And, hate to say it, but Talent likes to live where it is desirable, fun, and interesting to live. Because Talent can afford it, and Talent wants a life full of desirable characteristics. The Bay Area isn't expensive because of magic. It's expensive because people want to live there, and people want to live there because it really is a great place to live, all things considered. You can play the value game all you want and try to make the argument that upstate New York is somehow unfairly treated by an economic imbalance, but the truth is, people want to live there less than they want to live in NYC or SF or nearly anywhere else.