I see the logic if you have to live in, say, the New York City region... But the fact is, you don't.
I live in a suburb of a moderate-sized southern city and work as a data scientist at a technology company just outside of downtown. The pay is good, the commute is 15 minutes one-way (pretty much 100% of the time, too), the cost of living is phenomenal, and I'm within walking distance of all the shopping, eating, mountain biking, hiking, and boating I could want to do in an average week.
I have no idea why folks seem to think NYC and the Bay Area are the only places you can possibly live...
My problem was that, being in Dallas and having worked for companies that are not household names, companies like yours ignored me whenever I applied. The ones who didn't we're clustered in NYC and Seattle (with a few exceptions).
I live in a suburb of a moderate-sized southern city and work as a data scientist at a technology company just outside of downtown. The pay is good, the commute is 15 minutes one-way (pretty much 100% of the time, too), the cost of living is phenomenal, and I'm within walking distance of all the shopping, eating, mountain biking, hiking, and boating I could want to do in an average week.
I have no idea why folks seem to think NYC and the Bay Area are the only places you can possibly live...