text: I agree that in the long run you will probably do better, financially, if you move to northern California. Despite the absurd cost of housing, you can do pretty well even on a junior software engineer's salary living in a one bedroom apartment. Many Google employees have contributed to an internal wiki page on how to live on the Google campus, rent free (they have free meals, showers, plenty of comfortable places to sleep, lockers to keep changes of clothes -- the big caveat is that you have no prospect of any kind of love life). Moreover, your career prospects are better because you can move more easily between companies and working in HQ has a lot of intangible advantages, like being better connected to decision-making.
  
  There is more to it than money, though. If you have a spouse and/or kids, downgrading from a 2500 sqft house on a quarter acre lot to a 1400 sqft home while adding $600k to your mortgage is not an easy thing, despite the higher salary and the nicer weather.