I'm a senior staff engineer with 20+ years of c++ experience and I make less than 200k even after stocks and bonuses. But I live in a part of the US where that gets me an almost 4000 square foot home within walking distance to nightlife and a short bike to a downtown with highrises and art museums and orchestras and operas. The weather is horrible swinging over 115 degrees over the course of a year, but right now it's wonderful out. Redefine what semi-desirable means. Yes I'd love to walk out my back door and dig clams or pull in a haul of crabs to cook on the beach, but putting all of us on a coast won't work. Also with a couple of exceptions in the Pacific Northwest climate change will hit the coasts hard. Cramming us all into condos on those few stretches of protected beach is even less feasible. Mountains will be somewhat less impacted, ski resort areas will expand and continue their price growth. But everyone moving there isn't really any more feasible long term.