I think this really side-steps many factors as some people may prefer X over Y in terms of what they may value. In particular, for me, I value the income I now have and less taxes coming out of my check. I know that Sugar Land is a bit higher in terms of CoL with respect to some things like housing, but it's less than the national average for utilities, groceries, and definitely for healthcare. At the same time, the cost of our house now is a $60K more than what we paid for our house in central Ohio, but, we also gained more things that we value (e.g., a pool, fenced in backyard, outdoor kitchen). We did downsize in sq. ft. of our house and lot compared to our previous house, but I actually prefer not having a 10,000 sq. ft. lot to mow twice a week. We are located by a major highway, and have tons of eateries, shopping, etc. We are in 30 minutes driving distance from Houston to see the opera, ballet, and symphony ( a huge plus for me and something lacking in central Ohio). We have two airports we can use to fly directly to destinations we desire we couldn't before. We can leave for cruises out of Galveston which we have missed (couldn't do that in central Ohio). I can keep listing other "pros" regarding out choice to relocate. We were frankly tired of seeing so much of paychecks going towards taxes, and living in an area that frankly had nothing going on, and life stopping when winter hit. Like I said in a previous post, my salary as a GS-12 in Houston is substantially better, and my spouse also has a significantly higher salary. My salary next year will be $133K. For me, that's a lot. I am also doing some part-time forensic work on the side, so that also helps. Lastly...Texas is home, it's where my family is (4 hours north). Career-wise, I gained a whole lot more; I am not on faculty for an AMC and at the VA in a specialty clinic. I have tons of opportunities to move around there if I wanted to compared to my previous VA. I also have other non-VA options in Texas Medical Center compared to central Ohio. Being in a big house with nothing to do in central Ohio with no friends or family is just depressing.