I moved from SF to a wealthy town on the central coast (many celebrities live here and it’s known for year round perfect weather). I snagged the last “good deal” here at under $2M and only a 3% mortgage.

It’s still really expensive but the lifestyle and outdoor activities make it worth it. It this is the kind of place to live after you’ve already made it, not coming up and struggling. My income exceeds seven figures the last two year before falling to $410k this year (I’m in large enterprise tech sales by the way).

I could easily retire moving to a LCOL but love it here too much to leave and will be working a few more years because of it. Life is all about trade offs I guesss lol.