Even with a great tech salary, your wealth is NOT noteworthy at the local bank.

The amount of ego in this thread is impressive!

Seriously, tech has got to have some of the most inflated egos on the planet. Do people in this thread really think there aren't plenty of other people making 150-200+ outside of the major tech hubs? Do they really think they are going to be Mr. Monopoly Man because they have a 150k remote job in Des Moines?

The OP's scenario is over the top, but if you had a 150k USD remote job in my hometown you could buy half a street. You would have a very different life to those around you and it would be challenging socially as a result.

I fail to see what this has to do with ego - it's not an assertion of superiority, it's just a factual statement. It's nothing to do with technology - working as a lawyer for remote clients would be the same.

If anything it's the opposite I would think. Ego would be rocking up and flashing the cash.

Your hometown street is one data point. There's a huge spectrum to choose from between that and Bay area/London. This feels like a false dichotomy.

Don't insult entire field based on your interpretation (perhaps justified, perhaps not) of few comments here.

Being in tech myself I will critique the culture of the industry as I see fit.

Remote work is international. I know a couple of great engineers who earn $150-200k remotely while living in the area where $3600 is considered a decent salary. That's $3600 annually, as in $300 monthly.

150k in Des Moines doesn’t go as far as you’d think, the top income tax in Iowa is 8.9%.

This is a cartoon-like scenario you have cooked up. You really think random people are going to be contacting you for money because of your mid-rate tech salary?

Absolutely hilarious.

Perhaps you never lived in a poor southern town, I saw this happen. I supposed it's universal.

I think this depends a lot on whether your hometown is in rural Iowa or rural India. Some people here come from very poor areas, where $300k can be 100x what others are making instead of 10x.