> As some of the work force transitions from physical, in-person employment (trading labor for pay) to increasingly virtual employment, some things are de-coupled, like high "cost of living" areas being less strongly related to "high paying employment centers."

First of all, there's no transition from trading labor for pay. That remains in place ... because capital.

Secondly, the coupling or decoupling is mostly a short-term choice made mostly by capital. We've already seen some companies signalling their intention to pay people less if they live outside the local area and work remote. I see no reason to expect that the state of this coupling will change to anything other than what-works-best-for-capital.