most other places... and state income taxes are 10% on top of federal.

Most CoL estimates put the cost of living in San Jose at 2x the national average. And that's San Jose.