Personally I would eschew megalopolises all together!
Personally I enjoy this part of the city. It seems better in most ways and it's far cheaper. I would hate living downtown as I have a large dog.
I admittedly was incredibly lucky in finding this place (moving to a city with a large dog reduces your options by an order of magnitude), but it's been great. It seems most of my friends have tiny apartments and numerous roommates, and my girlfriend and I honestly have more space than we know what to do with - and we (usually) pay less money than them.
I do miss snow though.
But the majority of most other people working in the Bay can't fit that description, right? Surely their skills are transferable to online jobs or other more liveable cities?
The total NET earnings are probably identical (again excluding the massively wealthy income earners in the Bay).
And then when you factor in the lack of smog, stress, sedentary life that the Bay brings...?
I'm not sure you've thought this through. Where does the money in the Bay Area come from?
During the gold rush, someone needed to sell the prospectors equipment, entertainment, etc.
$$$